Find out more about your favorite varsity team, athletes
If you’re a Gee-Gees fan, you’re probably caught up with how your favorite teams are doing, and if your favorite player scored last week. But what else do you know about your University of Ottawa student athletes? For instance, what are they studying?
Keep reading to find out the most common major among varsity athletes, what range of programs are covered, and how many of your Gees are doing their Master’s degrees and PhDs.
All of the data has been taken from the roster pages of the most recent U of O varsity team in that sport.
The Majors
Among the U of O’s varsity teams, no more than 67 different majors are accounted for by 373 students (those with double majors have been counted twice to make sure all programs are given fair values). There is a wide range of disciplines, from mathematics and physics, to music, to human kinetics. There are also varsity athletes doing their Master’s and PhDs, though the majority are in their undergrad, or are special students, a term which will be explained further on in this article.
All in all, the most common major is criminology, in which 39 varsity athletes are enrolled. These athletes come mostly from Football, Swimming, and Women’s Hockey.
A close second is human kinetics, where 35 varsity athletes are enrolled. Every single team has at least one student enrolled in human kinetics, with Track and Field/ Cross Country (which is grouped as one team on the Gee-Gees site), Rugby, and Football having the most.
The third most commonly listed program is actually not a major at all, but what the Gee-Gees site terms “general studies.” According to Néomie Duval, media relations manager at the U of O, the term is synonymous with “special student,” someone who is enrolled at the university and takes classes but is not tied to a specific program. There are 30 students with general studies listed as their program, most of whom are on the Football team.
Some of the other common programs among varsity athletes include communications (22 students), general social sciences (21 students), psychology (16 students), and biomedical science (15).
There are also 13 varsity athletes enrolled in Master’s programs across eight disciplines, including human kinetics, music, and chemistry. There is also one varsity athlete doing a PhD, one pursuing a Juris Doctor, and two in medical school.
The Teams
So, what about the teams? Do you know what most of the players on your favorite teams are studying?
For Women’s Basketball, the most common major is biomedical science, followed by criminology. On the Men’s team, general social sciences is the most common, with criminology and communications in second.
On the Football team, general studies and criminology are by far the most common, at 19 and 18 students apiece, which together make up just over a third of the student athletes on the team.
For Women’s Hockey, the most common major is criminology, followed by health sciences and education. For Men’s Hockey, the most common majors are economics and general studies.
Varsity athletes on the U of O Rugby team are most likely to study human kinetics, followed by psychology. Human kinetics is also the most common major on the varsity Soccer team, along with psychology.
The Volleyball team is more widely distributed, but psychology is the most common major. Track and Field/ Cross Country’s most common program is human kinetics, and the most common program for the Swim team is biomedical science, followed by communications.
