Some universities require students to take classes in many subjects. Other universities require students to specialize in one subject. Which is better? Use specific reasons and support your answer.
Everybody is ignorant, only in different subjects.
–W.Rogers
Ignorance! Who wants to be ignorant? But the question is which is better to avoid ignorance, being generalist or specialist? I strongly hold the idea that students should take classes in many subjects instead of specializing in one major for some specific reasons below.
First, learning generally is indispensible for many majors. As architecture integrates technology with art perfectly, to have a wide understanding, students in the architecture major need not only engineering course but also art classes in addition to psychology. If a student took only one of them, her/his works would be solid but ugly or esthetic but unstable. To concentrate study in one subject in the future, one can lay solid foundation by choosing many subjects.
Furthermore, to be more adaptable in the job market, students should choose diverse subjects. It is an undeniable fact that profit-oriented company requires employees with interdisciplinary and comprehensive knowledge. By taking classes in variant subjects, one will obtain knowledge not only from certain subject, but also other abilities, including communication ability, cooperation ability and independency ability, which are beneficial to future carrier. A generalist with wide knowledge will be more adaptable with the society and be able to easily adjust to variant jobs.
Finally, contrary to a specialist who would have no chance to get access to many resources offered by the university, a generalist makes full use of the abundant resources. A university has adequate educational facilities. It is a smart idea to make full use of these valuable assets. The best way to achieve this is to take a variety of subject, which means to be a generalist.
Even though specialists could acquire the skill more deeply and profoundly, to be versatile in the future, one needs to take various subjects
TOEFL listening lectures: A university lecture in the Social Sciences Department