Written by:
Joseph Seydl

The Demise of the Undergraduate Business Major?

According to a Freshman Survey conducted by The Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, the percentage of college freshmen planning to major in business is at its lowest level since the mid-1970s. The data in this survey—pooled from over 40,000 college freshman across approximately 700 different colleges and universities—indicates that fewer students see a major/career in business as a means of achieving financial success post-college.

Perhaps due to the economic hardships brought about by the recent financial crisis, from 2008 to 2009, the percentage of college freshman planning to major in business fell from 16.8% to 14.4%. Moreover, the percentage of students who reported that they intend to pursue a career in business post-college dropped as well from 14.1% in 2008 to 12.1% in 2009, an all-time low dating back to 1976—the previous low was in 2003, when 13.8% reported that they intended to pursue a career in business.

According to Linda DeAngelo, co-author of the Freshman Survey and assistant director of research at HERI, the attrition in prospective undergraduate business majors could be a result of the criticism taken on at the business executive level (particularly within the financial services industry) of late. Paradoxically, however, DeAngelo also notes that, at the academic major level, interest in finance remained unaltered in 2008, whereas interest in accounting and business management declined the most.

A great abundance of college major decisions are indeed a function of job market expectations, but only time will tell whether the recent financial crisis has a lasting effect on the perception of business majors/careers among students, or whether this data represents, well, just a short-term blip.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.