The academic course requirements for graduation at Brandeis are often a source of frustration for students. It isn't unusual to hear someone exclaim that they are taking a course for the sole purpose of fulfilling a requirement or two. Although requirements may seem to some like bureaucratic orders to regulate a student's academic life, they are actually incredibly vital to the college education Brandeis hopes to provide to each of its students.

Requirements encourage students to study unusual subjects that they may not normally consider, which is important in broadening students' knowledge and thus exposes them to new subjects that they may not wbe inclined to pursue. Therefore, exempting students who have declared their majors from certain course requirements is ill-considered. The purpose of the liberal arts education that students receive at Brandeis is to create a diverse and well-rounded student body.

As one professor once described to me, students should be able to go out into the world upon graduating and be able to maintain a basic discussion on subjects such as literature, government, science and art with a respectable degree of knowledge.

This type of skill holds both professional and social value. Professionally, having a diverse academic background could be beneficial when seeking employment. For example, in most career fields, it is useful to have a basic knowledge of economics to understand the reasons behind changes in an industry's revenues and costs. At Brandeis, many students fulfill the quantitative reasoning requirement with "Introduction to Economics."

Foreign language proficiency is also relevant to any career because the ability to communicate with people from different backgrounds can expand business opportunities and enhance professional communication with individuals who don't speak English. Socially, a diverse academic background allows individuals to hold intellectual conversations about varying topics.

Even if the specific material within these classes isn't relevant to a student's career choice, the skills gained in that class definitely can be. Students studying literature learn about close reading and writing styles, which in turn develop their analytical and persuasive writing skills. Science majors gain aptitude in investigation and methodology, which translates into sound problem-solving skills through real-world experimentation.

University requirements force students to take courses in a variety of disciplines, giving them exposure to these different types of critical learning tools. Other requirements, such as non-Western and foreign language requirements, invite students to gain knowledge of other cultures, which is an increasingly valuable skill as the world becomes more interconnected. Both requirements are educationally noteworthy because they broaden students' appreciation for differing cultural practices, but they also have professional relevance, especially to the medical practice.

I know that many of the pre-med students at Brandeis despise the non-Western and foreign language requirements, but it is important for physicians to have an appreciation and understanding of differing cultural practices, especially in order to know what medical practices may not be adaptable to a patient's beliefs.

With regard to foreign language, it's significantly better for any professional to be able to speak directly to their client than to depend on a translator. Being able to communicate in a client's native language is especially pertinent when trying to develop emotional connections with him or her.

Speaking from my personal experience working in a suburban emergency room, physicians always looked pathetic when they had to call over a Hispanic nurse because they couldn't explain anything more complex to a Spanish-speaking patient than "sangre en la caca."

Most importantly, exempting students from requirements that they consider irrelevant upon declaring a major will prevent them from exploring potential academic interests that they may not have previously considered. Prof. Greg Petsko (BCHM) clearly explains the importance of requirements in a brilliant letter to President George Philip of State University at New York Albany regarding the closing of several humanities departments there. In the letter, Petsko describes that "young people haven't, for the most part, yet attained the wisdom to have that kind of freedom," referring to unlimited academic opportunities. Many students enter Brandeis believing that they know exactly what they want to study and design their schedules accordingly.

However, the science student might discover a new passion in Art History, or the Politics student might uncover an interest in foreign languages.

Even if students were to take these required courses later on in their academic career, they will ideally have gained the basic tools to continue learning about the material independently.

University requirements, at their best, force students to try new subjects that they otherwise would not. These new subjects then contribute skills and knowledge to a student's intellectual repertoire, which serve them well both socially and professionally.

It would be a grave threat to a student's education if he or she could elect to ignore certain academic requirements.

They may be frustrating in the short term but, if utilized properly, can be incredibly valuable in the future.