Majors in arts favorites at UNLV

Jennifer Knight

Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2001 | 10:18 a.m.

A slowing economy seems to be good for business at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but students are embarking on a different course.

The hottest majors at UNLV this semester fall within the scope of fine arts and liberal arts.

Architecture, film, liberal arts and psychology top the list of majors posting the biggest increases, college deans at UNLV said.

Traditionally popular majors, such as education and health care services, are attracting fewer students, said Ray Alden, UNLV's provost.

In the fall of 1999, 2,020 students were majoring in education. That number dropped to 1,969 students during the fall of 2000. Alden said majors in the field have increased about 2 percent this year. A total of 512 students were enrolled as nursing majors in fall of 1999, and 537 the following year.

"Those two are flat simply because of the pipeline and recruiting issues," Alden said. "If we could just encourage people to go into those areas we'd all be better off."

Enrollment at UNLV this year rose to 23,843, an increase of about 1,500 students over fall 2000, university officials said.

The increase in enrollment comes as no surprise to UNLV officials. A nationwide surge in college attendance often occurs when jobs are more scarce, said Keith Schwer, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV.

"The higher the unemployment rate, the more (employment) opportunities are reduced," Schwer said. "When you're laid off from a job, it's a foregone conclusion that you are going to search for fields that have greater opportunity."

Advances in computer technology have popularized fields such as film-making and architecture. This, coupled with the need for more architects in Las Vegas -- a result of the areas' rapid growth -- and the lower cost of producing films, make both majors more accessible, said Jeff Koep, dean of the College of Fine Arts at UNLV.

"The No. 1 export of the United States is film, so it's not surprising that film has become a hot major," Koep said.

Only 41 UNLV students majored in film five years ago. In the fall of 2000, 192 students were majoring in film, according to statistics from UNLV's Institutional Analysis division. By fall 2001 the number of students taking film as a major is expected to increase more than a 19 percent over the previous year, officials say.

The same holds true for those majoring in liberal arts. Over the past three years, those declaring liberal arts majors increased by about 100 per year.

"Liberal arts produces a great deal of skills that can be used in a number of ways," said James Frey, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

The demand for majors within the College of Fine Arts, when compared to fall 2000, rose 19.8 percent in the fall of 2001. Undergraduate enrollment for the College of Liberal Arts increased 10 percent during the same period.

The rising interest for fields such as architecture, film and other creative industries, Koep said, is because Las Vegas is beginning to mature into a center for commerce and art.

"I think we're sort of blooming as a result of technology, but I also think there is a blooming in Las Vegas in terms of what the arts are and what they mean to our society."

Computer science majors, which remain popular despite recent struggles in the high-tech industry, increased by 8 percent this fall.

"We're on a 30-year growth spurt, and there's no sign that will end," said Hel Berghel, chair of the computer science department. If unemployment continues to increase during the coming year, Schwer said, enrollment at colleges nationwide will likely continue to increase, as well.

And classrooms will continue to fill with students.

"If you don't get there early, you pretty much won't have a seat," said Jamaal Brimmer, a 19-year-old sophomore whose Anthropology 102 class is at capacity.

"That's true. People were sitting in the aisles and on the floors the first week," Frey said. "You try to match up class capacity and room sizes the best you can."

UNLV is attempting to handle the load by placing more students in one classroom, hiring doctoral candidates to teach entry-level classes and using part-time faculty to handle demand in specific areas, Frey said.