Clash of titans over Singapore's biomed push

A*Star's Philip Yeo and NNI's Lee Wei Ling trade barbs over the direction Singapore's biomed research drive should take

AT THE centre of the sprawling $500 million Biopolis is a shining $250,000 sculpture of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) virus.

Here, in the open air, researchers of all shades lounge with coffee cups in hand. The talk: the boxing match that had been playing out before them for the past week.

There is a lot of money riding on the outcome of the bout, which has the feisty Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) chairman Philip Yeo in one corner and the equally outspoken National Neuroscience Institute head Lee Wei Ling, in the other.

Mr Yeo, Singapore's science salesman, has been leading the research charge - scouring the world for foreign heavyweights and training the next generation of top scientists.

Having made a hugely successful bet on the petrochemical industry, he is convinced that research 'whales' are needed to take research in cancer and heart disease to a higher plane.

Challenger Dr Lee wants Singapore to change direction in its multi-billion dollar biomedical sciences (BMS) research drive, which she says has gone astray.

'At the end of the day, I want biomedical research to benefit patients, and as a Singaporean, I do not want taxpayers' money to go to waste,' she said.

Among her criticisms: Biomedical resources were spread too thinly and that Singapore should focus on niche areas such as hepatitis B and head injuries, instead of competing with the West on big-name research.

Both have come out arms swinging. Mr Yeo noted that Dr Lee had never stepped into the Biopolis and did not understand that this was no short-term effort that would lead to swift returns.

Dr Lee retorted that Mr Yeo might be a successful salesman but he was no doctor, and therefore, not in touch with diseases that matter here.

Foreign researchers who have moved here are understandably worried about descriptions of them as 'footloose' scientists.

Genome Institute of Singapore chief Edison Liu, a cancer expert from the United States National Institutes of Health, became a Singapore permanent resident on Friday, the day he turned 55.

'I quit a permanent position in the US to come here because I believed in Singapore's vision, and I am committed to this country,' he said.

'I am amazed at its development and I plan on staying.'

He said he was puzzled by the controversy over medical relevance given that his institute focused on medical questions that were important here, including key research that helped resolve the 2003 Sars crisis in Singapore.

In cyberspace, opinion is divided, but talk centres on who will ultimately prevail in the heavyweight clash.

One blogger described it as a clash of the titans with a member of the Lee family pitted against a top civil servant.

Other unrelated aspects of the clash have also coloured the talk.

That Dr Lee blew the whistle on Dr Simon Shorvon, her NNI predecessor - for unethical conduct, pops up often in conversation. He was sacked here and sanctioned, but in Britain, where he now works, the medical council dropped his case.

That her examples of research that Singapore should pursue include areas the NNI are focused on have given rise to unkind comments that she covets funding for her own institute.

No, says Dr Lee, she is fighting to promote all areas where Singapore has a competitive advantage and which are important here, including liver, gastric and breast cancers.

Researchers say that the daughter of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and sister of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong might well have enough persuasive powers to shift the tide.

They recall too how Mr Yeo, a man never to mince words, had pooh-poohed the relevance of the then Institute of Molecular Agrobiology - a key research institute here - in 2001.

His riposte then: 'It's a criminal waste of taxpayers' money.

'I would close it down tomorrow if I could...We have no agriculture.'

The gloves are off

MR YEO has been as colourful this time. And it is apparent that he and his A*Star colleagues had been expecting Dr Lee to land more punches ever since her article appeared in The Straits Times on the issue in November.

They did not react until Dr Lee reached a wider audience when she gave an interview with the news agency Reuters earlier this month.

Then the gloves came off.

An indication: Just five days after, at a press conference, the executive director of the A*Star Biomedical Research Council Beh Swan Gin picked up a piece of paper and read from it: 'I've been instructed to make this statement by our leaders. Which is that 'the BMS initiative has been successful and there is no rethink or change in the government's BMS policy.''

Quizzed by reporters, Mr Yeo, who was at the same event, declared that he would leave dealing with the vocal criticism to incoming A*Star chairman Lim Chuan Poh whom he described as 'more polite'.

Then eyes flashing, he carried on: 'For me, I've got a job to do. My job is to steal whales and steal young guppies...These are my main concerns.'

The whales, such as cancer experts David Lane and Edison Liu, were needed as role models and mentors for the guppies.

The number of guppies enrolled in elite universities abroad rolled off his tongue: 'We have now 25 PhDs at Stanford, 118

PhDs at MIT, six at Harvard, 20 in Cambridge in the UK, they just went in 2005.'

He is well-known for lavishing his personal attention on them. These scholars, who address him as 'chairman' have an open line to him. He in turn can rattle off not just their names and areas of study, but also their hobbies, family backgrounds and grade point averages - to three decimal places.

Adding that Dr Lee had never stepped into the Biopolis, he asked: 'Who cares about one voice in the wilderness?

'How many people get head injuries? Get hepatitis? Young kids after 1987 have been vaccinated. Hepatitis is not relevant to us. Head injuries? Unless you bang your head against the wall...'

Cancer happened not just to the old, but young people as well, he said.

The foundation for biomedical sciences has been set with output by Singapore's drug factories jumping by over a third last year, pushing overall biomedical production up by 30.2 per cent.

This robust growth puts biomedical output at a record $23 billion, almost four times production in 2000.

The fledgling biomedical sector already accounts for one quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP) generated by the manufacturing industry as a whole, making it second only to electronics, which accounts for 29 per cent.

The biomedical sciences cluster employed 10,571 people last year, up 3.9 per cent from 2005.

Not a lone voice

STRESSING she was 'no voice in the wilderness', Dr Lee has countered: 'I have received more fanmail than I can remember from Singapore doctors and researchers thanking me for pointing out the obvious mistake in the way the biomedical drive has been carried out.'

To be sure, she has fans, among them doctors and scientists from Singapore and indeed, the Biopolis.

One doctor e-mailed her: 'I cannot agree with you more on the point that we need to focus on niche areas that are of local or regional concerns. Some of our highly respected professors have led by their excellent examples in how they prioritise and focus on the problems we see at our 'doorsteps'.'

Another said he was hoping 'her voice will get through to the ivory tower which has so far been sound-proof.'

Dr Lee added: 'Many local diseases which are potential niche areas are also diseases where to date there is no satisfactory treatment.

'Not only does it make financial and strategic sense to concentrate on these areas, we owe it to our own citizens and our ethnically-related neighbours in Asia.'

Carrying through the whale and guppy analogy, she said that promising local researchers would be more aptly called dolphins.

'Our dolphins can travel pretty fast on their own,' she said.

'I would say that Mr Philip Yeo, having never practised as a doctor, is strategising about biomedical research directions in an ivory tower. That is why he can dismiss hepatitis B and head injury as unimportant.

'Head injury is one of the leading causes of death and disability in young people.'

And the referee's decision...

THERE is no question that both Dr Lee and Mr Yeo have Singapore's best interests at heart.

But their opinions could not be more different - change direction and minimise the damage says one; stay the course and reap the rewards, says the other.

The stakes are high.

New research shows that around the world, biotech's shine could be dulling.

A recent Harvard Business School article quoted Business Administration professor Gary Pisano as saying that the biotech business - caught between the differing needs of business and science, had underperformed. The industry needed to realign itself to integrate research and focus on long-term efforts, he said.

Singapore might have the odds stacked against it even higher.

The World Bank said late last year that the Republic had a 50-50 chance of succeeding in its drive. Some of the challenges included lack of scale, heavy dependence on foreign researchers and long gestation periods.

Mr Yeo has opted to speak no further on the matter.

Dr Lee, on her part, says that she was not hitting below the belt.

'I'm not picking a quarrel with Philip, I'm not interested in taking on titans, neither am I a titan myself.

'There was a lot of thunder, lightning, fireworks. It wasn't from me.

'I'm merely trying to point out, in a series of logical arguments, why we should change direction.'

She reiterated that big-name biomedical companies set up shop here because the Government promoted foreign investment and enacted strong IP laws.

To date, none of the massive Economic Development Board- or A*Star-initiated biomedical research drives have resulted in pharmaceuticals or devices ready for the production line, she maintained.

On the flip side, critics of this argument counter that research and industry development go hand in hand. Companies would not have come if not for a strong scientific and technological base to anchor them here, they say.

Dr Lee added that she was not trying to score points. 'I have my life to live, I leave it to my other family members to do their duty,' she said.

Neither side is down for the count.

But the referee has weighed in.

'We believe that our biomedical effort is heading in the right direction, but we will continue to fine-tune our policies as we gain more experience,' said the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Friday.

Responding to queries, a spokesman noted that A*Star was doing important work in biomedical research, which had contributed significantly to the growth of the biomedical sector and the creation of high value jobs.

Singapore's small size and limited resources called for focus in its efforts, which A*Star has been doing. By looking at cancer and heart disease, for example - the top killers in Singapore and the rest of the world - A*Star was placing priority on ground-breaking research in these areas, to help develop more effective treatments.

'The emphasis on talent development and close public-private sector research collaboration has put us on the world map,' said the spokesman.

To those sitting on the fence, that sounds like an endorsement for the status quo from officialdom.

ailien@sph.com.sg

' Who cares about one voice in the wilderness? Hepatitis is not relevant to us. Head injuries? Unless you bang your head against the wall...' -Mr Philip Yeo on Dr Lee's opinion as to what areas the biomedical sector should tackle

'Mr Philip Yeo, having never practised as a doctor, is strategising about biomedical research directions in an ivory tower.' Dr Lee Wei Ling who added that her 'fan mail' over the issue proves she is no voice in the wilderness

Activists clash with whalers

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Anti-whaling activists hunted a Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean on Tuesday, intent on ramming its flagship, as pro-whaling nations met in Tokyo to push for a return to commercial fishing of the giant creatures.

A Japanese fisheries spokesman dubbed anti-whaling protesters as terrorists after one of their vessels collided with a whaling boat in the Southern Ocean late on Monday, while Australia called on the activists to back off before someone was killed.

The two sides blamed each other for the clash at sea, which holed a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship, the Robert Hunter, but not badly enough for it to abandon the chase.

The activists next planned to ram a vessel into the back of a Japanese factory vessel, the Nisshin Maru, to stop whales being hauled on board for processing, said Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd founder and the captain of the group's flagship, Farley Mowat.

"We're not going to sink their ship, we're just going to obstruct their activities. We'll probably have the Farley Mowat permanently stuck up their rear-end," he said.

Previous clashes saw some activists swept into the sea and almost lost in the fog and Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the protesters should halt their harassment of the Japanese fleet.

"This is not about whaling. It is simply unacceptable for any vessel to threaten or to use violence against other ships at sea. These are dangerous and irresponsible actions," said Turnbull.

DIPLOMATIC JOSTLING

In Tokyo, a special meeting of the International Whaling Commission began on Tuesday, with host Japan and like-minded countries trying to build momentum to resume commercial hunting.

Japanese officials say the meeting is a final attempt to save the commission but prospects for dialogue in the polarized organization appear slim.

Only 36 of the International Whaling Commission's 72 members are expected to attend the three-day meeting, with some 26 anti-whaling nations -- including Australia, New Zealand and the United States -- refusing to attend.

"One of our goals is to improve the atmosphere of the IWC, which has become one of confrontation, and to improve dialogue," Minoru Morimoto, the commissioner for Japan, told the meeting.

"It's a shame that most anti-whaling nations chose confrontation," he said, adding he hoped the commission would at its annual meeting in May seriously consider normalization, as Japanese term commercial whaling.

Outside the meeting, three anti-whaling protesters, including a man wearing a mask of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's face, carried a sign reading "Welcome to the commercialization meeting." One activist was dressed as a weeping whale.

Pasted to the sign were 10,000 yen ($82) notes and names of several countries, an allusion to charges by anti-whalers that Japan had bought pro-whaling votes at the IWC with foreign aid. Japan has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Anti-whaling nation Britain has set out to recruit more like-minded nations to join the commission and block Japan's drive to end a 1986 ban on commercial whaling.

In the Southern Ocean, the whalers and the protesters blamed each other for the continued clashes.

The Kaiko Maru was rammed from both sides by the Robert Hunter and the Farley Mowat, leaving it temporarily disabled with a damaged propeller, Japanese fisheries spokesman Hideki Moronuki said.

WHALE "TERRORISTS"

"They are terrorists and their activities are piracy," Moronuki told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

But Watson said the Robert Hunter had been deliberately side-swiped by the Kaiko Maru, leaving gashes in the hull in two places and damaging the ship beneath the water line.

The gashes had been welded shut and the chase, using helicopters, had resumed, the activists said.

Japan, which says whaling is a cherished cultural tradition, began scientific research whaling in 1987. The meat, which under whaling commission rules must be sold for consumption, ends up in supermarkets and pricey restaurants.

Many Japanese ate whale in school lunches following its introduction by U.S. Occupation authorities after Japan's defeat in World War Two, when it was an important source of protein.

Appetites have waned, but Japan remains determined to keep on whaling despite both consumer indifference and international opposition, to which Tokyo is usually extremely sensitive.

(With additional reporting by Elaine Lies in Tokyo)

Harvard names 1st woman president

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University on Sunday named historian Drew Gilpin Faust as its first female president, ending a lengthy and secretive search to find a successor to Lawrence Summers and his tumultuous five-year tenure.

The seven-member Harvard Corporation elected Faust, a noted scholar of the American South and dean of Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, as the university's 28th president. The 30-member board of overseers ratified the selection.

Faust, 59, recognized the significance of her appointment.

"I hope that my own appointment can be one symbol of an opening of opportunities that would have been inconceivable even a generation ago," Faust said at a news conference on campus. But she also added, "I'm not the woman president of Harvard, I'm the president of Harvard."

With Faust's appointment, half of the eight Ivy League schools will have a woman as president. Her selection is noteworthy given the uproar over Summers' comments that genetic differences between the sexes might help explain the dearth of women in top science jobs, comments which sparked debates about equality at Harvard and nationwide.

Faust oversaw the creation of two faculty task forces, formed in the aftermath of Summers' remarks, to examine gender diversity at Harvard. She has been dean of Radcliffe since 2001, two years after the former women's college was merged into the university as a research center with a mission to study gender issues.

"This is a great day, and a historic day, for Harvard," said James R. Houghton, chairman of the presidential search committee.

Some professors have quietly groused that — despite the growing centrality of scientific research to Harvard's budget — the 371-year-old university is appointing a fifth consecutive president who is not a scientist. No scientist has had the top job since James Bryant Conant retired in 1953; its last four have come the fields of classics, law, literature and economics.

Faust is the first Harvard president who did not receive an undergraduate or graduate degree from the university since Charles Chauncy, an alumnus of Cambridge University in England, who died in office in 1672. She attended Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania, where she was also a professor of history.

Faust pivots from managing Radcliffe, a think-tank with 87 employees and a $17 million budget, to presiding over Harvard's 11 schools and colleges, 24,000 employees and a budget of $3 billion. The Harvard presidency is perhaps the most prestigious job in higher education, offering a pulpit where remarks resonate throughout academic circles and unparalleled resources, including a university endowment valued at nearly $30 billion.

"Faculty turned to her constantly as someone whose opinion is to be trusted," said Sheldon Hackney, a former president of The University of Pennsylvania and southern historian who worked closely with Faust. "She's very clear, well-organized. She has a sense of humor, but she's very even-keeled. You come to trust in her because she's so solid."

In Faust, Harvard not only has its first female leader, but a president who has candidly discussed her feminist ideals in a memoir, "Shapers of Southern History: Autobiographical Reflections."

Born Catherine Gilpin in the Jim Crow era, to a privileged family in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, Faust wrote that a conversation at age 9 with the family's black handyman and driver inspired her to send a letter to President Eisenhower pleading for desegregation.

She then began to question the rigid Southern conventions where girls wore "scratchy organdy dresses" and white children addressed black adults by their first names.

"I was the rebel who did not just march for civil rights and against the Vietnam War but who fought endlessly with my mother, refusing to accept her insistence that 'this is a man's world, sweetie, and the sooner you learn that, the better off you'll be,'" she writes.

Faust joins an exclusive roster of former Harvard presidents that have included colonial clergymen, Bay State patricians and a cabinet secretary. Former President Derek Bok has been leading the university this academic year on an interim basis.

The other three female presidents of Ivy League schools are Amy Gutmann of the University of Pennsylvania, Shirley M. Tilghman of Princeton University, and Ruth J. Simmons of Brown University.

While the presidential search was marked by disciplined secrecy — committee members met behind closed doors in a Georgian mansion and were quietly ushered away in idling Lincoln Town Cars — it also revealed an embarrassing trend: several top-tier candidates said they weren't interested.

In January, Thomas R. Cech, head of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a Nobel prize winner, asked the search committee to remove him from consideration. The presidents of Columbia, Brown and Princeton all said they did not want the job.

career quotation

It's not necessarily about what career you pick. It's about how you do what you do.

Cory Doctorow, Someone Comes To Town, Someone Leaves Town, 2005
American science fiction writer

"The key to a happy and fulfilling future is knowing yourself. This self-knowledge is the most important component of finding the right career" Richard Nelson Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute (ISBN 1-58008-615-2).

"You can define the word 'career' in two ways - as a noun or as a verb. I recommend pursuing your career as a noun." Rowan Manahan, author of Where's My Oasis (ISBN 0-09-189998-2)

Very few of the great leaders ever get through their careers without failing, sometimes dramatically.

Philip Crosby, Reflections on Quality

The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.

Ben Stein

Tips for Writing Your College Essay

Even seemingly boring topics can be made into exceptional admissions essays with an innovative approach. In writing the essay you must bear in mind your two goals: to persuade the admissions officer that you are extremely worthy of admission and to make the admissions officer aware that you are more than a GPA and a standardized score, that you are a real-life, intriguing personality.

Unfortunately, there is no surefire step-by-step method to writing a good essay. EssayEdge editors will remake your essay into an awesome, memorable masterpiece, but every topic requires a different treatment since no two essays are alike. However, we have compiled the following list of tips that you should find useful while writing your admissions essay.

1. Answer the Question. You can follow the next 12 steps, but if you miss the question, you will not be admitted to any institution.
2. Be Original. Even seemingly boring essay topics can sound interesting if creatively approached. If writing about a gymnastics competition you trained for, do not start your essay: "I worked long hours for many weeks to train for XXX competition." Consider an opening like, "Every morning I awoke at 5:00 to sweat, tears, and blood as I trained on the uneven bars hoping to bring the state gymnastics trophy to my hometown."
3. Be Yourself. Admissions officers want to learn about you and your writing ability. Write about something meaningful and describe your feelings, not necessarily your actions. If you do this, your essay will be unique. Many people travel to foreign countries or win competitions, but your feelings during these events are unique to you. Unless a philosophy or societal problem has interested you intensely for years, stay away from grand themes that you have little personal experience with.
4. Don't "Thesaurize" your Composition. For some reason, students continue to think big words make good essays. Big words are fine, but only if they are used in the appropriate contexts with complex styles. Think Hemingway.
5. Use Imagery and Clear, Vivid Prose. If you are not adept with imagery, you can write an excellent essay without it, but it's not easy. The application essay lends itself to imagery since the entire essay requires your experiences as supporting details. Appeal to the five senses of the admissions officers.
6. Spend the Most Time on your Introduction. Expect admissions officers to spend 1-2 minutes reading your essay. You must use your introduction to grab their interest from the beginning. You might even consider completely changing your introduction after writing your body paragraphs.
   • Don't Summarize in your Introduction. Ask yourself why a reader would want to read your entire essay after reading your introduction. If you summarize, the admissions officer need not read the rest of your essay.
   • Create Mystery or Intrigue in your Introduction. It is not necessary or recommended that your first sentence give away the subject matter. Raise questions in the minds of the admissions officers to force them to read on. Appeal to their emotions to make them relate to your subject matter.
7. Body Paragraphs Must Relate to Introduction. Your introduction can be original, but cannot be silly. The paragraphs that follow must relate to your introduction.
8. Use Transition. Applicants continue to ignore transition to their own detriment. You must use transition within paragraphs and especially between paragraphs to preserve the logical flow of your essay. Transition is not limited to phrases like "as a result, in addition, while . . . , since . . . , etc." but includes repeating key words and progressing the idea. Transition provides the intellectual architecture to argument building.
9. Conclusions are Crucial. The conclusion is your last chance to persuade the reader or impress upon them your qualifications. In the conclusion, avoid summary since the essay is rather short to begin with; the reader should not need to be reminded of what you wrote 300 words before. Also do not use stock phrases like "in conclusion, in summary, to conclude, etc." You should consider the following conclusions:
   • Expand upon the broader implications of your discussion.
   • Consider linking your conclusion to your introduction to establish a sense of balance by reiterating introductory phrases.
   • Redefine a term used previously in your body paragraphs.
   • End with a famous quote that is relevant to your argument. Do not try to do this, as this approach is overdone. This should come naturally.
   • Frame your discussion within a larger context or show that your topic has widespread appeal.
   • Remember, your essay need not be so tidy that you can answer why your little sister died or why people starve in Africa; you are not writing a "sit-com," but should forge some attempt at closure.
10. Do Something Else. Spend a week or so away from your draft to decide if you still consider your topic and approach worthwhile.
11. Give your Draft to Others. Ask editors to read with these questions in mind:
    • What is the essay about?
    • Have I used active voice verbs wherever possible?
    • Is my sentence structure varied or do I use all long or all short sentences?
    • Do you detect any cliches?
    • Do I use transition appropriately?
    • Do I use imagery often and does this make the essay clearer and more vivid?
    • What's the best part of the essay?
    • What about the essay is memorable?
    • What's the worst part of the essay?
    • What parts of the essay need elaboration or are unclear?
    • What parts of the essay do not support your main argument or are immaterial to your case?
    • Is every single sentence crucial to the essay? This MUST be the case.
    • What does the essay reveal about your personality?
    • Could anyone else have written this essay?
    • How would you fill in the following blank based on the essay: "I want to accept you to this college because our college needs more ________."
12. Revise, Revise, Revise. You only are allowed so many words; use them wisely. If H.D. Thoreau couldn't write a good essay without revision, neither will you. Delete anything in the essay that does not relate to your main argument. Do you use transition? Are your introduction and conclusions more than summaries? Did you find every single grammatical error?
    • Allow for the evolution of your main topic. Do not assume your subject must remain fixed and that you can only tweak sentences.
    • Editing takes time. Consider reordering your supporting details, delete irrelevant sections, and make clear the broader implications of your experiences. Allow your more important arguments to come to the foreground. Take points that might only be implicit and make them explicit.
    • Have your Essay Professionally Edited. The application essay is too important not to spend $50 for its improvement. Editing houses like EssayEdge will significantly improve your essay's style, transition, voice, grammar, and tone; EssayEdge will also make content suggestions to ensure your essay is unique and memorable.
    • For more tips, click here.

For access to 100 free sample successful admissions essays, visit EssayEdge, the company The New York Times calls "the world's premier application essay editing service." You'll also find other great essay and editing resources (some free and some fee-based) at EssayEdge.

College Majors

The following are examples of the typical majors you might find at a comprehensive college or university.

Be sure to read our article, Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path.

So, what can you major in? You actually might find a lot more -- specialized and emerging majors -- so be sure to check your college's catalog or guide for a complete listing of majors, minors, and specialized degrees.

Business: Accounting, Advertising, Business Economics, E-commerce, Finance, Hospital and Health Care Administration, Hospitality Management, International Business, Management, Marketing, Operations Management, Real Estate

Computer Science: Database Management, Digital Arts, Networking, Programming, Software Development, Systems

Engineering: Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Petroleum Engineering

Humanities: Art, Communications, Counseling, Education, English, Foreign Languages (Italian, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, others), Literature, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Speech, Theatre

Music: Instrumental Performance, Music Education, Vocal Performance

Sciences: Astronomy, Astrophysics. Biology, Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry, Earth Science, Forestry, Genetics, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Zoology

Social Sciences: American Studies, Economics, Geography, History, Latin American Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology

Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

The most important piece of advice in this article follows this sentence, so please make note of it and repeat it to yourself as often as you need as you read this article and make decisions regarding choosing a major in college. Are you ready for it? The advice: Don't panic.

I know it's easier said than done, but I can't tell you how many students I have advised since the time that I have been a professor that seem in a state of panic if they are uncertain of their major, let alone a career. Choosing a major, thinking about a career, getting an education -– these are the things college is all about. Yes, there are some students who arrive on campus and know exactly their major and career ambitions, but the majority of students do not, thus there is no need to rush into a decision about your major as soon as you step on campus.

And guess what? A majority of students in all colleges and universities change their major at least once in their college careers; and many change their major several times over the course of their college career.

This article is all about giving you some pointers and direction -- some steps for you to take -- in your journey toward discovering that ideal career path for you. But it is a journey, so make sure you spend some time thinking about it before making a decision. And don't be discouraged if you still don't have a major the first time you take this journey...your goal should be narrowing your focus from all possible majors to a few areas that you can then explore in greater depth.

Please also keep in mind that many schools have double majors, some triple majors, and most minors as well as majors. Way back when I was an undergraduate at Syracuse University, I was a dual major in marketing and magazine journalism. Today I am a college professor and Webmaster of a top career resources Website...which brings me to the last piece of general advice before you begin your journey: your major in college is important for your first job after graduation, but studies show that most people will change careers -- yes, careers -- about four or five times over the course of their lives -– and no major exists that can prepare you for that!

The first stop on your journey should be an examination or self-assessment of your interests. What types of things excite you? What types of jobs or careers appeal to you? If you are not sure, start the process at Quintessential Careers: Career Assessment. Also, many, if not all, college career centers have a variety of self-tests you can take to help you answer some of these questions.

The second stop on your journey is an examination of your abilities. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What kind of skills do you have? You can begin this self-examination by looking at the courses you took in high school. What were your best subjects? Is there a pattern there? What kinds of extracurricular activities did you participate in while in high school? What kinds of things did you learn from part-time or summer jobs? While you can only do part of it now, you may want to skim through our article, Using a SWOT Analysis in Your Career Planning.

The third stop on your journey involves examining what you value in work. Examples of values include: helping society, working under pressure, group affiliation, stability, security, status, pacing, working alone or with groups, having a positive impact on others, and many others. Again, a visit to your college's career center should help. You can also check out our Workplace Values Assessment for Job-Seekers, which examines what you value in your job, your career, and your work.

The fourth stop on your journey is career exploration. The University of California at Berkeley offers Career Exploration Links – Occupations, which allows you to explore a general list of occupations or search for a specific occupation and provides links to resources that give you lots of information about the occupation(s) you choose. There are many schools that offer similar "what can I do with a major in…?" fact sheets or Websites, but one of my favorites is at Ashland University. You can also learn more about various occupations, including future trends, by searching the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. You can find all these resources -- and more -- at Quintessential Careers: Career Exploration Tools.

The fifth stop on your journey is the reality check. You need to honestly evaluate your options. Do you really value physicians and have an interest in being a doctor, but have little skills in science? Does your occupation require an advanced degree, but your future commitments preclude graduate study? Do you have a strong interest in the arts, but your family is convinced you will become a CPA like your father? There are often ways to get around some of the obstacles during the reality check, but it is still important to face these obstacles and be realistic about whether you can get around them.

The sixth and final stop on your journey is the task of narrowing your choices and focusing on choosing a major. Based on all your research and self-assessment of the first five stops on your journey, you should now have a better idea of the careers/majors you are not interested in pursuing as well as a handful of potential careers/majors that do interest you. What are the typical majors found at a comprehensive university? Visit Quintessential Careers: College Majors for a listing of the typical college majors.

What are some other resources for helping you get more information about a major and/or a career?

Take advantage of:

• Your college's course catalog -– you'll be amazed at the wealth of information you can find here…from required courses to specialized majors and tracks.
  
• Your professors, including your academic adviser -– talk with your professors, whether you have taken a class with them or not…many of them have worked in the field in which they teach and all are experts about careers and career opportunities.
  
• Your classmates, especially upperclassmen -– these are the folk who are deep into their major, perhaps already having had an internship or gone through job interviews...use them as a resource to gather more information.
  
• Your college's alumni -– unless your college was just founded, your school probably has a deep and varied group of alums, many of whom like to talk with current students…so use them as a resource to gather more information about careers.
  
• Your family and friends -– there's a wealth of information right at your fingertips. Next time you go home or call home, ask your family about majors and careers.
  
• Your college's career center -– almost always under-appreciated, these folk have such a wealth of information at their fingertips that it is a shame more students don't take advantage of them…and not just in your senior year –- start visiting in your first year because most have resources for choosing a major and a career, as well as internship and job placement information. Read more about this option by reading our article, It’s Never Too Early -- or Too Late -- to Visit Your College Career Office.

There are also a number of books that you may find useful, including:

How to Choose a College Major, by Linda Landis Andrews (VGM Career Horizons).
The College Board Guide to 150 Popular College Majors , by Renee Gernand (College Entrance Examination Board).
The College Majors Handbook: The Actual Jobs, Earnings, and Trends for Graduates of 60 College Majors, by Paul E. Harrington and Thomas F. Harrington (Jist Works).
Major Decisions: A Guide to College Majors , Richard A. Blumenthal and Joseph A. Despres (Wintergreen/Orchard House).
Major in Success: Make College Easier, Beat the System, and Get a Very Cool Job , Patrick Combs (Ten Speed Press).