CHASS: Surviving NC State

When I walk on the Centennial campus, I see the wealth invested in the buildings. The same cannot be said for Main Campus. Main Campus is home to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) students. Centennial Campus is home to almost all of the engineering departments. The financial gap between the two sides of campus is not only seen in the buildings; it is so much bigger than the buildings. It’s also visible in the number of resources that the CHASS department has compared to the engineering departments. 

As an international studies and communications major, I am in the CHASS department. Although my department does a great job of providing its students with resources, they are underfunded. During the school year, I was searching for a journalism internship. I went to my communications advisor. She directed me to a couple of resources, but her knowledge was limited. I reached out to other people, but they also provided me with the same resources. At that point, there was no one else to reach out to. I had exhausted all my resources. 

I understand that NC State is a STEM school. I was well aware that I was coming to a school geared towards people interested in engineering and math. The problem is that the College of Engineering gets more resources than the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The problem is that NC State University does not provide enough money and resources for its students in CHASS to excel in their field. 

As a CHASS student, I often have to find out about internship opportunities from sources outside of NC State. I don’t have enough people in my specific department that can help me find internships. I don’t have enough faculty or staff to guide me along my career. I have no problem finding an internship on my own, but I should not have to. I should feel supported in my major. As of right now, I don’t feel that I am supported. Other CHASS students share these same sentiments. I often hear other humanities and social science college students complain about not feeling supported.

The difference between the resources in the College of Engineering compared to CHASS are stark. Over the summer, I got accepted into a research program. This program was housed in the College of Engineering. I spoke to my CHASS advisor about the program and the stipend we were receiving. Before I mentioned the amount of money I was receiving, my advisor jokingly said my program had to be in the College of Engineering ‘cause no other NC State department has that kind of money. Even some of CHASS faculty know their department is underfunded. 

NC State University’s CHASS department is not bad. It has some of the most intelligent and caring faculty members I have ever met. Nevertheless, the department needs more money. As a CHASS student, I need more paid internships and opportunities. I need more places where I can go and find internships. I should not have to contact people outside of NC State University to learn about CHASS-related opportunities. 

CHASS is a growing department at NC State. This college is supposed to provide students with the connections and knowledge they need to excel in their future careers. The faculty are doing their best, but there is only so much support they can provide. It is up to NC State to provide the humanities and social science college with enough funding to support their students. If NC State provided enough funding and resources, students would not feel the need to complain. Students would not see the difference in the amount of money invested in buildings on each campus. At the end of the day, NC State University is not providing enough financial support to CHASS students. They can do better. They simply have not done it yet.