University students always focus on one specific subject, but some
people think that universities should encourage their students to study a wide range of subjects in addition to their own subject. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Higher education affords many people an approach to improve skills
and expand knowledge. One topic of discussion is whether it is necessary to study a number of subjects or one subject only. When deciding the number of subjects to learn, one should consider both his/her personal interests and employers’ requirements. Common sense tells us that one is able to acquire more skills or knowledge if he/she enrolls for a variety of courses. For example, if an accounting student is familiar with marketing and human resource management, he/she is well-informed about how accounting affects these aspects of a company’s operation and vice versa. Nowadays, it is increasingly evident that those who possess knowledge in different fields have a competitive advantage over those who are conversant with one subject only. It is also worth emphasizing that many university students are so young that they do not have a clear concept of their career paths. Therefore, the decision to dabble in different subjects is reasonable, as it allows students to discover their career interests gradually. The main advantage of focusing on one area of specialty is that students can concentrate their efforts on a specific area of interest and seek to become professionals. This point of view is particularly valuable in those subjects that require learners’ commitment for many years, such as medicine, law and engineering. Because of time constraints, students need to accept a compromise between width and depth of knowledge. If an employer has a vacancy for an accounting clerk, whether or not job applicants studied art is not a matter of importance. Needless to say, students can pursue some subjects as their hobbies, instead of studying them at university, unless they have extra energy and time to spare. By discussing these factors, we can come to the conclusion that students can be encouraged to study different subjects so they can adapt to a competitive workplace. It is certain that students can decide on the number of subjects with their career interests and personal needs taken into account. [337]