Universities should require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student'sfield of study .Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with theclaim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure

Academic disciplines are increasingly becoming multi-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary in nature. This makes obtaining information of various fields important for holistic understanding of a field of study. Thus, universities should encourage students to take a variety of courses outside the student's field of study. However, such recommendations should not be made mandatory or forced on the students.

Firstly, obtaining information on variety of courses outside one's field of study helps students gain valuable knowledge and better understand the emerging horizons of one's field. For example, a student of economics who has knowledge of mathematics can in fact better understand his discipline . Moreover, a knowledge of psychology can infact widen the scope of application of his study of economics. The phenomenon of "Behavioural Economics" which integrates knowledge of economics with behavioural psychology presents new insights into how people do not actually make rational decisions as previously assumed. This has recently been highlighted the World Bank report of 2015.

Secondly, knowledge of variety of subjects significantly increases the chances of student getting a lucrative job opportunities in his own field. For example, in the field of software engineering it is necessary that one needs to apply the software knowledge in various application oriented domains like capital markets or bio-medicine. A software engineer who has previous knowledge of capital markets can have more chances of getting a job from a company that provides consultancy services in the financial domain.

On the other hand, any decision to take variety of courses should be left to the student himself and should not be forced. Not every student gets education to make pioneering contributions in one's field. Some of them may be interested in securing livelihood only . A civil engineer may not require the knowledge of psychology or english literature to succeed in his profession . Furthermore, any compulsory requirement can create unnecessary stress on students who are not inclined and effect their performance in core fields of interest. So, the decision to pursue or not pursue other courses should be left to students rather than being forced down their throats despite some benefits.

To sum up, in light of the growing multi-disciplinary nature of studies and benefits in the form of holistic knowledge and scope for lucrative employment opportunities, it is important universities encourage students to take up variety of courses. Yet, universities should be wary of not forcing them on students or making them requirements to graduate.