In an age of highly specialized college degree programs, the trend toward tradition is continuing this semester at West Virginia University.

WVUs Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, the home of traditional offerings in math, English, history and the hard sciences, will close out the fall semester with 6,576 new majorsup 263 from last year.

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology shows Eberlys largest increase, with 81 new majors this fall. Seventy-two majors were declared in biology, and history and English picked up 61 and 50 new majors, respectively.

Its gratifying to see how many students want to have the arts and sciences experience,interim Dean Rudolph Almasy said.

Eberly gained nearly 1,000 students from 1999-2003, and a big reason for that, Almasy said, is because of the Colleges comprehensive offerings that take in a mix of tradition and trends.

Lawrence Nichols, interim chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, agreed, and said hisstudent-centered departmenttrains people to find light in dark days of personal and political uncertainty.

We deal with the some of the most urgent issues of the day,Dr. Nichols said.We look at cross cultural understanding, social conflict, social justice and economic justice. Theres also a great deal of interest in homeland security and crime. We all feel touched.

A well-rounded foundation for learning is what biology chair Jonathan Cumming says his department can providewith its extensive offerings in biotechnology, genetics, forensics and environmental biology.

All of these will be important fields for science in the 21st century,Dr. Cumming said.

And a biology degree, he said, is still a good springboard to medical school.

History chair Robert Blobaum said the best way to understand world affairs is to have a good sense of the history behind the headlines.

I believe our students are seeing the relevance of history to understanding the turbulent times in which they live,Dr. Blobaum said. Senior history major Nicolette Wilhide put her own 21st spin on the old adage about history repeating itself when societies dont learn from their mistakes.

The most important aspect of the study of history,she said,is that many conflicts can be mitigated or avoided altogether if different cultures truly understand and respect one another.

The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is the largest of WVU s 13 schools and colleges, offering 50 degree programs and four certificate programs. More than 300 faculty members teach courses in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.