According to the Technician, NC State’s student newspaper, the university will stop offering majors in Africana Studies and women’s and gender studies this fall. The programs will be consolidated into the interdisciplinary studies major.

The change is long overdue. Both programs graduate fewer than ten students each year, which the Pope Center has suggested should be the cut-off for program consolidation. The UNC system, as a whole, supports too many niche programs. Instead, schools should specialize (i.e. NCSU in engineering, UNC-Chapel Hill in journalism) instead of duplicating efforts across 16 campuses.

Moreover, students who major in niche fields find it hard to compete for jobs and make notoriously low wages. One NC State senior is quoted in the article, saying, “The job market in Africana studies is hard already…” Yes, it is, which is why fewer of our UNC schools should offer such majors.

Kudos to Dean Jeff Braden for recognizing this opportunity to streamline the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Deans across the system should follow his lead.