<p>I'm sorry to ruin the nice flow of "HELP! I have no social life probably because I'm on this asking questions!" threads but I have a problem about majors and I want some insight before I go and talk to my advisor. </p>
<p>When I first applied to CU-Boulder, I put down International Affairs as my major. I knew Boulder was not very well known for it's International Affairs program, but I did know it has very good science departments. Furthermore, my logical mind was telling me that a degree in science will always be much more useful than international affairs (lame, I know). So, I dropped and become open option. </p>
<p>After going to a few of the introduction to international affairs class I've come to realize two things: A) I understand international affairs B) It is my passion. So I decided to go declare my major...Unfortunately, I can't shake that feeling of "you won't have a future, you'll sell insurance"...</p>
<p>What I REALLY want to do is work in developing countries, especially those where AIDS is a big issue...So the question is...what do I do. Is an International Affairs major enough on its own or should I also have a more science-y education? What's the difference between a double major and a double degree? Is a double major really just a sham or do others take it into consideration? </p>
<p>I know this is pretty lame, too but I was wondering if there are people out there who have had experience with double majors (especially those so different as science and international affairs) or know those who did. </p>
<p>I don't have any insight into ER, but I know that a double major is fulfilling the requirements for two seperate degree areas, and I think that a double degree is two degrees in the same area, e.g. a B.A.S. in something. But DON'T take my word for it.</p>
<p>I'm also interested in a double major. I plan to take an extra year to achieve it. Again I don't know much about IR but if there's is a field where both areas of knowledge are helpful. It seems to me that you can either do the relations part of it, or the medical research part of it... I'm guessing that you're interested in the diplomatic part? In that case, IR would be better.</p>
<p>I used to work with plenty of IA majors my senior year of high school. Just depends, you can do A LOT with the CSS. Right now the only stuff I can think of is govt related but I'm sure there's not many people willing to go over and help with AIDS in developing countries, so maybe Red Cross or something along those lines.</p>
<p>A lot of people I know choose not to double major and minor instead. Like, for example, a degree in IA with a minor in a language like Swahili. But I don't recommend you add a science major just because you think it's easier to get a job with. ESPECIALLY if you don't like science, lol.</p>
<p>You should really look into the progressive movement known as corporate social responsibility (CSR). All the countries in the United Nations have essentially signed a "pact" to try to reach various environmentally and socially-forward goals known as the Millennium Development Goals. The UN works not only with the public sector, but also with private corporations and NGOs to help reach these goals. One of the Millennium goals deals with halting the spread of HIV/AIDS -- <a href="http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/%5B/url%5D">http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/</a></p>
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Oh, thank god for an intelligent thread
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Not if you take the title of the thread into consideration...</p>
<p>Anyway, I think the main difference between a double major and a double degree program is that the latter requires much more courses. I think you only need about 2 years worth of courses for a major, but about 3 years worth for a degree. </p>
<p>Many on this forum have said that double majors are useless and that nobody cares, although I've heard arguments stating that employers may see you as hardworking and dedicated. The bottom line is, you should pursue two majors only if you're genuinely interested in both. It'll take some extra effort and it certainly limits the number of electives you can take (it shouldn't really matter unless you want to explore various topics of interest).</p>
<p>there are entire graduate programs that focus on developing countries.</p>
<p>if you want to be on the ground actually giving medicine to people, the science major is in your interests. If you want to be coordinating efforts understanding why things are the way they are, and trying to fix the problems long term, the science major is not important.</p>
<p>Thank you guys! I do plan to go into the Peace Corps after college, hurrah! But, anyway, the science thing is complicated because I've always enjoyed science, but I haven't always been good at it? So to speak...I took IB biology HL in high school and got a 4 on the exam, and A/Bs in the class...unfortunately, I don't know how that translates into whether I should follow the major...I was under the impression that if you didn't do well in it in high school, then you probably won't do well in it in college. </p>
<p>I was interested in public health before, too. But yeah, isn't it only a graduate program?</p>