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What good is a 4-year degree if you have to waste a year and a half of it on indoctrination and socialization?

Then get rid of the indoctrination and socialization aspects, not the general ed requirements. A UNIVERSITY education is supposed to be about more than just your major. It is supposed to expose the student to a host of different ideas and a breadth of knowledge, not just a particular subject.

If you want to learn only one thing, go to a trade school, a vo-tech school, or your local community college.

I agree with you completely, IronJack. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but the core curriculum at my alma mater prepared me for my life outside of school as well as my accounting degree did.

One of the most important classes I ever took was a philosophy class my senior year. 12 of the 14 students in my class were theology or philosophy majors, most who entered the priesthood.

I had to spend 3-4 hours outside of class for every hour in class, just to keep up. I'm as proud of that B as any A I've ever gotten.

BTW, I had the same accounting professor for over 30 semester hours. Ever heard of an accounting professor who never used numbers? He taught strictly accounting theory.

I thought I was clear that while there were some proper “cross training” subjects and electives, many universities are puffing their majors with required or required elective “crap” courses, often to cynically increase tuition, and/or to get kickbacks from those who make student loans.

Culture and Identity
Queer Musicology
Ufology
The Sociology of Miley Cyrus: Race, Class, Gender, and Media
How to Win a Beauty Pageant
What If Harry Potter Is Real?
Zombies in Popular Media
Medieval Mystics of Europe
The Joys of Garbage
Vampire Studies
Vampires: The Evolution of a Sexy Monster
History of Beyonce
Power Walking
Critical Theory & Social Justice
Demystifying the Hipster
Transgender and Race
Looking At Animals
Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music
Invented Languages: Klingon and Beyond
Rainbow Cowboys (and Girls): Gender, Race, Class, and Sexuality in Westerns
Maple Syrup Tasting
Queering God: Feminist and Queer Theology
Queering the Bible
How to Watch TV
Homophobia in the U.S. Society in the New Millennium
Gendered Politics of Food
Feminist Research Methods
Are We Still Fabulous?: Queer Identity in Contemporary Drama
Radical Sexuality: Of Color, Wildness and Fabulosity
Globalizing Gender and Sexuality

Truly, if someone thinks these classes are useful, fine. Just don’t use taxpayer money or student loans to pay for them.