Before the 1800s, there was no such thing as a college major. Back then, all students were expected to take courses in all topics. A college degree meant you were very well-educated in all the “liberal arts”: writing, philosophy, music, math, astronomy, and more. By the mid-1800s, however, there was simply too much information available for that to be a reasonable expectation anymore. So, the idea of “majoring” was developed. Instead of trying to learn about everything, a student could choose a subject, study it deeply, and become a specialist.
