It’s about time to find out who the slackers are – are there really some majors that require more study or where students simply feel the need to study more? If so, what are they?
I did some research on this topic because I spend a great deal of time reading for class, so it’s only natural to wonder which fields study the most and, just for fun, which fields study the least.
According the the Huffington Post, there are a number of college majors who study the most, but the most and the least are pretty obvious.
The idea is to get an understanding for challenging careers versus careers that aren’t as challenging. Also, it helps to know that certain college degrees may not be quite as difficult to obtain as others.
It was interesting because the major that studies the least really kind of surprised me, what with so much to know. Then again, maybe those students majoring in that field are already somewhat knowledgeable and only need the degree and to hone their knowledge.
I know that studying is more difficult and more tedious and time-consuming when you either have never worked in the field, studied in the field, or are just faced with a lot of new information that you feel you need to know and know well.
This actually began as a research project for study tips, but that’s such a commonly written about topic, I wanted to do something a little different, something with numbers and a study.
Don’t ask me why I’m so fascinated with numbers and studies today. It’s an interesting mood to be in.
Okay, so what are some of the majors that study the most? I’ll start with the median ones and list the one with the highest study time per week and the lowest per week last.
This study, The National Survey on Student Engagement, recently released a rated list of which majors study the most and which ones study the least. This will be interesting to know in conjunction with which majors have the highest unemployment rates, a topic I plan to cover in a future blog.
The interesting part about this is that some fields you would expect a lot of studying to take place in are in fact on the lower end of the study spectrum.
Education
With an average of 15 hours per week spent studying, Education majors still have time for other things as well as their studies. I suppose this is a good thing when you think about it; they want to teach, not be inundated with information. Isn’t teaching more of a psychological thing, too? I mean, to teach you have to understand what you’re teaching as well as how the students learn the best, right?
Meanwhile, some of the majors you would expect to have less study requirements actually require quite a few hours per week.
Arts & Humanities
Arts & Humanities majors study an average of 17 hours per week. Whew! This is the category I fall into, but am only attending college online part-time. I still read a LOT, though… I guess there’s a lot to know about arts and humanities, then, isn’t there?
So, which fields study more than these?
Physical Sciences
This major has one of the highest numbers of average study times, coming in at 18 hours per week. If I were studying science, I would probably have to spend twice that amount of time – the technical and scientific world is somewhat beyond me. But kudos to these awesome students who dedicate so much time to studying!
The major that studies the most is….
Engineering
With a whopping 19 hours a week of study time, these guys turn their studying into a part-time job. Unfortunately, they’ve still got to find a balance of studying and actually doing homework – allegedly, Engineering majors are more likely than any other field to NOT finish their homework.
So, who are the slackers of the group?
This surprised me a little bit, but I guess that’s just how it is. Maybe students have an easier time grasping the materials for these majors?
Social Sciences and Business majors study the least, the average weekly study time coming in for both of these at 14 hours per week. I always thought a business administrator had to know a lot of different things, including business law, taxes, and all manner of other business-related stuff… how do these guys do it?
However they do, it’s less study time than Engineering, that’s for sure! I wonder if business students get all of their homework done though? You would think they have more time for it if they aren’t studying 19 hours a week. They have 5 extra hours to do their homework in.
Whatever the case may be, we’ll have to see how the unemployment rate looks for these fields if they’re listed. The most unemployable majors?
You also have to wonder how many different majors aren’t included in these studies.
Now we know who works the hardest and which degrees are apparently more strenuous than others – that’s not to say one is superior to another, but certainly some courses require more in-depth studying than others.