By Kayla Niemandt
Faculty stereotypes continue to shape how students perceive one another, including their personalities, study habits and career prospects. Die Matie spoke to students and deans from Stellenbosch University (SU) to explore the origins of these perceptions, their impact and whether they reflect reality.
Unchallenged assumptions
Nicola Reyneke, a first-year BA (Humanities) student, said the origin of these stereotypes may stem from a lack of exposure. “I think most degree stereotypes come from students not really knowing what happens in other faculties. Students tend to spend most of their time within their own faculties, residences and social circles, which means many assumptions go unchallenged,” said Reyneke.
Navarna Davids, a first-year BCom (Management Sciences) student, said students sometimes conform to social identification. “Once people are in university, they start grouping themselves and joking about each other’s workload, intelligence or personality. These jokes can harden into stereotypes over time,” she said.
Stereotypes offer “a simple way of categorising people, even though they often overlook the complexity of individuals and their experiences,” said Reyneke.
Davids said it can be seen as a case of confirmation bias. “People tend to notice examples that support what they already believe, which keeps the stereotypes going even when they aren’t accurate,” she said.
Faculties and their opinions
Prof. Vasti Roodt, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said “I think one of the misconceptions is that this is an ‘easy degree’, which is simply false.”
“This includes developing multiple skills that will make you a sought after employee in multiple careers, both that exist and do not exist yet,” Roodt added.
Meanwhile, Sarah Stewart, a second-year BA (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) student said she “has heard the classic ‘BA-manvang’ far too many times,” which according to Roodt remains “one horrendous combination of prejudices.”
On the other hand, Engineering students have long been branded “the smart alecks” who “don’t have a big dose of social graces”, said Prof. Wikus van Niekerk, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, before adding, “In some senses, Engineering is a very cruel degree to study, right? We don’t all have the same talents and the same traits, and what makes a good student in Political Science doesn’t necessarily make a good student in Engineering. But I think everyone has their place and everyone has their value.”
Flipping the script, Prof. Bertie Fielding, Dean of the Faculty of Science, said, “I think we have turned nerd into a badge of honour. The nerds have shown that they kind of run the world.”
However, this excitement isn’t echoed in every faculty. “I would change the reputation of Commerce and Economics degrees, so they’re seen as more than just ‘money-focused’ or ‘easy theory degrees’,” said Davids.
Looking back over time, Prof. Reggie Nel, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, said the faculty is still shaking off its image as the “angel factory”.
“People think Theology is a field of study where we just sit and do Bible study. You aren’t allowed to come here with flaws or questions about life; you have to be perfect. But we actually step into that ethical swamp and grapple with it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prof. Oscar Koopman, Vice-Dean of Teaching and Learning from the Faculty of Education, said, “When I was at school, there was prestige in being a teacher. Over time, that has faded, and our faculty has come to be seen as the ‘dumping ground’ for students who could not get into other faculties. But the faculty of education is the most vibrant space at this university.”
‘Hierarchy of prestige’
While faculty stereotypes are often brushed off as harmless jokes, students say they can influence how different degrees are valued on campus.
“My degree always gets met with the question, ‘What are you going to do with that?’ and the overall assumption that any arts degree is useless,” said Stewart.
Roodt said that people attach prestige to degrees for which we can form a very clear mental picture. However, people struggle to do this with a degree in the Arts and Social Sciences and this makes them wrongly assume that students then don’t do anything. “The answer is actually the other way around. We do so many things that you can’t form a clear picture,” Roodt added.
She then said that “the kinds of skills” and “higher order cognitive demands” of the FASS programs are what truly make them demanding.
Students also point to a hierarchy of prestige. “In many student cultures, degrees like Medicine, Engineering, Law, and sometimes Actuarial Science are seen as ‘high prestige’ because they are competitive to enter and have heavy workloads,” said Davids.
“I think stereotypes about degrees, more specifically why some degrees are looked down upon, stems from the actual difficulty of the degree. It is easy to feel salty or to devalue other degrees when you study a degree that has a larger workload and that is considered more difficult than others. I have seen this in the Engineering faculty,” said Lana McGregor, a first-year BEng (Chemical Engineering) student.
Combatting stereotypes
So, how can students overcome these stereotypes?
Step one: Identify the common goal. “It does not make things easier, but it makes things more focused. If you look at all of the challenges that we face as a society, they will only be answered if we work together,” said Fielding.
Step two: Find power in being different. “We all look at the world through different lenses, but there is no right or wrong one. We have to view university as an environment where our strength is that we are all unique,” said Nel. “In the end, what is true is that we are all just human beings. We have the same struggles, the same insecurities, the same challenges all around campus,” said Van Niekerk.
Step three: Acknowledge and celebrate different skill sets. “By creating more opportunities for students from different faculties to engage with one another, it would help people appreciate the value of different disciplines,” said Reyneke.
Step four: See the person, not the stereotype. As Roodt said: “The idea that just because you happen to do a certain degree automatically means that you will be more successful, is unfounded. Ultimately, it’s always going to come down to the individual student. We are here to learn from the store of human knowledge and hopefully also contribute to it.”
Fielding said, “It is also not about the degree. Of course, the degree is important and the prestige behind the degree, but it’s my dream that when students leave here it is not just to go find a job, but it is to ask the question: How am I going to make an impact out there? I think that’s equally as important as the degree.”
