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Ashoka believes in expanding possibilities through education, not delimiting interest by defining academics within familiar frameworks of convention. Ideas are put to practice in the way academics are designed. At Ashoka, we are expected to declare our majors and minors only at the end of our second year, that is, after four semesters of rigorous coursework. Unlike most public universities, there are no stipulated combinations. Students go on to pursue traditionally bizarre major-minor pathways. For instance, we have Biology majors pursuing minors in English or Sociology, apart from the more conventional combinations like Computer Science and Mathematics, English and Creative Writing, and so on.

This flexibility is also visible when students have to commit to studying a single discipline. Majors at Ashoka are not fetters. Declaring one鈥檚 major at Ashoka does not obligate them to see it through, should they wish to switch, or try courses from a different discipline that catches their fancy. Majors need to be declared only at the end of one鈥檚 second year, giving students adequate time to explore their options and make an informed decision. Students often switch over to their minors as their majors and vice versa. Even after four semesters, there is always enough time to complete both major and minor requirements. 

Every student鈥檚 academic journey at Ashoka is highly personalised. In a sea of options, no two students at Ashoka ever have identical trajectories. Even within the same major, no two students would have taken the same courses. Except for some core courses and survey courses that all majors must take, everybody is free to choose from a wide range of electives. While core courses are foundational in launching into a major, electives are specialised courses, concentrating on a specific slice of the Professor鈥檚 area of research. While core courses are necessary for conceptual grounding, electives allow students to identify their strengths and weaknesses and narrow in on their interests. 

Besides, students with the same major might have different minors, and some departments also allow for interdisciplinary majors. Students also get to take two co-curricular courses of their choice. Unlike in public universities, these courses need not align with majors, but are only meant for recreation and learning. 

An ode to our major, the fourth-year thesis, is the culmination of all the exploration that a student does in their initial years at Ashoka. In their final year, students get to undertake a year-long research project on a matter of interest from their majors under a faculty advisor. The advisor is usually somebody whose area of expertise aligns with the student鈥檚 area of interest, and with whom the student would have taken some courses. The thesis is typically a 15,000-word-long academic essay written across the seventh and eighth semesters, with preliminary research beginning at the end of the sixth semester. Students are encouraged to conduct original, primary research, situate themselves within existing research, and propose and defend their argument. The thesis goes through multiple rounds of feedback with the advisor and, finally, thesis writers need to defend their theses before a panel of peers and professors. The thesis remains an invaluable document, testifying inquiry, dedication and consistency years after we graduate. On a practical note, the prospectus for one鈥檚 thesis also doubles as a writing sample for students applying to graduate school. 

Majors at Ashoka do not mean closure, but aperture. A major is not meant to restrict one鈥檚 academic choices, but to expand those. Part of the degree also consists of free credits, against which we get to do courses of our choosing. These need not be major or minor courses, but from any department, and are only meant to further a student鈥檚 learning. 

Majors have their way of melding into our blood – the way we think, read, write, speak, and just exist. We love to be defined by our majors. 

鈥� Written by Srishti Choudhury, English Major, 51茶馆