ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

This study purports to explore the structural features of inter-departmental convergence by examining the dual degree network emerging from a collection of university students’ choices of minor fields. In so doing, the paper used GOMS data (2019) and applied social network analysis, investigating the macro-structure of the dual degree network, sub-structure of intra- and inter-college ties, and the roles and positions each department occupies in the network. The dual degree network is found to be scale-free, with the strong segregation between core and periphery, which results from overlaps of cohesive triadic relations among a few core departments and relatively sparse network among peripheral departments. In addition, the blockmodeling reveals that departments can be grouped into nine blocks with five different network roles (independent, circular, distributor, linking, and reservoir), suggesting that departments can perform at least three different roles in knowledge convergence in universities; core platform, brokering convergence, short-distance convergence. Implications are discussed and future research is suggested: how structural features of the department an individual student selects for minor such as centrality, ego-homophily, and major-minor distance can affect students’ labor market performance and career development.

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