A major and two minors or a double major and minor?

College Majors
1

<p>I've always been interested in journalism and political science. I want to be a journalist and cover political issues. I also want to be an advocate for underrepresented or misrepresented minorities in America, particularly Hispanics, Arabs and Muslims. I've been studying Spanish for four years, I have an internship for the summer at a Latino newspaper, and I want to study abroad in Spain during college. The college I'm enrolled allows students to get a certificate in Arabic, and it's 18 credits. The Journalism major is 124 credits. I heard it would be about 30 extra credits to double major in political science, versus 18 for a minor. I definitely want to graduate in 4 years. I'm going to take a few summer classes at a cheaper community college that has a transfer program with the school I'm going to so I can speed things up and save money. I also have a few AP credits. And, I found I can get 2 GenEd requirements waived for studying abroad. What I liked about political science is that there are jobs working for the government and private sector with salaries much higher than in journalism. However, browsing listings, I see many of those jobs require a Masters in Political Science. I want to work part-time in school, be involved in my college newspaper, and do internships. So, the Arabic is really just something that might make me a tad more marketable but it's really just something that interests me. </p>

<p>My options are pretty much. Get a degree in journalism with a minor in Political Science and a Certificate in Arabic or double major in Journalism and Political Science with a Certificate in Arabic, which will take more time. I feel there's a real possibility that I could graduate early if I do the first option, saving me money. Then, get my Masters in Political Science. (I've found one year programs for a Pol Sci Masters), where I'll be taking more classes in Political Science which will be related to ones I would already have taken as an undergrad. What should I do?</p>

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You have more options than this.

-Major in journalism, take a few classes in political science and get a certificate in Arabic.
-Major in journalism, take a few classes in political science and take the necessary language credits in Arabic (while skipping the literature and culture classes that minors sometimes require).
-Major in political science, take some writing/journalism classes and get the Arabic certificate.
-Major in political science, minor in journalism, take some Arabic classes.
-Major in political science, and take some classes in journalism and in Arabic.

You don’t need to major in journalism to become a journalist; you just need to know how to write. If you are interning at newspapers and writing for your school paper, you’re already on the right track. So since jobs in political science appeal to you in addition to journalism jobs, it seems like majoring in political science and either minoring in or simply taking a few classes in journalism is a good fit for you. You can also take the Arabic classes on the side or get the certificate in Arabic, whichever fits.