As college students realize the dismal job opportunities that await after graduation during the recession, they are diversifying their studies in hopes to prepare themselves for future job opportunities.

A recent New York Times article reported that business is the most popular undergraduate major, with twice as many bachelor’s degrees awarded than in any other field of study.

As a result, majors requiring higher education, such as sciences and liberal arts, have decreased.

“Now more than ever, because of the recession, people want to know how to survive,” said Bruce Burch, director of the Terry College Music Business Certificate Program.

From 2004 to 2009, pre-business majors at the University rose from 21.3 percent to 27.1 percent, whereas students planning to earn a Bachelors of Science and Art degree dropped by about 4 percent, said Garnett Stokes, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

And to keep students competitive in all fields, the University has integrated aspects of business knowledge into many of its other majors.

For those with a passion for the music industry, the Terry College of Business has collaborated with the Hodgson School of Music to offer the Music Business Certificate Program. The program trains students in business, marketing, public relations and promotions.

“With the Internet and iTunes, you can put your own music up now – you don’t have to be in the record stores anymore” Burch said.

For several years, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication has offered publication management, the study of business management coupled with newspaper strategy.

Although essentially a journalism degree, students are required to take business classes in economics, accounting, marketing, statistics and management.

“Most people aspire to someday move into management,” said Conrad Fink, professor of journalism. “They can get a journalism degree, along with other dimensions, which is valuable for people that want to jump into the media.”

But even with business incorporated into the curriculum, enrollment has been dropping.

“In the last 20 years, young people see Wall Street making money … and careers of engagement – community involvement and helping the downtrodden – have declined,” Fink said. “They go for the money . the SUVs and beach houses . I don’t know if that’s going to change.”

Fink said the change in attitude is with the students, not the University.

“I think the University would love to stick with liberal arts, but the demand in business is growing enormously,” he said. “It’s more a society trend, not an education [trend].”

Associate professor of chemistry, Wesley Allen, voiced a similar opinion.

“We can’t blame the students,” Allen said. “This is a societal issue and should be looked at collectively – shallow values, poor education and bad government policies.”

By the 1960s, America’s scientific enterprise was one of the best in the world.

“If we took the amount of money we pay in interest for federal debt in one month and put that into scientific research, we could have a transformative effect,” Allen said. “I have visited various national laboratories and there are empty laboratories in these facilities. The government is no longer funding these laboratories.”

According to a 2005 report published by organizations from industry and academia – including Google, IBM and Microsoft – the ratio of undergraduate degrees in natural sciences and engineering in the U.S. is nearly six for every 100 people.

In 2000, Asian universities accounted for about 1.2 million degrees in the sciences and engineering, whereas American universities accounted for about 500,000 degrees.

“I think we have been spoiled as a materialistic society,” Allen said. “People tend to get messages that their success is amounted to the amount of money they make.”

But universities are still expected to educate the nation’s future leaders, even during times of economic hardship.

“It is essential that universities maintain a strong core curriculum as part of all undergraduate degree programs,” Stokes said. “The core curriculum at UGA assures us that our students, regardless of major, will receive a well rounded education, including significant study in the arts, humanities and various science fields.”