Number of business students climbs, journalism drops as recession recedes

Breona Darr decided in middle school to be a writer.

Now a University of Iowa sophomore majoring in English, she remains upbeat about her dream, even as the economy rides the downward slope of a major recession.

“I think you have to be pretty focused,” said Darr, who is also majoring in French to diversify her skills and possibly land a teaching job in French literature.

The recession has led to thousands of layoffs and dicey job prospects. Are college students changing their career plans because of it? Are any college majors recession-proof?

English remains the fifth-most popular major at the UI, on the rise in 2009 with 779 students. Perhaps not surprisingly, a business major is at the top, with 2,274 UI students, up more than 100 students from 2008.

“Lots want to get into fixing problems within the last few years,” said Lon Moeller, associate dean of undergraduate programs at the UI Tippie College of Business.

Moeller said the constant rise in business students stems from the career-focused aspect of the degree.

The rising numbers have senior Dave Rainey, a finance and entrepreneurial management major, a bit worried about job prospects. So he's considering his own business.

“You can really take from what's going on in the real world and see how things are changing in businesses,” he said.

On the flip side, the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication accepted all 83 students who applied - an all-time low for the selective school, coming at a time when newspapers across the country struggle with declining advertising support and circulation.

“Everybody has to be flexible,” said Director David Perlmutter. “Everybody has to reinvent themselves. Everybody has to be invaluable.”

Though the numbers aren't what they used to be, Perlmutter said the basics of writing, ethics and investigating are skills fit for an array of jobs.

UI freshman and journalism major Marleen Linares said that when she told her parents her plans, they were skeptical. She's a little scared but can't see herself doing anything else.

“Hopefully, I get a job, and if not, I'll take it from there,” she said.

At Iowa State, the Greenlee School of Journalism's numbers are down, too - about a dozen students from last year.

Engineering, though, one of the most popular majors at ISU, is continually on the rise - with about 5,000 undergraduate students, far above the UI's 1,412. The UI numbers also are rising, about 50 students per year.

“It's a solid sort of fundamental education,” said Jonathan Wickert, ISU dean of engineering. He said the program's connections with industries from health care to energy makes it a broad discipline to enter.

At the University of Northern Iowa, education-related majors sore above the rest, with more than 2,400 students.

The numbers have actually dropped by more than 150 students since 2005, but Melissa Heston, UNI's interim director of teacher education, said teaching will always remain a popular field because of the fulfillment students receive from being a role model.

At the UI, elementary education - the most popular education major - has not made the top 10 majors since 2005. It continually makes ISU's top 10 majors list, though, and has 579 students this year, up about 70 students from last year.

“There are always jobs in teaching,” Heston said, adding students may have to be more flexible now about location.

One major remaining constant at UNI while significantly dropping at the UI is communication studies, which is down 180 students since last year. History and nursing also have dropped off the UI's top 10 list in the past two years.

The Interdepartmental Studies program, however, where students can create their own major, is up 84 students in one year. David Gould, academic coordinator of the program, said tailoring a degree to highly specific skills and diverse fields could make students more marketable.

Regardless of degree, Gould said students who are most innovative with interdisciplinary knowledge will be the ones most desired by employers in the 21st century.