‘Gilmore Girls’: What Would Rory Gilmore’s Major Have Been If She Was a Real Person?

Rory Gilmore had her life plotted out before she was old enough to take the SATs. The studious Rory intended to go to Harvard University and study journalism. Her goal, at least when she was a young teen, was to be just like Chistiane Amanpour. Eventually, she decides to attend Yale University instead, and all seems mostly right in her world. Even with the school change, Rory retained her original goals. There is one major problem, though. Journalism is not offered as a major at Yale. So, if Rory were a real person, what would she have studied? She would have had a few options.

Yale University doesn’t offer journalism as a major and neither does Harvard

If Rory had journalistic aspirations, neither Harvard nor Yale were the best options for her. In fact, neither school offers an undergraduate degree in journalism, nor do they offer a concentration or minor in the subject. Harvard, does, however, offer a graduate program in journalism. Yale, on the other hand, does not.

Yale believes that students with journalistic aspirations are better served with a broader, liberal-arts education. Those interested in journalism, however, do have the chance to strut their stuff. The Yale Daily News, the newspaper that Rory worked on, is a real thing, and it’s just as competitive as its shown in Gilmore Girls.

Majoring in journalism isn’t the only way to crack into the field

While many students who wish to write for newspapers and magazines focus their coursework on journalism-centric classes, that’s not the only way to achieve the dream.  In fact, journalists can crack into the business through any number of majors.

People with journalism aspirations can study everything from communications to English to get a background that would lead them to a reporting career. Yale, for example, offers majors in English, political science, and public health. All could be utilized to work in journalism, depending on the topic one is interested in writing on, note several sources.

Rory noted that she was studying English

While Rory’s aspirations were purely journalistic during the majority of the show’s run, she does note, in the seventh season, that she was studying English. A degree in English, combined with her time on the paper, would likely be a solid stepping stone into journalism.

When fans catch back up with Rory in the revival, A Year in the Life, her career as a journalist has yet to take off. She, apparently, had a few hits, but nothing seems to have landed her in a long-term position. Many fans were disappointed to find Rory seemingly lost during the revival, but when all is said and done, she apparently had a plan. A book about her and her mother’s life was in the works, and that seems to fit much better with Rory’s persona. Her degree in English could be helpful in her new career path, too.