Double Major: whose considering it or done it?

[dereksurfs]

Hello,

 

Our son has so many varied interests in STEM that he's having a difficult time picking just one major. He really enjoys computer science, mathematics, robotics, physics and chemistry! Ha.  :laugh:

 

As a result, I am encouraging him to consider double majoring. The other option is to consider a truly multidisciplinary major such such as Robotics or Data Science. We also have a friend who is a university professor who did his PhD in robotics. However, he also sees the value in combining several majors if doable. So we are thinking about Applied Mathematics and CS, for example. His advice is you cannot lose with more math under your belt no matter what else one chooses as a STEM career path.

 

Is anyone else considering a double major with your DC or perhaps double majored yourself? I would be interested to hear you thoughts on the matter.

 

Thanks,

[8filltheheart]

My ds started as a triple major: EE, physics, and math. He dropped the EE bc he does not like engineering. He will be graduating with a double in physics and math and a minor in research scholars (CBH). Fwiw, research and physics have required him to master multiple programming languages. He spends most of his time programming.

 

My Dd is doubling in international business and finance (or Econ, she vacillates between the 2) with minors in French and Russian. She hasn't declared them majors (though she will have more than enough hrs) bc the gen ed requirements are very different than IB, and she can't meet them and meet her honors requirements and a yr abroad in France.

[prim*rose]

My dd is considering a double major in motion pictures and business. Since it's not a dual major, it will take her 5-6 years. 

[JeanM]

My ds is considering double majoring, but he's a freshman and hasn't made up his mind yet. Some of the combos he is considering are history/economics, history/math, history/Asian studies, and history/political science. Obviously he wants a history major, but is wavering on the second. Some would be harder because there are no classes that can count towards both, like history/math.

[Pawz4me]

Both of ours are double majoring. DS22 chose majors that overlap and will have no problem completing both in four years. DS19 graduated from an early college high school so entered his four year university already having an AS degree and (I think) 70 credits. That's allowing him to rather easily double major in two years. He's also contemplating adding a minor.

Edited November 19, 2017 by Pawz4me

[elegantlion]

My son is considering it, but will probably end up adding it as minor instead. I also considered it, but opted to do one minor and fulfill majors honors. The minor plus honors fit my goals better, because it allowed to complete a lengthy research paper and present it at a conference. 

 

I have a few friends who are double majoring and for some it has been good especially with complementary fields. However, I can see a few struggling with the double major, not necessarily in terms of work level, but in terms of focus. As they reach those upper levels of study, they are having a hard with balance. One person in particular is a classic overachiever and I'm concerned about them burning out before they graduate. 

 

For me, I knew my end goal, graduate school, so I opted to go with an undergraduate course of study that would ensure I was ready for and had a decent application for graduate school. Double majoring would probably have hindered that readiness, at least in my field and coming from my school. 

Edited November 19, 2017 by elegantlion

[Ethel Mertz]

I double-majored in philosophy and political science nearly (gasp) 40 years ago. I was well prepared for grad school.

 

DS is thinking about a double major in environmental science and outdoor leadership/experiential education.

[Crimson Wife]

DH double-majored undergrad in electrical engineering and history. He was able to finish in 4 years through DE courses, a heavy credit load, and taking the school-required Western Civ sequence that gave history major credits.

 

He then did a joint master's degree program in business administration and public policy. That took 3 years total, so 1 year beyond the normal MBA or MPP

 

I could've turned my human bio minor into a major if I hadn't wanted to graduate early. I only had 3 years' worth of funding from my parents, however, and didn't want to take out loans simply to double-major. I did wind up getting a 2nd bachelor's years later, but at a different and much cheaper school.

[Gwen in VA]

My dd double-majored. Her main interest was art conservation, so she double-majored in cchemistry and art history. Thanks to AP's and dual-credit classes she graduated in four years. It worked well for her, though she ended up going into engineering.

 

My ds triple-majored. He started with economics, added philosophy, and then added math. He did it in four years, but it's been a mixed bag.

 

1) Question #1 at interviews -- WHY did you triple-major? Why didn't you just focus on taking classes you liked from a variety of fields?

2) He nearly dropped the economics -- he decided at the end of his sophomore year that he didn't want to pursue economics, but he was spending his junior year at Oxford and you need to sign up for ALL classes in the spring preceding, so he couldn't change those classes, which meant that he only needed to take one class and do a final project his senior year. Given the negative response to triple-majoring in interviews, he wishes he had just abandoned economics after his junior year at Oxford.

 

I'd encourage your student to pursue his interests very seriously and to choose classes that reflect those interestsbut not get hung up about actually fulfilling a major.

[Arcadia]

My 8th grader is the one that is considering so we have plenty of time to plan. One major would likely be in math/physics/engineering (all branches), one would likely be in economics/finance and the third would likely be in politics/law.

 

He is likely to do quite a bit of DE in high school as we have kind of finish the high school math sequence and most of the high school science he likes. So we’ll see how it plays out in the next few years.

[catz]

I have a BS in Computer Science and a BS in Math.  It did take me 5+ years to get that done but it was in an engineering based program so most students are there 5 years.  Hind sight, it might have been a stronger program to get my masters in one instead (probably comp sci).  I was doing grad level work in both areas by the time I got out. 

 

My son is considering but he's just a junior in high school.  He wants to do music.  I think that would be great paired with an entrepreneurial or business degree of some kind.  Some places are offering music business degrees or specialization right now too. 

[Barb_]

One of my girls double majored in neuroscience and computer science. She was only able to get through it because she came in with almost two years of her General Eds done in high school. But she was also working 10-15 hours a week, so without an outside job it might be possible? The lab classes and the hours spent in the lab outside of class were very time consuming, so I think it's tougher to double major in the science than in some other areas of concentration because of the number of hours required.

Edited November 19, 2017 by Barb_

[klmama]

A young relative double majored in mathematics and economics, with a minor in computer science.  He could have triple majored if he's spent another semester in school, but he was ready to be done.  He went into app development and has done extremely well for himself in Silicon Valley.

 

 

 

[AMJ]

My DH double-majored in mechanical engineering and math.  He likes to joke that his math degree was a "freebie".  The mechanical engineering degree required a lot of math, and he discovered that if he took just a few more math classes he could declare and claim a double major.

 

He's a big fan on engineering degrees, especially mechanical.  They are highly versatile and marketable degrees.

[Matryoshka]

Dd is doing a double-major in Computer Science and Math - Math was much easier to add in that if she'd wanted to do, say CS and Physics.  But CS and Engineering would be easier.  Always easier if there's overlap.  She will have to choose carefully and had to get some things 'out of the way' in order to manage and finish on time.

 

She's also minoring in Robotics, but that pretty much is a freebie; if she chooses the 'right' upper-level technical electives for CS, the minor doesn't require any extra classes.

 

Other dd is doing an 'integrated' degree - that's a bit different in that you take classes from two disciplines, but not the full load of two majors.  Hers is Linguistics and Philosophy.

Edited November 19, 2017 by Matryoshka

[Crimson Wife]

 

Other dd is doing an 'integrated' degree - that's a bit different in that you take classes from two disciplines, but not the full load of two majors.  Hers is Linguistics and Philosophy.

 

My oldest is interested in doing this, but in Linguistics and Psychology (assuming she can get accepted to the UC campus that offers it). She will most likely be transferring in with an AA in Psychology as the CC where she's dual enrolled doesn't offer an AA in Linguistics.

[LisaKinVA]

My son is considering a double major in Mech. Engineering and Communications.  Most of his ability to do this will depend upon the college he chooses.  Two schools he has applied to will be a bit more difficult to accomplish this, due his not being able to CLEP/AP out of a good number of electives (they are religious schools that have about 6 required courses.  He could take some on-line during the summers, though -- but we'd have to pay full price for them).  

[Mabelen]

My nephew did a double major in economics and political science in four years.

 

My daughter considered a double major in sociology and several other areas: linguistics, business, and cultural and media studies. She is graduating in June, and she is most likely adding a minor in education now that she is leaning towards a career in school counseling.

[Matryoshka]

My oldest is interested in doing this, but in Linguistics and Psychology (assuming she can get accepted to the UC campus that offers it). She will most likely be transferring in with an AA in Psychology as the CC where she's dual enrolled doesn't offer an AA in Linguistics.

 

I bet she can still get it done on time.  Dd's only started this major this year, and will probably be able to finish it up in just one more.  Prior to this she had a good year's + worth of credits from CC, and she spent a year at another university with a different major.  But that's where she fell in love with Logic (file under Philosophy - that's the part she likes).  But she's taking her first actual Linguistics course this semester (well more than one..), as her old schools didn't have that major.  She's probably also going to minor in at least one foreign language.

Edited November 19, 2017 by Matryoshka

[SparklyUnicorn]

My older kid talks about majoring in CS and EE.  Not sure if he'll actually do that.  He'll have a good hunk of the math out of the way before he enters so it might be doable.

 

 

[dereksurfs]

Wow, this is so interesting to see the variety of combinations other have pursued or are pursuing. Its encouraging to see the diverse interests other students have and the ways to get it done. Things like good complimentary majors including common courses makes a lot of sense to combine. I also think the school one attends plays a significant role in terms of the flexibility of the programs and proximity the other departments.

[dereksurfs]

Dd is doing a double-major in Computer Science and Math - Math was much easier to add in that if she'd wanted to do, say CS and Physics.  But CS and Engineering would be easier.  Always easier if there's overlap.  She will have to choose carefully and had to get some things 'out of the way' in order to manage and finish on time.

 

She's also minoring in Robotics, but that pretty much is a freebie; if she chooses the 'right' upper-level technical electives for CS, the minor doesn't require any extra classes.

 

Other dd is doing an 'integrated' degree - that's a bit different in that you take classes from two disciplines, but not the full load of two majors.  Hers is Linguistics and Philosophy.

 

That's interesting that CS and Engineering would have been easier for her than CS and Math. I would have thought the opposite would be the case. Maybe that has to do more with the school itself and how many CS courses are required for Engineering vs. math? Since all require lots of math, I guess it seems like that would be easier to finish.

 

Integrated degrees are appealing if found in one's area of greatest interest. 

Edited November 19, 2017 by dereksurfs

[dereksurfs]

I have a BS in Computer Science and a BS in Math.  It did take me 5+ years to get that done but it was in an engineering based program so most students are there 5 years.  Hind sight, it might have been a stronger program to get my masters in one instead (probably comp sci).  I was doing grad level work in both areas by the time I got out. 

 

My son is considering but he's just a junior in high school.  He wants to do music.  I think that would be great paired with an entrepreneurial or business degree of some kind.  Some places are offering music business degrees or specialization right now too. 

 

WoolySocks, its always great to hear from someone who has been and done that. 

 

I can see the pros/cons of both approaches including the time trade-off when considering graduate work. Some of the schools even offer accelerated options to continue on straight to grad school which is obviously appealing. Part of it may be that hindsight is 20/20. If my son could look into his future and see himself deeply involved in one career, then it would make even more sense to specialize. However, part of the reason at least for him will be to more fully explore each area of interest at a deeper level. The main question for most is probably if a 'minor' would be enough to satisfy their thirst for more subject matter knowledge.

Edited November 19, 2017 by dereksurfs

[Matryoshka]

That's interesting that CS and Engineering would have been easier for her than CS and Math. I would have thought the opposite would be the case. Maybe that has to do more with the school itself and how many CS courses are required for Engineering vs. math? Since all require lots of math, I guess it seems like that would be easier to finish.

 

Integrated degrees are appealing if found in one's area of greatest interest. 

 

Oops, no, I meant CS and Engineering would have been easier than CS and Physics.  The latter, I think, would be fairly hard.  CS and Engineering would probably be about the same as CS and Math - although there's less overlap with CS/EE, they have a double-major track that does do some course integration/elimination so you can get it done (like there are required programming classes in EE, and you do the CS ones instead, not in addition to).  Just way less overlap with CS and Physics - I think for that one you'd end up needing more time.  I wonder if something like MechE and Physics would have more overlap?

Edited November 19, 2017 by Matryoshka

[Kassia]

Dd is doing a double-major in Computer Science and Math - Math was much easier to add in that if she'd wanted to do, say CS and Physics.  But CS and Engineering would be easier.  

 

One of my sons graduated with an actual Computer Science and Engineering major.  After he graduated, I realized it would have been fairly easy for him to get a minor or major in math.  He ended up with a business minor.  

 

 

My older kid talks about majoring in CS and EE.  Not sure if he'll actually do that.  He'll have a good hunk of the math out of the way before he enters so it might be doable.

 

My son who graduated with an EE major had a lot of companies expect CS skills when he was interviewing for jobs. I think he kind of wished he had went for a minor or at least taken more classes in that field.  

[dereksurfs]

Oops, no, I meant CS and Engineering would have been easier than CS and Physics.  The latter, I think, would be fairly hard.  CS and Engineering would probably be about the same as CS and Math - although there's less overlap with CS/EE, they have a double-major track that does do some course integration/elimination so you can get it done (like there are required programming classes in EE, and you do the CS ones instead, not in addition to).  Just way less overlap with CS and Physics - I think for that one you'd end up needing more time.  I wonder if something like MechE and Physics would have more overlap?

 

Ok, thanks for that clarification.  :D

[dereksurfs]

One of my sons graduated with an actual Computer Science and Engineering major.  After he graduated, I realized it would have been fairly easy for him to get a minor or major in math.  He ended up with a business minor.  

 

 

 

My son who graduated with an EE major had a lot of companies expect CS skills when he was interviewing for jobs. I think he kind of wished he had went for a minor or at least taken more classes in that field.  

 

Thank you for pointing out your son's real world experience as an EE graduate while applying for jobs. This confirms what I have been seeing in the job market as well for those with engineering degrees. Programming will be involved and the pervasiveness of it is only growing. It is therefore listed under 'preferred requirements' at the very least and will give them leg up on the job as well.

[EKS]

My son is majoring in robotics engineering and minoring in computer science.  If he had had his act together earlier, he would have double majored.

 

So my advice would be to plan early.

[Arcadia]

This confirms what I have been seeing in the job market as well for those with engineering degrees. Programming will be involved and the pervasiveness of it is only growing. It is therefore listed under 'preferred requirements' at the very least and will give them leg up on the job as well.

My husband and my engineering bachelors had Fortran77 and C as compulsory modules/classes. That was back in the early 90s.

Both my kids had done the AP Computer Science A exam so that they can hopefully start on a higher computer science class in freshman year using AP exam credit.

 

ETA:

Mine was in civil engineering and we program for finite elements modeling jobs which run on mainframes. My lecturers were from the punch card programming era.

Edited November 19, 2017 by Arcadia

[Mabelen]

My nephew did a double major in economics and political science in four years.

 

My daughter considered a double major in sociology and several other areas: linguistics, business, and cultural and media studies. She is graduating in June, and she is most likely adding a minor in education now that she is leaning towards a career in school counseling.

I realized that you are in California. Both my nephew and daughter were at UCs.

 

Different campuses will have more or less flexibility depending on major. My nephew was at UCLA, he is one of those kids that can ace anything without a sweat and still have plenty of time to have fun. After graduating, he went straight to law school at UC Berkeley. He passed the bar exam last summer and is working at a law firm in San Francisco.

 

My daughter went in undeclared. She needed a lot of flexibility, so we opted for one of the lower ranked campuses, where she benefited from a merit scholarship and priority registration. Any of the major combinations that she considered would have been feasible if she had wanted.

[dereksurfs]

I realized that you are in California. Both my nephew and daughter were at UCs.

 

Different campuses will have more or less flexibility depending on major. My nephew was at UCLA, he is one of those kids that can ace anything without a sweat and still have plenty of time to have fun. After graduating, he went straight to law school at UC Berkeley. He passed the bar exam last summer and is working at a law firm in San Francisco.

 

My daughter went in undeclared. She needed a lot of flexibility, so we opted for one of the lower ranked campuses, where she benefited from a merit scholarship and priority registration. Any of the major combinations that she considered would have been feasible if she had wanted.

 

Did either of them double major?

 

I didn't realize the UCs offered much in the way of merit based scholarships. Its seems like the California public universities offer fewer scholarships unless there is greater demonstrated need/financial hardship.

[regentrude]

Dd is double majoring in physics and an interdisciplinary humanities degree. She is graduating after 8 semesters, schedule was insane, but she is pulling it off.

Ds plans athletic training plus physics, we will see how that goes

[dereksurfs]

Dd is double majoring in physics and an interdisciplinary humanities degree. She is graduating after 8 semesters, schedule was insane, but she is pulling it off.

Ds plans athletic training plus physics, we will see how that goes

 

Wow, not much course sharing there for your dd! But she will definitely have covered a wide range of subject areas spanning humanities to physics. I can see how that would require a lot especially to complete in 8 semesters. However, if I recall, she did take DE courses which I'm sure helped.

Edited November 19, 2017 by dereksurfs

[regentrude]

Wow, not much course sharing there for your dd! But she will definitely have covered a wide range of subject areas spanning humanities to physics. I can see how that would require a lot especially to complete in 8 semesters. However, if I recall, she did take DE courses which I'm sure helped.

 

No overlap at all, beyond the gen ed requirements.

The DE courses may have helped her prepare, but she transferred none of the DE credits to her university.

 

Her school does not permit students to take more than 4 years, plus the summer after senior year. If you don't finish, you won't graduate.

Edited November 19, 2017 by regentrude

[Mabelen]

Did either of them double major?

 

I didn't realize the UCs offered much in the way of merit based scholarships. Its seems like the California public universities offer fewer scholarships unless there is greater demonstrated need/financial hardship.

Yes, my nephew did a double major in economics and political science.

 

My daughter considered a double major but did not pursue it. She was dithering too much.

 

She received an accepted a merit scholarship at her campus. All UCs as far as I know have some merit scholarships. They are the Regents' and the Chancellors'. All of them offer certain privileges and some monetary prize (renewable all 4 years if gpa requirements are met).

 

The monetary amounts depend on each campus. The higher ranking campuses tend to offer very little money unless there is demonstrated financial need. The lower ranking the campus, the higher the monetary incentive. Our FAFSA EFC is higher than the UC cost of attendance, so we have no financial need. For example, monetary awards for students with no financial need for Regents' are $2,500 per year at UC Berkeley, compared to $10,000 per year at UC Riverside. Tuition is over $13,000.

 

UCSD has the Jacobs School Scholarship for engineering. Ten incoming freshmen get full tuition and living expenses every year. One of my daughter's classmates got one. We know the family and they have 0 financial need.

 

There may be other merit scholarships that I know nothing about.

[dereksurfs]

No overlap at all, beyond the gen ed requirements.

The DE courses may have helped her prepare, but she transferred none of the DE credits to her university.

 

Her school does not permit students to take more than 4 years, plus the summer after senior year. If you don't finish, you won't graduate.

 

Wow, that's strict! I guess I haven't researched it enough on a per school basis. I've heard this policy does vary university to university. I had thought, apparently naively so, that if you declared intent to double major early on that most schools would allow you adequate time to take the additional courses. I guess that seems like common sense or a 'reasonable' expectation. Do you happen to know the rationale to not allow for more time? I would imagine when it is that rigid, 4 years or bust, some do not quite make it... and then what do they do? She had to have more confidence to attempt it with such strict policies in place regarding mandatory completion time.

[Crimson Wife]

I bet she can still get it done on time.  Dd's only started this major this year, and will probably be able to finish it up in just one more.  Prior to this she had a good year's + worth of credits from CC, and she spent a year at another university with a different major.  But that's where she fell in love with Logic (file under Philosophy - that's the part she likes).  But she's taking her first actual Linguistics course this semester (well more than one..), as her old schools didn't have that major.  She's probably also going to minor in at least one foreign language.

 

UCLA is the only UC campus she's considering that offers the Linguistics and Psychology major. The others just offer the generalist Linguistics major. San Diego offers a Linguistics and Cognitive Science major but she's more interested in the social psych side of the discipline than the neuroscience side. Her career goal is to be a forensic linguist.

 

[regentrude]

Wow, that's strict! I guess I haven't researched it enough on a per school basis. I've heard this policy does vary university to university. I had thought, apparently naively so, that if you declared intent to double major early on that most schools would allow you adequate time to take the additional courses. I guess that seems like common sense or a 'reasonable' expectation. Do you happen to know the rationale to not allow for more time? I would imagine when it is that rigid, 4 years or bust, some do not quite make it... and then what do they do? She had to have more confidence to attempt it with such strict policies in place regarding mandatory completion time.

 

As far as I know such a  rigid policy is a rare exception; I am not familiar with it from any other school.

Most colleges are happy to take your money for as long as you want to pay.

 

As for confidence, it's more a matter of being organized. You set up a color coded spreadsheet in the first semester and know exactly where you stand, have quarterly check-ins with the advisor to make sure you are on track, and just power through. And if it turns out the double major won't work out, be sure to complete the degree requirements for one of your majors in plenty of time so you graduate.

[dereksurfs]

Yes, my nephew did a double major in economics and political science.

 

My daughter considered a double major but did not pursue it. She was dithering too much.

 

She received an accepted a merit scholarship at her campus. All UCs as far as I know have some merit scholarships. They are the Regents' and the Chancellors'. All of them offer certain privileges and some monetary prize (renewable all 4 years if gpa requirements are met).

 

The monetary amounts depend on each campus. The higher ranking campuses tend to offer very little money unless there is demonstrated financial need. The lower ranking the campus, the higher the monetary incentive. Our FAFSA EFC is higher than the UC cost of attendance, so we have no financial need. For example, monetary awards for students with no financial need for Regents' are $2,500 per year at UC Berkeley, compared to $10,000 per year at UC Riverside. Tuition is over $13,000.

 

UCSD has the Jacobs School Scholarship for engineering. Ten incoming freshmen get full tuition and living expenses every year. One of my daughter's classmates got one. We know the family and they have 0 financial need.

 

There may be other merit scholarships that I know nothing about.

 

Ok, that's good to know regarding scholarships available since we are in the same boat with our FAFSA EFC. I simply wasn't expecting anything at the UCs or very little. Apparently it varies inversely with ranking which sort of makes sense when considering demand, impaction, etc... Maybe schools like UC Merced would be the highest.

[Arcadia]

He really enjoys computer science, mathematics, robotics, physics and chemistry!

Environmental engineering and mechanical/mechatronics engineering would already have most of the above.

 

Another thing is that Computer Science can be a job while at college instead of a major/minor. I was hired as a temp by my college while undergrad to be the coordinator for Windows NT campus wide deployment. I was making sure all the staff PCs and laptops were upgraded to Windows NT as well as answering software and hardware questions from the technicians doing the deployment. The job experience made a good resume listing.

My third job, my boss wanted an engineer strong in finance and in relational databases (all the engineers could program at minimum GNU C on Linux and we had a few OpenGL programmers).

Considering that many engineering graduates in my family are in finance related (investment banking) jobs right after graduating, the tendency to crossover runs high among my relatives. Economics and Accounting were compulsory for engineering for my alma mater after all.

 

E.g. from Yale because that was easiest to find the example of course schedules

 

“It's combining control systems, design, electronics, microcontrollng programming - a lot of things," said Prof. Madhusudhan Venkadesan, who teaches the Mechanical Engineering course MENG 390: Mechatronics. The semester ended with "Clash of the Robots: Fast and Stable,†a competition that challented students teams to build a robot that was not only speedy, but able to balance a perilously placed object. The students were limited to certain hardware specifications, but could tweak their machines to maximize performance.â€

http://seas.yale.edu/news-events/news/mechatronics-clash-robots-video?destination=node%2F1974

 

“ABET-accredited B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Typical Course Sequence

Course Sequence for students with one year of Calculus

 

This program requires 18 technical term courses beyond the 8 prerequisite courses (MATH 112, MATH 115, ENAS 151 (or MATH 120), PHYS 180 (or PHYS 200), PHYS 181 (or PHYS 201), PHYS 165L (or PHYS 205L), PHYS 166L (or PHYS 206L), and CHEM 161 or higher (or AP score of 4 or 5).†Course schedule and more info in link http://seas.yale.edu/departments/mechanical-engineering-and-materials-science/undergraduate-study/undergraduate-curriculu?destination=node%2F508

 

“B.S. in Environmental Engineering Typical Course Sequence

Course Sequence for students who start with MATH 112

 

This program requires 12 technical term courses beyond the 9 prerequisite courses (MATH 112, MATH 115, ENAS 151 (or MATH 120), ENAS 194, CHEM 161 & 165 (or 163 & 167) with 134L & 136L, PHYS 180, PHYS 181, and BIOL 101/102 or BIOL 103/104.

...

2 Track-Specific Environmental Engineering Electives (three required) must be selected in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies.“ course sequence and more info http://seas.yale.edu/departments/chemical-and-environmental-engineering/undergraduate-study-environmental/undergraduate-c?destination=node%2F511

 

ETA:

Has your son attend any summer camps for high school students? Has he tour any campuses?

 

PS: Every engineer and intern in my husband’s dept could program as they learned that as undergrad.

Edited November 20, 2017 by Arcadia

[Bootsie]

DD is double majoring in German and comparative literary conditions.  She has toyed with several different double major combinations throughout her university career.  She will graduate in May and may be able to squeeze in an Italian minor.  

 

Some schools and some majors make it much easier to double major than other schools and different majors.  Where I teach now, double majoring is extremely common (even across very different fields of study); where I taught before, it was uncommon.  I often discourage students from double majoring if it will take them longer to graduate; those extra hours/semesters could be put toward a graduate degree which would be more valuable.  Also, I have seen a few instances where a student was going to take five years to double major rather than 4 years to receive one degree--then life happened and the student ended up not spending the fifth year in school and had not degree.  

 

I think the advice that more math is always better, even if it isn't going toward a major.  It can open additional doors.  Even if the subject matter itself is not mathematical, often doing graduate work in a field entails statistics and more math.  

[GailV]

Older dd was pursuing dual degrees in Theatre Technology (lighting emphasis),  and Electrical Engineering. 

 

No overlap in courses, getting courses in the correct sequence was crazy (eg, the engineering sequence conflicting with required theatre courses that were only offered every other year), she was missing a chemistry class that didn't fit in anywhere, needed to do summer internships for theatre which made it hard to pursue summer school courses. 

 

She admitted to herself that she would never actually pursue a job that required a BSEE, and dropped that part midway through junior year.  Her internship interviewers last summer were really impressed with the amount of engineering and math she had completed, btw, so it wasn't wasted effort. She's able to communicate to both the artsy crowd and the technical crowd about lighting systems.

 

Younger is currently considering dual degrees in Theatre Studies/Performance (or just plain Acting, depending on the school) and something along the lines of kinesiology.  She's also interested in dance.  No clue how this is all going to shake out over time.

[Arcadia]

Derek,

 

Have you look at the double major requirements of your closest state universities? For example UCSC has a time limit but CalPoly doesn’t seem to have any time limit.

 

From UCSC

“To complete multiple majors and minors, you must fulfill all of the requirements for all majors and minors declared, including the comprehensive requirement for each major. In general, a single thesis may not be used for more than one major.

 

You may count courses for more than one major or minor, as long as each major includes 40 upper-division credits not used to satisfy the minimum upper-division credits of any other major or minor, and each minor includes at least 25 upper-division credits not used to satisfy the minimum upper-division credits of any other major or minor. You must obtain approval from both departments to declare a double major.

 

Criteria for Double Major/Minor

 

If you decide you want to pursue a double major/minor, you must meet the following criteria:

 

Demonstrate you can complete the double major or major/minor in 15 quarters, or in 9 quarters for junior transfer students.

 

File for declaration of a double major or major/minor by the end of your sophomore year. Junior transfer students must declare both majors by the deadline during their second quarter of enrollment at UCSC. Exceptions to this are (1) students who have transferred in with large numbers of advanced placement credits, and (2) students who have taken 20 credits some quarters. If this applies to you, please consult with your college academic adviser. See Transfer Students in Section 1.â€

https://registrar.ucsc.edu/navigator/section3/declaring/double.html

 

From CalPoly

“Double Majors or Degrees

If a student has completed the requirements for two or more majors leading to the same baccalaureate degree (e.g., two BS degrees), those majors are acknowledged on a single diploma. The major which the student requests as her/his primary major will appear first on the diploma. If a student has completed the requirements for two or more majors leading to different baccalaureate degrees (e.g., a BS and a BA), those degrees and the completed major or majors leading to each degree are acknowledged on two separate diplomas. If a student has completed concurrently the requirements for two or more degrees, at least one of which is a graduate degree, Cal Poly issues a separate diploma for each degree earned.

 

A student who adds a second major to her/his degree objective is expected to fulfill all requirements for both majors. However, a student may be allowed to use one senior project to fulfill the requirements for two majors. The program in which the student seeks to replace the senior project must grant permission before the student begins the project. Permission must be obtained using a major/support substitution.

 

Students who have declared two majors will be awarded both degrees for the term in which all requirements are completed for both majors.â€

http://catalog.calpoly.edu/academicstandardsandpolicies/otherinformation/#DoubleMajorsorDegrees

[MarkT]

Interesting thread because I have been discussing Major/Minor options with DS.  Physics and Engineering.  

 

He is applying to the honors colleges which would add challenging liberal arts classes.

 

Does anyone have experience with STEM Major/Minor or double major in an honors college setting?

[daijobu]

Lots of good stories about double majors in this thread.  My kids aren't old enough to major in anything yet, so I'll balance by linking to Cal Newport's  review of how double majors can ruin your life, lol.  

[8filltheheart]

Interesting thread because I have been discussing Major/Minor options with DS. Physics and Engineering.

 

He is applying to the honors colleges which would add challenging liberal arts classes.

 

Does anyone have experience with STEM Major/Minor or double major in an honors college setting?

Mark, I would hesitate to translate individual stories onto other kids. I am sure that is not what you are doing, but generalizations just don't work well for individuals.

 

There is currently a thread on Bama's CC forum where someone posted to parents that their kids should take light loads their freshman yr and should repeat AP courses. For a lot of kids that might be really good advice, but for others it would be stifling.

 

In answer to your question, my ds is doubling in math and science in the honors college as well as having a research minor that is a selective subset within the honors college. For him, it has not ever been a slight issue. But, he is also a student where that CC thread advice would not have been a good fit for him.

 

He jumped into freshman yr taking 18 hrs and 300/400 level courses. He started doing research 2nd semester freshman yr. He is a very strong student with a very strong work ethic. He is also very self-aware and mature. He knows what he is doing and what he wants.

 

Fwiw, I have no idea what schools your ds is interested in, but if you are looking for scholarships and your ds is a strong physics student, Bama has great physics scholarships that stack on top of their admissions scholarship.

https://physics.ua.edu/high-school-physics-contest/. The top 2 scorers on the individual test are awarded the equivalent of in-state full tuition and the dept's Barr scholarship. The Randall Research Scholars program (formerly known as CBH) is also excellent and some students get additional scholarship $$. Ds has the presidential scholarship plus those other 3.

 

They also have a pre-designed double physics and EE degree. http://ece.eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/double-major-in-physics/

Edited November 21, 2017 by 8FillTheHeart

[MarkT]

Mark, I would hesitate to translate individual stories onto other kids. I am sure that is not what you are doing, but generalizations just don't work well for individuals.

 

I don't disagree but anecdotal is better than zero input.  Many posts in WTM fit your generalization statement.

 

That's why you actually need to read what is said in "Rate my Professor" postings.   DS and I were looking at doing a DE Calc based Physics 1 at the nearby branch of the CC but that instructor was low rated because he was lazy and didn't seem to care. The other instructors were much higher rated but the drive was too far with his other B&M HS classes.

 

If he did honors college along with EE and Physics Minor it would either be at Arizona or ASU.  His other choice is a small tech school (NMT) that does not really need an honors college.

 

(He is currently taking five AP classes plus PE so he is experiencing a heavy work load now and is a little burnt out - luckily some of the AP classes are single semester).

[Hilltopmom]

Lots of good stories about double majors in this thread. My kids aren't old enough to major in anything yet, so I'll balance by linking to Cal Newport's review of how double majors can ruin your life, lol.

I loved that post! Just spent a half hour reading on his site.

[katilac]

Yes, dd is a sophomore and plans to major in (1) foreign language and international trade, and (2) economics and computational analysis. Then a math minor and a Spanish certificate. 

 

This is doable because her majors have some crossover, the school is reasonable about substitutions, and she went in with some college hours for the two languages. I think her Spanish certificate is complete this semester, actually. 

 

It's still tough, though. She doesn't have a ton of wiggle room. 

 

Youngest will start next year with an art major, and she will have a second major or possibly two carefully chosen minors. 

[dereksurfs]

Lots of good stories about double majors in this thread.  My kids aren't old enough to major in anything yet, so I'll balance by linking to Cal Newport's  review of how double majors can ruin your life, lol.  

 

Daijobu, you contrarian, you! lol  :D

 

Cal Newport does make some good points with lots to consider. I actually agree with a lot of what he has to say from a quality of life perspective. I particularly like this quote:

 

"Put another way: If tacking on a time-consuming extra major, or leading six clubs, is at the core of your strategy for being impressive, find a different strategy. Notice, I’m not arguing that you should give up on being impressive — on the contrary, I’m arguing that you should man (or woman) up about what strategies you’ll tolerate for achieving this goal."

 

IMO, I don't think his ideas are mutually exclusive with double majoring. Why? Because not every double major is that much of a stretch especially when they are pursued out of genuine interest in related fields.

 

What he is describing is more rooted in the goal to 'be impressive' at all costs. While I think the majority of students want be accomplished in their respective fields of study, that is not necessarily the primary driver for those who double major. For some its simply a love of learning a variety of subject areas. While for others it may be to do something more practical along with their 'art' degree. In addition, students vary widely in their ability to carry certain workloads vs. killing themselves simply to be impressive. I think that has to be taken in consideration on a per student basis - to 'know thyself' vs. comparing themselves with Johnny who takes 20 units just because he can. Lastly, at least some schools allow students to extend their time to accommodate the extra courses needed for the double major. So there are ways to mitigate the kind of craziness he is painting when discussing the double major.

 

I'm not saying double majoring is good for everyone. Rather, I think students need a good reason to go that route and then count the cost. But if it works for them and they have a genuine interest in both fields of study, I think it can be a worthwhile endeavor. If it becomes overwhelming they can always fall back to a major / minor.

Edited November 22, 2017 by dereksurfs