Western graduate Casey Ohms said he could not find a specific major at Western he wanted to pursue and almost dropped out. It is because of the general studies department that he did not.

Ohms said he was aware of the stereotypes surrounding the major but he did not agree with them.

Western students, as well as faculty members, have stereotyped the general studies major as a “default” major, saying it is for students who cannot get into another department, said Western general studies adviser Karen Stout.

But Stout said that stereotype only applies to a small number of general studies students at Western.

She said when she asks students why they want to major in general studies, about a third of the time she is told that it is because the student could not get into their desired major.

“There is perception and then there is reality,” Stout said. “The perception is that students who have a general studies major did not have good enough grades to get into another department; the reality is that is not usually the case.”

She said students often choose to major in general studies because they do not want to commit to a specific major.

It is similar to a self-designed major where students can touch on several subjects they find interesting, Stout said.

Stout said she had a student who was interested in environmental studies, gender and race issues and dance. With a general studies major she was able to combine all of these interests into one major.

Stout said she also gets a lot of students who are coming back to college after something life-changing has happened to them.

“Students are sometimes on track for a major and then life happens,” Stout said. “They get pregnant, a parent dies, they get really sick, or something similar that takes them away from school for an extended period of time.”

Stout said when these students return to school, they are most interested in finishing. She said the general studies department allows them to do that.

Ohms said he took classes in a lot of different departments, and met a wide variety of students and teachers along the way.

“Every class I took had new students and teachers I had to adapt to,” Ohms said. “And being able to adapt is a good skill in itself.”

Ohms said he is now working on a 112-foot yacht in Florida as the first mate where he gets to travel all over the world. He said having a degree has been important, but the fact that it is a general studies degree has made no difference.

Ohms’ father, Dan Ohms, is a senior at Western majoring in general studies. He said he first went to college in 1971 but then decided to work for the fire department. After 32 years he decided to return to Western to get a degree and the necessary prerequisites to enroll in the physician-assistant masters program at the University of Washington.

Dan Ohms said the general studies major gave him the freedom to choose the classes he thought would support what he wanted to do instead of being locked into a major.

He said it is too bad students view the general studies major in a negative way.

“I have a high GPA and I study very seriously,” Dan Ohms said. “I think the title is just misleading, they should have called it interdisciplinary studies.”

He said a lot of general studies students have unique combinations of interests that they think would go best with what they want to do with their lives. In a lot of ways it takes more creativity to come up with your own plan than to do a predetermined major, he said.

Dan Ohms said he thinks a degree in general studies will help him and other students succeed because it is important to be a well-rounded student, and that is what general studies provides. General studies students are able to get a broad education with upper-division classes, he said.

Stout said like any major, it is what you make of it.

“It is not so much about the degree as it is what you do with it,” Stout said. “And that is the same for business majors, communication majors, general studies majors or any other kind of major.”

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