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A four year university education is based upon a vertical curriculum in which courses build upon those that come before. Shoving this kind of curriculum into 2 years would be next to impossible.
Maybe, maybe not.
Average credits required for a undergrad degree is around 128 or 32 per year or 16 per semester. Most major courses are 3 credits so you are looking at 5 classes per semester give or take (less if you take summer courses).
Even if you bumped it up to 6 classes per semester in two years you are taking 24 courses.
When I went to school I had 32 "required courses" in order to graduate based on the amount of credit hours each course carried. Of those 32, 9 where unnecessary towards my degree in Business Admin and Economics. Natural Sciences, personal fitness and wellness, History, 2 free electives (I chose business courses actually so that was my choice), Religion (small Liberal Arts school), Fine Arts and an approved foreign language x2.
The foreign languages are great for International Business and Management in general but not a necessity IMO. Even with the foreign language that's 25 courses. I think it's doable.
When I was in college, I was forced to take an "arts appreciation" class that was deemed to be a "high school deficiency." Talk about a waste of time, money, and space. It chapped my ass then, and it chaps my ass now that students are forced to take classes that are 100% irrelevant to an aerospace engineering degree (or any other degree that doesn't focus on the arts).
Yes, b/c all aerospace engineers work in a vaccum in an ivory tower, right?
Is this "arts appreciation" course the source of all your angst towards the arts?
Average credits required for a undergrad degree is around 128 or 32 per year or 16 per semester. Most major courses are 3 credits so you are looking at 5 classes per semester give or take (less if you take summer courses).
Even if you bumped it up to 6 classes per semester in two years you are taking 24 courses.
When I went to school I had 32 "required courses" in order to graduate based on the amount of credit hours each course carried. Of those 32, 9 where unnecessary towards my degree in Business Admin and Economics. Natural Sciences, personal fitness and wellness, History, 2 free electives (I chose business courses actually so that was my choice), Religion (small Liberal Arts school), Fine Arts and an approved foreign language x2.
The foreign languages are great for International Business and Management in general but not a necessity IMO. Even with the foreign language that's 25 courses. I think it's doable.
You obviously don't understand the concept of the vertical curriculum. It would be impossible to take full semesters with nothing but your major courses. There are prerequisites for higher-level courses, for instance. And if someone could handle nothing but 400-level courses in her major in one semester, it obviously isn't much of a major.
When I was in college, I was forced to take an "arts appreciation" class that was deemed to be a "high school deficiency." Talk about a waste of time, money, and space. It chapped my ass then, and it chaps my ass now that students are forced to take classes that are 100% irrelevant to an aerospace engineering degree (or any other degree that doesn't focus on the arts).
Yes, b/c all aerospace engineers work in a vaccum in an ivory tower, right?
Is this "arts appreciation" course the source of all your angst towards the arts?
It's a wonder that these people who think that science and engineering are all that matter debase themselves by spending time in a forum dedicated to the practice of the rhetorical arts and discussion of topics that are non-technical.
helenejen - good point. Judging by some of our correspondents a lot of "engineers" are fixated on economics and politics. Some act like English teachers as well.
If I were going back to college I would look for a set of courses that would teach me how to make as much money as possible in a little time and work as possible. I don’t have forever left so I has to be quick. All without getting tossed in jail. According to some this would be the ideal curriculum for everyone.
You obviously don't understand the concept of the vertical curriculum. It would be impossible to take full semesters with nothing but your major courses. There are prerequisites for higher-level courses, for instance. And if someone could handle nothing but 400-level courses in her major in one semester, it obviously isn't much of a major.
If someone cannot handle nothing but 400 level courses all in one semester then maybe they should pick a different major or stop partying and start studying. You go to class 2-3 days per week for a few hours each. How tough is that? You study the rest. More technical degrees would obviously require more time but 3 years is better than 5 right? If you start off with the expectation of 2 years as opposed to 4 then an extra year for a more advanced degree is still better than 5 years right?
Not all degrees are done in 4 years so not all would have to be done in 2.
It's a wonder that these people who think that science and engineering are all that matter debase themselves by spending time in a forum dedicated to the practice of the rhetorical arts and discussion of topics that are non-technical.
Perhaps because science and engineering has led to a very comfortable life where I have ample time to consider all sorts of hobbies?
Does that fit in to the "hate the successful" theme that leftists embrace? Judging from your disgust with my "ample time" to discuss politics, it sure seems like it.
Well the poor soul in the OP's link can't seem to find ANY job with a liberal arts degree.
STEM is where it's at these days and India/China are gaining strides.
We're in the digital age now and there's only so many liberal arts majors that this industry can absorb. What America needs now are technical skills to get ahead.
People need to get with the program and stop living in the past with age old ideas about "liberal arts", critical thinking and becoming a well-rounded person.
Actually, Happy Texan, that's exactly what a liberal arts education does. The "ancient" education began with the Trivium, made up of grammar, rhetoric and logic. (Of course, Latin was taught along with reading the ancient Greek and Roman writers and historians.) If one chose, they then completed the Quadrivium, which was comprised of math, geometry, music and astronomy. With the Trivium alone one is taught how to speak and write legibly, think critically and utilize logic. As for the student in question, an English degree can be used for many jobs. Reading literature cannot be matched in terms of learning about life and human nature; there's even a book called Shakespeare: The Development of the Human. In Hamlet, for example, he essentially describes behavioral therapy, 300 years before Science "discovered" it. Theater is still taught in many private schools, and gender studies makes one a valuable employee in Human Resources, for one example. As for business degrees, there is a glut of MBAs at present. Not everything operates at its optimum on the business model, such as medicine.
If someone cannot handle nothing but 400 level courses all in one semester then maybe they should pick a different major or stop partying and start studying.
Sorry but I happen to teach some brilliant students in science and engineering fields and there is no way that they would be able to take a full load of 400-level courses in their major in a semester. And these are totally dedicated students. And the English students that I teach couldn't do a full load of their 400-level, major courses because of the reading and writing demands. Simply not possible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AeroGuyDC
Perhaps because science and engineering has led to a very comfortable life where I have ample time to consider all sorts of hobbies?
Well then obviously you see value in things that are not always technical. Others do as well and take a path that is not technical (in the sense that you mean anyway) and lead quite comfortable lives. Try leave your ego out of your threads more often for pete's sake. It's like you've got some complex.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AeroGuyDC
Does that fit in to the "hate the successful" theme that leftists embrace? Judging from your disgust with my "ample time" to discuss politics, it sure seems like it.
Jeez, when did you start drinking out of the same kool-aid pitcher as roysoldboy? There is not "hate the successful" theme on my or many other liberals' part.
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