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“Hopefully, a Bryn Mawr education provides more than this: the ability to think critically about the world and its inhabitants, to interpret and navigate all kinds of information, and to express complex ideas clearly and persuasively.” – Anonymous Participant

In general, when asked what skills would be necessary to function in the world today, most participants replied that basic comprehensive skills of math, reading, writing, sciences and communication skills were important. Other skills mentioned were knowledge of technology, a broad and flexible education, and a specific area of intellectual focus. The above quote was an interesting point by one of our participants that we were not expecting.

“For one, I wouldn't mind having somebody who has no more than 5 students to attend to, since my dean is competent but does not know who I am when she is not looking at my file.” – Anonymous Participant

We found a general trend when asking about whether rather than/in addition to deans and major advisors, course advisors would be beneficial to students. The trend was that most were against the idea, saying it would be “redundant” and overwhelming for students.  While the quoted participant was in the minority in her opinion, the statement offers a perspective that we feel should be considered.

“The requirements made me take some courses that I would never have taken if I did not have to fulfill that subject. This introduction to new fields allows me to broaden my knowledge in different subjects that might benefit me in the future. As stated previously, I think having a general and basic understanding of math serves as an important foundation for the real world (and that is one of the requirements) and the humanities provide students with opportunities to improve their writing skills which would also seem to be quite important. Beyond this, the requirements make students mix with different students that they might not have had the opportunity to meet and this allows interactions to occur and differences of opinions to be shared. Also, this hopefully makes one appreciate the passions and interests others have.” – Anonymous Participant

We found that people’s responses vary for this question. Many of them considered that the requirements would benefit them in the future, while others simply gave negative answers. However, almost all of them agreed that the requirements introduce them to those fields that are outside their specialties.  Many people mentioned that the quantitative requirements, language requirements and intensive writing class would help a lot in the future. Some of the participants also mentioned that having a wide range of knowledge opens up different future careers.

 Graph 1

Graph 1 Analysis

Most people disagreed with our statement that the existences of individual departments (i.e. language department) do not benefit a broad education that is inclusive of different subjects. This implies that the departments at least are not a specific/visible obstacle to Bryn Mawr students’ educations.

Graph 2

Graph 2 Analysis

Most people agreed with the statement do you think the current college curriculum applies to its current mission statement. This suggests that most believe the mission statement is being followed through with the college’s current curriculum and their own experiences.

Graph 3

Graph 3 Analysis

Most people disagreed with the statement that the current amounts of requirements in the curriculum handicap a student’s choice to explore new subjects, especially upper-class women. This indicates that the existence of divisional requirements actually helps students to explore new fields and broaden their knowledge.