As an undergraduate studying computer science, I almost exclusively took courses in engineering, math, and science. Logistically, this is not unexpected; I had to fulfill the requirements of my major in order to get a bachelor’s degree. But what also influenced this decision was the messaging from the department, and the stated motivations of most students I met who studied CS: my goal should be to learn the technical skills required of an industry software engineer. It wasn’t until I graduated that I reflected more deeply on what my academic experience could have been, if only I had more intention behind my attending university in the first place.
My current view on the role of a university aligns well with that of of Robert Maynard Hutchins, former president of the University of Chicago from 1929-1951. In a historic speech to graduates of the class of 1929, Hutchins espoused several important ideas about the role of education generally and universities in particular, in cultivating better human beings and citizens. His stance on education is summarized well by two quotes from that speech:
It is that the purpose of higher education is to unsettle the minds of young men, to widen their horizons, to inflame their intellects. And by this series of mixed metaphors I mean to assert that education is not to teach men facts, theories, or laws; it is not to reform them, or amuse them, or to make them expert technicians in any field; it is to teach them to think, to think straight, if possible; but to think always for themselves.
and
For the purpose of universities is not to provide some thousands of young people with a pleasant vacation from their families and agreeable postponement of the business of earning a living. To the universities the nation looks for men and women who have trained minds and know how to use them; men and women who know how to think and are willing to do it.
If I had to do my undergraduate over, I may very well major in computer science again. But I certainly would not allow CS or CS-related coursework to comprise more than 30-40% of my curriculum. A reasonable goal for someone wanting to attend university, in my view, is to become a dynamic, well-rounded, and thoughtful thinker — none of these traits can be developed by exclusively studying one discipline. A multidisciplinary approach to learning should be at the core of every institution that purports to call itself a university. (In fact, Hutchins’ legacy lives on in UChicago’s Core Curriculum, which originated in the late 1920s and 1930s during Hutchins’ tenure as president.)
Particularly with the staggering pace of change in the science and technology enterprise today, it is vital that scientists and technologists be well-equipped to analyze problems through lenses beyond the technical. And these individuals may only hope to do so with robust liberal arts training; the type of which universities can and should specialize in.