Universities should require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student's field of study.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position

Students should take courses outside of their field of study for the simple reason that these courses expose the students to alternate fields and broadens their outlook. It engenders a new kind of thinking and hence I would agree with the recommendation.

In the present day, problems of the world cannot be solved solely by one field. It often involves coming together of experts from various fields of study and solving the problem jointly. For example, the field of medicine, relies not only on doctors and surgeons but also the various medical equipment designed by engineers outside of the field of medicine. The engineers must keep in mind the medical usability of their equipment and the doctors must have a general idea of how the device functions and its applications. Hence, I feel it is necessary for a person to have certain prior knowledge on fields apart from his major field of study. It is thus possible to approach the problem at hand from different views and perspectives if one has been exposed to other fields of study.

However, people might think that it could be pointless in taking a course which they are unlikely to use in the future. But this does not mean it is completely useless. Steve Jobs, when in college, had taken a course on calligraphy. At that point, it would not have been of much importance to him. However, many years later, when the Macintosh was being designed, the course helped him add a feature to the Macintosh which supported multiple type faces or fonts. This might not have happened had he not stepped into that calligraphy class many years ago. The multiple type faces feature of the Macintosh was one of the striking features of a computer of that era. We might never know when something we have learnt, but ignored, would end up playing a crucial role in our careers. This is a classic example of how exposure to an alternate field of study yielded if not immediate, but long term benefits.

Thus, taking alternate courses broadens a person's scope of vision and leads to more insightful approaches into solving the world's problems. Hence I feel they play a crucial role in the overall development of an individual.