July 30, 2012

College Too Easy? UCLA Makes It Tougher

College Too Easy? UCLA Makes It Tougher 1

David Ahntholz for The Chronicle

Taylor Vickery, a senior neuroscience major, answers questions about his presentation of his capstone project at the U. of California at Los Angeles.

By Dan Berrett

Los Angeles

During a review of undergraduate programs at the University of California at Los Angeles, Judith L. Smith was struck by an uncomfortable realization: Too many majors demanded too little from students.

Some students could graduate without ever taking a senior seminar or completing a substantial research project. The result, says Ms. Smith, vice provost for undergraduate education, is that students could "be pedestrians and walk through the major."

Just as UCLA had done when it