It seems NIU’s reputation of being a “teacher’s school” is threatened by the ever-growing popularity of majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

According to the findings of Institutional Research, an undecided major in LA&S is the most-popular choice for undergraduates this school year.

Frederick Kitterle, dean at the College of LA&S, said the popularity may be because of the flexibility of the major.

“We’re getting a lot more students, in part because there are a lot of opportunities, and a lot more directions students can go,” he said.

The numbers, however, may be misleading.

NIU Vice Provost Robert Wheeler said LA&S is the largest department at the university, and when a student is undecided, he or she is signed into the “undecided LA&S” category for advising purposes.

“We have huge numbers of students who are undecided when they walk through the door,” he said. “When you take gen-eds, you get exposed to fields of study you’ve never explored before.”

In the past, undecided LA&S, art, teacher’s education and accountancy all have ranked as top major choices. The numbers have shifted over the past five years, but these majors have remained at the top, and still are popular at NIU.

There are 18,115 undergraduates at NIU this year – with 1,312 of those as undecided majors. Wheeler said undecided students will have to choose a major, and once they do, it tends to be within LA&S.

Overall, the College of LA&S contains the most students, followed by the College of Business and the College of Education.

Freshman undecided major Adam Cox said he chose the department because he’s not interested in math.

“I didn’t know what I wanted my major to be when I entered college,” he said.

Wheeler said he thinks students may want to consider a major in chemistry or physics.

“These programs have magnificent facilities in Faraday Hall,” he said. “There are certainly good, rewarding jobs out there in the scientific sector.”

Kitterle added that the LA&S program has an excellent job-placement rate.

“A number [of alumni] have told us they believe the preparation for entering the world of work has been very good, regardless of what the major is,” he said.