Photo by: Jen Windsor
UC San Diego announced yesterday that it is declaring its “Undeclared” major impacted due to record enrollment and unprecedented demand for the major. This comes after an influx of incoming freshman listed as Undeclared on TritonLink failed to change their major, deciding that this major given to them by the UCSD admissions office was better than their initial choice.
Data provided by the University shows that the high demand for the major was initially caused by applicants to highly popular majors, such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Classical Studies, being admitted as Undeclared due to space constraints. Even those who are admitted to these majors have experienced serious repercussions, including students being forced out of the Computer Science Building due to exceeding fire marshall-mandated room capacities and Electrical Engineering students having to share Arduinos in groups of four instead of two.
However, the data indicates that the high number of students in Undeclared has caused others to switch to it intentionally, perceiving it to be a valuable field of study. Experts refer to this as “The Venus Effect,” named after the planet that “everyone always talks about” but that “no real scientist gives a shit about.”
“I am just so glad I got into Undeclared — Social Sciences,” freshman Lillian Thompson proclaimed to one the baristas in MOM. “I’ve heard that the department here at UCSD is one of the most popular and highest-rated in the UC System. I just hope that I can keep up with the heavy course load to earn such an esteemed degree.”
Thompson added that she was confident that the degree would be impressive on graduate school applications since it shows “that I’m confident enough in myself to dedicate four years to something I’m still completely undecided on.”
The flood of students to Undeclared sparked the registrar’s attention, and consequently the University sent a campus-wide email announcing the change. Unsurprisingly, most undergraduate students did not actually read said email and requests to switch to Undeclared were still being seen on TritonLink, despite the unavailability of the major due to its impacted status.
The school has yet to decide the prerequisite classes for switching into Undeclared after enrollment, but many students are eagerly awaiting the announcement so they can prepare appropriately.
In response to its popularity, the university has started a new department to cater to the high number of Undeclared students. This will include a new department chair who, due to budget restraints, will be replacing the chair of the Educational Studies department and assuming that role as well.
The school also plans on hiring professors to teach classes with the new “UND” departmental code. Planned course offerings include “Choices in Modern Society,” “Ambivalence and the Self,” and “Household Economics 101.”
Written by: Elizabeth O’Neil and Andrew Deneris
