More on Concentrations & Careers

Dear CRCers: 

I read what you said last week about the concentration choice and career path not being the same decision-making process. But honestly, the liberal arts and open curriculum don't really work for me; I have to put my interests behind what I need to do for others. So I think what I do for a career and concentration are related in my case.

Signed,

Trying to do the right thing

We often hear it said either explicitly or implicitly that students can't afford to explore, to study what they are passionate about, or to be passionate about what they study. We want to respect the fact that we all come to college with a history, from a context, and with a diversity of expectations and responsibilities.

The tradition of the "liberal arts" (stemming from Latin words meaning "free" and "principled practice") dates back to classical antiquity, or the ancient Greco-Roman era. The belief in the relevance of seven areas of study - grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music - was that together this knowledge prepared "free persons" for participation in civic life. And students pushing for changes leading to the Open Curriculum, founded during the US Civil Rights era, saw a need for more diversity within and direct relevance of their studies.

We have the audacity to believe that a Brown education - its open curriculum organized around the liberal arts - is open and accessible to all within our diverse student body. The privilege of it, and the responsibility we all bear, requires us to think critically about what knowledge we ought to engage with as "free persons" who will have an impact on others - in the workplace, in civic life, and without our communities of belonging. So yes, the weight if the choices before us are daunting, as are our decisions about how to pay it forward.

Your choices are yours. A concentration that you think you need to choose because it is directly related to a financially-stable career path should also feed your intellectual interests; the two need not be mutually exclusive. And, your concentration is not the equivalent of your entire college education! Continue to take advantage of the multifaceted learning opportunities in college. And if you'd like to talk with someone, drop by the CRC (Faunce 228) this week, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.! This Wednesday and Thursday, we have dedicated these days especially for sophomore advising hours.

It's okay to choose a concentration out of a need to support others, but get all the information you can about your choice. If you need to do computer science to make money, figure out what areas of computer science interest you most. Every field has a lot of diversity in terms of specializations and methodologies, so even with a concentration you can find a niche that touches at least one of your passions while still providing you with practical resources.

CRCer Ruth says:

One of the things I like most about the Open Curriculum is that it allows all of us to choose our own paths. We all come to Brown with different interests, needs, and goals, and those things shape the choices we make during our time here. If you find yourself gravitating toward a concentration because of its ability to help you fulfill certain obligations (supporting family, paying educational debt, etc.), that doesn't mean you're doing the Open Curriculum wrong. In my view, the Open Curriculum is a document that encourages us to make informed, reflective choices about our educations. Considering what your needs will be after Brown is part of that process. There are many ways to engage with Brown's liberal learning goals in every concentration. And remember, just because you're a concentrator in a specific department doesn't mean you're confined to that department! There are always opportunities to take courses in different departments.