November 11

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dailynebraskan.com

monday, november 11, 2013 volume 113, issue 053

Inside Coverage

Late-night chicken

National roll call

Students flock to Cane’s after hours

Volunteers to honor Nebraskans killed in action

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2

Quieting the Big House

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini smiles after his team won at Michigan, breaking the Wolverines’ 19-game home winning streak and holding them to -21 yards rushing. photo by morgan spiehs

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major dilemma The struggle to stay motivated while studying the unpopular and unprofitable LEAST POPULAR UNL MAJORS

MOST POPULAR UNL MAJORS

1 Diversified agricultural studies

1st

Business administration 1,130

1 Physics education

2nd

Psychology 725

1 Latin

3rd

Biological sciences 605

1 French education

4th

Mechanical engineering 583

1 Middle grades education

5th

Accounting 522

2 Microbiology

6th

Advertising & public relations 464

7th

Marketing 401

8th

Finance 400

9th

Nutrition, exercise & health science 399

10th

Computer science 268

2 Latin American studies

3 Business education/cooperative education 3 English/journalism & mass communications

* 1 student =

3 Great Plains studies program * 10 students =

3 Physical science

Popular majors retain appeal despite wages, job prospects Fields like psychology, early child development don’t promise jobs, but students choose them anyway zach fulciniti DN Back when David DiLillo was a student, he didn’t have to worry about things like low income and an oversaturated job market. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln clinical psychology professor received his bachelor of arts in history from Rhodes College in 1989 before taking a job at a psychiatric facility. The job confirmed his interest in psychology, and he decided to attend graduate school the same year. Eight years later he left Oklahoma State University with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. “I just always hoped and assumed that a career path would become clear,” said DiLillo, who specializes in the causes and consequences of family violence. “And when I completed my Ph.D., I was fortunate enough to have a few different opportunities to pursue different jobs that I liked — academic jobs.” The decision to pursue psychology is not so clear-cut for current undergraduates. If she pursues a career as a clinical psychologist, freshman Hannah Meuret will find herself in the career field with the

highest unemployment rate in the country — 19.5 percent, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. But Meuret says she developed a passion for psychology after her high school psychology class began looking into a case study involving a 4-year-old with behavioral problems. “They figured out that it was a psychological problem, and once it was addressed, the child’s behavior made a total 180,” she said. “It was really cool. I don’t think any kids choose to be bratty or difficult, and with the right guidance and therapy, they can become happier, self-controlled people.” Being the oldest of seven kids, Meuret’s personal experiences dealing with children have pushed her toward psychology with a minor in early childhood development. While she has not landed on a definite career path, she said she could see herself being a clinical psychologist, a child or family counselor or a social worker. “I have a lot of skill and experience in helping others talk through their thoughts and feelings,” she said. “I have even more experience with children.” Even though she isn’t concerned about whether she’ll be able to find a job when she graduates, recent data show that careers in psychology can vary wildly in terms of salary and employability. DiLillo says clinical psychology involves understanding and treating different behavioral and emotional problems experienced by adults and chil-

uncertain: see page 2

Uncommon majors offer a leg up for some students Although smaller programs struggle, students say focused fields help them stand out Colleen Fell DN Neil Dufford knows the path to his dream job won’t be easy. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln senior Russian major hopes to work in the national intelligence field one day, after interning for the government in Washington, D.C., this summer. But the senior says he didn’t have to attend a fancy spy school or become best friends with President Barack Obama to get a leg up on the competition. Instead, he found his footing with the resources offered by one of UNL’s least common majors. Dufford said he decided to major in Russian, which boasts about 17 students, when he came to the university on a college visit. He said he immediately clicked with the professors in the program and decided to sign up right away. A decade ago, the decision might not have been so simple. Professors were leaving, and the program’s existence was threatened. “We were vulnerable about eight to 10 years ago,” said Radha Balasubramanian, an associate Russian

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professor at UNL. At the time, the department was down from five professors to two, she said. Now, Balasubramanian said, the Russian program at UNL is stable. For other smaller majors, UNL officials say they do what they can to keep them in existence. Steven Thomas, chief adviser and associate professor of water science at UNL, said there has been discussion about how to improve the major, which hosted 16 people at the beginning of the fall semester. He said one of the biggest problems with the major is that not a lot of people know about it or what it is. Just a few years ago, fewer than 10 people were enrolled in the major, which deals in basic and applied sciences to water resources. Still, Thomas said, the program is growing. He isn’t worried about it being cut entirely. “After discussion, the department was not allowed to drop the major,” Thomas said. Even though the major is a big investment in faculty time, Thomas said, it is not necessarily a large investment in faculty pay. This is because professors such as Thomas receive about 20 percent of their pay for teaching and 80 percent for research. But even with a stable program, some students wonder if the payoff from less common majors, such as Russian, are worth the time and effort.

unpopular: see page 2


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