Universities Should Require Every Student to Take a Variety of Courses Outside the Student's Field of Study.

The statement asserts that every college students should take various courses other than his or her specific field of study. Supporters may claim that interdisciplinary education would help students gain a comprehensive world view and integrated knowledge so that they can be truly enlightened and educated. On the other hand, others may be concerned about the problem that taking irrelevant courses in universities prevent students to become an expert in their own academic area.

From my point of view, a university's primary goal is to prepare physically and intellectually adequate students. I concede that the best way to achieve this goal is to require students to take different courses as the statement claims. In Korea, it is compulsory for every freshmen and sophomore student to take a certain amount of credits in a variety of disciplines regardless of one's major. For example, some universities require students to take physical class, such as swimming and skiing, so that students can keep good health, relieve stress and participate more actively in their study as well as school activities. In addition, many universities require students to take second language classes and cultural English class so that they can be more globally prepared for their future career. Such requirements ensure that all students receive a complete education which can in turn enhance their own field of study.

Another reason in favor of the statement is that significant advances in some disciplines require knowledge from various fields. Many areas of studies ask students to obtain interdisciplinary education so that they can integrate all the knowledge necessary for becoming a true expert. For instance, ones who study speech pathology should learn biology and anatomy for understanding how speech is produced by human beings as well as basic language disorders. In addition, they also need to learn human beings' developmental process from birth to death in order to   provide exact diagnosis...