Irrelevant degree, what to do

[Calamari2013]

If someone has two bachelor's degrees but one is not only completely useless for the application but it can be potentially confusing regarding academic interests and research, do you think I could leave this degree out altogether and focus on the "relevant" degree instead?

[Lisa44201]

No. That's fraudulent.

[Calamari2013]

thanks! thought so but wanted to confirm...

[sunpenguin]

Yep, you have to disclose all your degrees, but in my SOPs, I don't talk about the fact that my UG is in an irrelevant field. Instead, I talk about my current interests and my two relevant master's degrees. So there's no reason to make a big deal out of trying to explain it away, or to assume the adcomm will be too concerned about it. A lot of people start out in one field at 18 and change their minds later about what they want to do in the long term, so it probably won't be that much of a concern to the profs reviewing your app as long as you can also demonstrate relevant interests.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I see it as more of a positive than anything. If one degree is relevant, the other just adds some character. The majority of people applying to field X have an undergrad degree in field Y. But if someone is applying who has a degree in Y and another in Z, I would think they would be more intriguing.

[Calamari2013]

Yep, you have to disclose all your degrees, but in my SOPs, I don't talk about the fact that my UG is in an irrelevant field. Instead, I talk about my current interests and my two relevant master's degrees. So there's no reason to make a big deal out of trying to explain it away, or to assume the adcomm will be too concerned about it. A lot of people start out in one field at 18 and change their minds later about what they want to do in the long term, so it probably won't be that much of a concern to the profs reviewing your app as long as you can also demonstrate relevant interests.

 

Thanks sunpenguin,

In fact my worry is that the adcomms will start questioning my commitment once they see the transcripts of my other degree. Just to be more clear, I first studied Japanese Studies and Sociology and even though I liked Sociology, I got to the point where I realised Japanese Studies was not for me. I did graduate though (with a very good GPA, ironically) but a couple of years later, I decided I wanted to study development economics which I did. This is what I also want to pursue further now. However, there is no way I can incorporate any information about my previous degree into my SOP and thus I fear it wont look too good to completely ignore my previous education. Not sure it makes any sense?

[Caylynn]

I guess it depends on the field and the program.  I've been told by some of the programs I'm applying to, for instance, to definitely address my career change in my statement of intent.  They will have all my transcripts, after all, so they will see that my first degree is in engineering, and that years later (and I mean many years) I returned to university to complete a second undergraduate degree in nutrition/dietetics.

 

I am applying for mostly professional programs, however, only one thesis-based (ie. research) program.  So it may be different for research-based masters and PhD programs.

[Calamari2013]

I guess it depends on the field and the program.  I've been told by some of the programs I'm applying to, for instance, to definitely address my career change in my statement of intent.  They will have all my transcripts, after all, so they will see that my first degree is in engineering, and that years later (and I mean many years) I returned to university to complete a second undergraduate degree in nutrition/dietetics.

 

I am applying for mostly professional programs, however, only one thesis-based (ie. research) program.  So it may be different for research-based masters and PhD programs.

Addressing a career change in an essay of 500 words is challenging for me as I would like to give priority to the more relevant aspects of my background. I am yet to decide on the best approach to this.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Addressing a career change in an essay of 500 words is challenging for me as I would like to give priority to the more relevant aspects of my background. I am yet to decide on the best approach to this.

But is it a "career change" or just a change in focus? Calynn got a degree in engineering, which requires extreme work and dedication, then graduated and had a career for "many, many" years, and then decided to go back to school for something completely different. In your case, did you just change majors? I would think that would be normal. Lots of people, especially young people, start college without knowing what they want to do. It takes them time to figure everything out. It's different when you've already been to college and you go back later in your adult life to pursue a specific degree.

 

I started off at a community college when I was 22, right after I got out of the military. I took care of all my gen ed classes at my community college and transferred to a university after I got my associate's degree. At the university, I didn't have a major and I enjoyed taking random classes, so I registered for the Interdisciplinary Studies: Arts & Humanities degree because it would allow me to take random classes in a minimum of three different fields. The three field I focused on were Philosophy, Linguistics and English. I ended up taking enough classes in philosophy and linguistics to minor in both of them. Then when it came close to time to graduate, I started thinking about grad school and I decided I didn't want to graduate with a "useless" interdisciplinary degree. I ended up making linguistics my second major, upgrading it from a minor. I was only a few classes short anyway. So 1.5 semesters later (summer and fall) I was ready to graduate again. I was gonna apply to master's program for linguistics. When I was looking into possible grad schools, I became interested in computational linguistics as a possible area of focus. Unfortunately, my school didn't offer anything of the sort, so I contacted a prospective grad program and they recommended I take a few classes in computer science and take some prereq math classes (calculus 1 and 2, discrete math, upper-division probability and statistics known as stochastic models). So I ended up staying in college for another year and a half (spring + summer + fall + spring + summer). I decided to minor in computer science also. Anyway, so now I have the final two weeks of this fall semester, this upcoming spring semester, and two more classes over the summer and I'll officially be done. It took me going to school full-time for six years and way more than the required amount of credits, but dammit I did it. I'll ended up having a double major (Linguistics and Interdisciplinary Studies: Arts & Humanities), a double minor (Computer Science and Philosophy), and, I forgot to mention, a teaching certification (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, a.k.a. TESOL). 

[NoSleepTilBreuckelen]

If you feel like you would have to drop more important information from your SoP to fit in the info about your change in interests, I think it's okay to leave it out and use that space to convince them you are passion about and dedicated to the field you are applying for. As others have said, they'll have your transcripts, so be ready for the topic to come up in an interview. Have a good explanation of why you had the interests you did and why they changed. Or tell them about a surprising connection between the two fields that they might not have realized - this could help you leverage your other degree as an asset. 

[Seeking]

You don't have to look at your Japanese Studies degree as "irrelevant."

 

Rather, you can see (and explain) it as your strength because it gives you insights into another culture that you can use to develop strategies in developmental economics at a later stage in your career. It helps all the more because you got a good GPA in it.

 

Sociology is of course, related to developmental economics.

Edited November 21, 2013 by Seeking

[Calamari2013]

thanks to all of you for your suggestions. They are extremely helpful.

 

some of my SOPs are more relaxed regarding the word limit and here I will attempt to build a bridge between my degrees, probably depict my first degree as a stepping stone to where I am today. As far as those 500-word SOPs are concerned, most likely I will have to leave such info out and focus instead on my passion for what I am planning to accomplish in my grad school.

[danieleWrites]

The thing about your Japanese Studies degree is that it sets you apart from others coming at the program with one degree, particularly since your relevant degree is in sociology, not economics, and the sociological approach to economics is different. If you can slip in a sentence or a phrase that can relate something (a course, a paper, an event, a theory, a referent) from your Japanese Studies degree to economics, you can show more depth and value. Even if you have little interest in pursuing international economics.

 

Example: In the Wallerstinean sense, Japan has yet to make it into the first world because it lacks a strong manufacturing base. Though, Japan's nearly unrivaled cultural industry focused my attention on how small businesses in the US use cultural capital to generate consumer interest. I'm interested in analyzing the use of cultural icons in product development schemes.

 

Of course, I'm pretty much clueless on the field of economics and have no idea what you're into. However, you can make it relevant if you think it can help you stand out in whatever your passion is.

[juilletmercredi]

You were a double-major.  You don't have to explain anything.  One of your majors was in the field that you intend to study.

 

If it is actually related to what you want to study - like if you want to study economics in Japan or developed countries or whatever - then talk about it.  If it is not related at all (which I suspect it is not since development economics usually has to do with Global South countries) then just don't discuss it, and focus on the things you've done that make you really competitive for grad school.  It's not a big deal, especially if you are several years out of undergrad.

[Calamari2013]

 

You were a double-major.  You don't have to explain anything.  One of your majors was in the field that you intend to study.

 

If it is actually related to what you want to study - like if you want to study economics in Japan or developed countries or whatever - then talk about it.  If it is not related at all (which I suspect it is not since development economics usually has to do with Global South countries) then just don't discuss it, and focus on the things you've done that make you really competitive for grad school.  It's not a big deal, especially if you are several years out of undergrad.

 

Thanks for that!

At the time I enrolled in Japanese Studies I had no idea that 5 years down the road I would become interested in economic development. You are right, Japan would not be a focus of my research/study in grad school, however, in sociology I did attend a class in market sociology and another in development studies (less economics, more women's rights and child labour from a social angle). I did very well in those and so I believe I could successfully incorporate these into my SOP.  Phew, I feel slightly relieved now! )