Economic Opportunity and the Meaning of Major for College Students

Abstract

While education seems to be required of American citizenship, not all aspects of education are. Many individuals choose to obtain a specific degree of education which leads to college where they face yet another challenge of what they will choose as a specification of study. This challenge creates a point of variation as different people choose certain majors with respect to their personal views. This thesis addressed the meaning involved with a person’s choice of major and how that varies when subjected to certain factors. I conducted in-depth interviews with two specific college parties, regular students and student-athletes. These interviews reveal the variation that students experience with respect to their distinctive background exposures. Through this research, there was the discovery of how variation can affect a child but also the effects that a university can create on a student. Through these findings, I attempt to explain their relevance to sociology.