CASE AGAINST TECHNICAL SPECIALIZATION IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION 167 The Case Against Technical Specialization in Undergraduate Education: Accounting as a Case in Point of an Interdisciplinary Debate

Until recently, educators were able to cope with disciplinary knowledge growth by adding technical content to the undergraduate curriculum. However, curricula have now been diluted to the point that higher education is being criticized for providing inadequate technical training in major disciplines as well as inadequate general education. Providing further technical specialization at the undergraduate level is not the best solution to this problem; such a move will only exacerbate existing perceptions that current university graduates are not wellrounded individuals. A better approach would be to de-emphasize technical content at the undergraduate level, and provide necessary technical specialization in the form of graduate or professional education. This article examines this issue from the perspective of one discipline, accounting, as a possible model for other disciplines.