College Subcultures

Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz identified some distinctive subcultures among college students. Her four ideal types of subculture that came out of her analysis were: the collegiate subculture, the academic subculture, the vocational subculture, and the nonconformist subculture. (Schaefer) Many students fall under one of these categories, however it is hard to define a student by using just one subculture.

The first subculture is collegiate. The collegiate is defined as focusing on having fun and socializing. These students define what constitutes a "reasonable" amount of academic work. Members of the collegiate subculture have little commitment to academic pursuits. (Schaefer) It is hard to stay that any one college student is not a part of the collegiate subculture. Just like any environment, there is a social aspect, and everybody wants to make a few friends. And it is hard to say that no college student because sidetracked from their work and instead wants to hang out with their friends. It is just a common part of college.

The second subculture is academic, which identifies with the intellectual concerns of the faculty and values knowledge to its own sake. (Schaefer) These students are really involved with their school work and usually hold a good relationship with their professors. However, many students in college can be labeled as being in the academic subculture because students like to be on good grounds with their professors and value knowledge.

The third subculture is vocational. A vocational subculture is interested primarily in career prospects and views college as a means of obtaining the acadmeic degree essential for advancement.(Schaefer) Just about every student falls under the academic subculture. Students advance on to college because they want to get a higher degree. The main reason for coming to college is to get a degree and advance to bigger and better things.

The final subculture is nonconformist. The nonconformists are hostile to the college environment and seek out ideas that may or may not relate to college studies. Members may find outlets for their thinking through campus publications or issue-oriented groups. (Schaefer) Every once in a while students lean toward the nonconformists subculture because they want to get away from the fast pace life of college. Who doesn't want time to breathe and be by themselves for a little bit?

All in all, I do not think a student can fall under just one of Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz's subculture. It is almost impossible for one to completely be involved in only one. Human's personality are so complex that they have many different personalities and attitudes at different times. Therefore, many students at college are a combination of these four subcultures.