Despite common stereotypes, student athletes at UNC have been found to choose many of the same majors as their non-athlete peers.
But some majors — especially education and those related to health — notably fail to attract student athletes.
A report presented at the faculty athletics committee meeting Tuesday showed that athletes are not shying away from competitive majors, committee member Joy Renner said.
The top five majors among student athletes are exercise and sport science, communication, business, journalism and management and society, said Robert Mercer, director of academic support for student athletes.
Three out of those five majors — exercise and sport science, journalism and business — are also among the most popular for the general student body.
In response to fears that fewer athletes are studying health professions and education, the faculty athletics committee has established two task forces to make these majors more appealing to athletes.
Dana Gelin, associate director of athletic communications, spoke about a new program, Athletes in Medicine, that she hopes will provide help to athletes who want to go to medical school.
The program will assign each participant a medical student who participated in athletics as an undergraduate to serve as a mentor. It will also pair participants with a physician who can provide opportunities for shadowing and research.
Athletes might be steering clear of education majors because they think scheduling student teaching will be difficult with practices, said Deborah Eaker-Rich, assistant dean of the School of Education.
