Some people contend that university students should be encouraged to study a wide range of subjects rather than only focusing on their major courses. From my perspective, I firmly disagree with this assertion for many compelling reasons, including low academic performance and the lack of practical experience.
The first key rationale relates to poor academic outcomes. The reason is that taking diverse courses is likely to place a great burden on students’ mental well-being. Struggling with consistent deadlines and heavy schoolwork causes the undergraduates to suffer from numerous serious health-related issues such as anxiety, depression and sleep deprivation. Consequently, studying various subjects at the same time can make them lose concentration on lectures and knowledge at class, as well as deteriorate the ability of knowledge retention, preventing them from gaining high scores in many high-stakes examinations. Therefore, not only does taking a wide range of courses have adverse bearings on students’ mental health, but it also worsens academic performance.
Another reason revolves around the shortage of real-life experience when undergraduates choose to follow a curriculum that consists of many subjects. If students study a wide variety of subjects, they will be likely to allocate inadequate time to hone professional skills and accumulate experience for their major subjects. The reason lies in hectic schedules preventing them from engaging in extracurricular activities, landing part-time jobs, or taking apprenticeship training courses. As a result, without gaining enough hands-on experience, undergraduates have less chance to apply for high-paid and stable occupations. For example, in the aviation industry, if people do not have enough professional skills in assembling and operating aircraft, they can be dismissed and face up to unemployment. Hence, people following various subjects can struggle with the absence of experience in their career path.
In conclusion, I wholeheartedly disagree with the opinion that tertiary education should prioritize a course with numerous subjects over a specialist subject as it contributes to low academic outcomes and the deficiency of experience. Looking ahead, universities should take a curriculum with major courses into consideration for the sake of their students.