Linfield College like other private liberal arts institutions places an emphasize on taking a wide variety classes no matter what a student decides to major in.

As the media and STEM initiative are placing a greater importance on science based degrees, Linfield remains confident in providing the best well-rounded education for its students.

By the numbers reported on the annual Fact Book from the college for 2013, the number of majors in the sciences has stayed relatively the same throughout the past nine years.

The same can be said for the number of majors in the English, history, philosophy and sociology/anthropology departments.

Vice president of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Susan Agre-Kippenhan said, “Linfield is committed to providing the best education for its students.”

When the college looks to hire a new professor the competition for that position is extremely high.

“We look for professors that can teach not just major’s in their department but also all of the students that are completing a Linfield Curriculum credit through their class,” Agre-Kippenhan said.

The college has been able to add four endowed positions which allows the college to hire more professors.

The science departments are important to the success of Linfield students because of the number of nursing majors that have to take principles of biology and general chemistry as well as additional science classes to complete the nursing major.

The college is interested in building a new science building possibly in 2018 because, “Science is always changing and our facilities need to be able provide the best environment for students,” Agre-Kippenhan said.

“Linfield wants to create literate students across all fields,”Agre-Kippenhan said.

The college is continually trying to accommodate student interest. An example of this is the addition of the biochemistry major.

The way Linfield’s academic programs are set up allow students to double major in a wide variety of majors.

One third of students participate in athletics at Linfield. Over half of the students at Linfield major in a pre-professional field.

Agre-Kippenhan said, “Students often major in fields that people they know have completed or because it was something they knew they were interested in before they came to Linfield.”

“It takes a great base experience and professor in a class for a student to choose a different major than what they had originally planned,” Agre-Kippenhan said.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics 15 percent of students at Linfield complete a STEM related major compared to 20 percent at Willamette University and 29 percent at Whitman College.

Other local private institutions were included in the bar graph.

“These statistics help us see where Linfield is at compared to similar colleges and universities that provide some of the same resources. These statistics don’t really worry us … they give us an idea of what students are interested in pursuing at Linfield,” Agre-Kippenhan said.

The college uses the Linfield Curriculum as well as the Program for Liberal Arts and Civic Engagement to promote the liberal arts and to make sure students are educated in a wide variety of fields.

As the media influence on which major will make a student most financially secure after college, Linfield remains an institution that prepares students to proceed into any field they choose because of their liberal arts education.