Harvard Extension School Students Rally for Degree Name Change

[MNomadic]

Getting a degree studying "extension studies" is the sole reason I didn't even even consider trying for one of the technical HES masters degrees. I'm fine with HES. But knowing I'd have to explain to every single person that my extension studies "major" from the extension school was not some sort of general/liberal focus but actually focused on cybersecurity, data science, software engineering, or information systems wouldn't have been worth it in my mind. Extension Studies from an Extension School is redundant and unnecessarily degrading.

Who would you be doing all of this explaining to–every person? The whole thread is promoting a world that does not exist. Yes, there would be HR occasions or insecure colleagues trying to poke holes in your accomplishment; however, the narrative that someone stating they graduated from Harvard would return much more than appreciation is silly. I work with several colleagues who graduated from Yale with English and Theater degrees: one could feel a way about the difficulty of an English or Theater degree; however, I have seen several times when the response is very positive with zero devaluing statements. We tend to elevate our importance with all of this fear of what people will think. Heads up, most don't care about the details of your life, let alone your degree details.

If Harvard had not increased their tuition by so much, I would not hesitate to tackle one of the extension degrees.

Ok, so I exaggerated by saying, "every single person." Obviously friends and family and other informal situations I'd just casually say I studied subject xyz and I wouldn't be going out of my way to share my degree in most situations unless it was brought up. Since the main reason I would be getting a technical degree would be employment reasons I mean every potential employer, interviewer, or recruiter who saw my resume, LinkedIn profile, or application might overlook a candidate with what appears to be a non relevant field of study for the position (negating the reason for getting the degree), or raise questions about why I got a generic major. The second example is not an absolute deal breaker but it does partially negate the value-add of having a "prestigious" degree when I can get a less expensive degree that accurately identifies what I studied.

I'm not particularly concerned with colleagues' opinions on my degree unless they're the ones signing my paycheck or controlling my promotion.

I have no negative opinion on someone who studied English or theater and don't know why anyone would care about what someone studied as long as they're honest about it and qualified for the job. The issue is having a not accurate major listed. If a Yale grad had theater listed as their major but they actually studied CS, that could impact perceptions about their level of qualification(and therefore their hire-ability and promote-ability). Again, this is not an absolute deal breaker and can be cleared up with a conversation if given the opportunity(may not have the opportunity if their application is overlooked altogether without followup) but the value or ROI of their degree might be lower than if they'd gotten a degree title that accurately reflects what they actually studied.