<p>ok i want to double major in history and mechanical engineering and everytime i tell someone this i get a weird look like "are you insane?" So am i? i really REALLY love history and my parents want me to major in M.E. so i want to do both. so i applied to schools with good programs in both, but my safeties really only focus on mech eng. any advice? oh and i want to study abroad and possibly learn spanish. am i being too ambitious?? help!</p>
<p>I think trying to double major when either one is any branch of engineering is going to be veryyyyy difficult. id say go to school for a ME then transfer to History to despise your parents...=]</p>
<p>i really want rice or duke, because they have excellent programs in both fields and i could probably transfer departments. but my parents are worried that in this economy i cant get a decent job besides teaching (which i REALLY DONT want to do) with a history degree.</p>
<p>Your parents are mistaken to try to force you into engineering. It's a demanding course of study and you are unlikely to succeed in it unless you enjoy it and you have some talent for it. There are plenty of things you can do with a history degree, especially if you supplement it with a graduate degree. For example, law and library science.</p>
<p>have you considered a minor in history if that's even possible?</p>
<p>i do like engineering a lot and i am talented with math and such, but i had a bad experience in physics and i am nervous about the field. history is my first love, and i really would rather major in it. and i want to attend law school, but once again, the issue of cost arises as there is no way on earth i could pay for it. and my safety schools that will offer me scholarships are not exactly known for their incredible liberal arts programs.</p>
<p>You certainly cannot do engineering, history AND Spanish. Because of the stringent requirements for engineering, where 75 or 80% of your courses are pre-determined, it's doubtful that you could amass the requirements for a second major, or even the minimum Spanish requirement for studying overseas. Don't forget that each school has a set of requirements for graduation, as well as each major.</p>
<p>So, sit yourself down with the four-year engineering curriculum at Rice or Duke. See how your plans shape up. Realize that, if you choose engineering, you will be attending classes with very smart people who are enthusiastic about engineering! Guess who will be getting the good grades?</p>
<p>Spanish and history are an excellent (and do-able) combination. Although you can only imagine teaching as a career, there are dozens of ways to use a liberal arts degree. Adding Spanish is a very practical move in today's multicutural society. You could wind up translating in a hospital, working in government or museums, or being successful in many types of business. And law school is certainly not out of reach. Did you know that engineers tend to have low GPAs because of the difficulty of the curriculum?</p>
<p>I think it depends on the school you go to. You mentioned Rice, and I know for sure that double-majoring there in seemingly disparate fields (like history and mech e) is actually pretty common. I'm applying there as well, and planning to double major in chem e and cognitive science. So it depends on the school you go to. Keep in mind, though, that this sort of flexibility is pretty uncommon - I don't think you could feasibly do this at many other schools. I'm not sure about the Spanish/study abroad thing, but I would guess that trying to fit this in with a double major would be pushing it/next to impossible.</p>
<p>What other schools are you looking at or applied to? There are at least a few schools (e.g., Lafayette) where one can obtain a B.A. or A.B. in engineering, with a bit less intense/focused curriculum allowing for more electives outside the major (and. It is meant for people who want a background in engineering but intend to do something else eventually, like law or medicine. </p>
<p>Actually, looking at the Rice engineering website, they do offer a B.A. in all of their engineering disciplines:
Rice</a> Engineering - George R. Brown School of Engineering - Academics</p>
<p>Take a look at that route, I think it might be well-suited for someone with broad interests!</p>
<p>I'm a mechanically engineering major at Duke. I came into Duke unsure if i wanted to study political science/history or engineering. I've taken one history and one political science class along with the standard ME courseload. (Just finished fall semester as a sophomore) What I can tell you is that if you want to double major in those two, it's possible, but you'll only be taking ME related classes and history classes. That's it. You also might have to overload a couple semesters, which is not unheard of for a lot of people. I'm not going to use the classes I took for anything but electives, but I'm going to study Spanish over the summer and minor in it hopefully. Minoring in Spanish, History, or Political Science isn't hard with engineering.</p>
<p>Also, at Duke, your GPA will be much higher as a history major than in Pratt. I've found that my history/political science classes were always my lowest priority that don't require a tremendous amount of effort, and even with less effort I got better grades in them than in my engineering/math/science classes, so take that for what its worth.</p>
<p>don't let your parents control your life..you probably won't even do that well in your engineering courses if you hate them. go for history and then go to law school or something, if they're that concerned about how much money you'll make in the future..</p>
<p>or if your parents really are crazy tyrannical dictators, appease them and make history your minor--not much of a sacrifice, really, because a major is generally only 4ish more courses than a minor.</p>
<p>really Xeneise? thats something that really appeals to me. duke is like #1 on my list, but i can only go with a full scholarship, like the robertson or AB duke. gpa boosters are always appreciated. I do like engineering everyone, but i like history more. plus, my parents are pushing me towards eng. because my dad, brother and uncle are engineers (in various fields)</p>
<p>I don't think that this is really a big deal. Of course it will be amazingly difficult. But it is doable. I know a junior double majoring in business and chemical engineering. She plans to attend Columbia for a masters in business management. I guess it all depends on what you plan to do with it. I can't think of any applications for history and mechanical engineering, but I'm sure there are some.</p>
<p>Almost nothing is too ambitious if you truly want it. I'm not sure that doing something to please your parents would fall under that category.</p>
<p>OP-</p>
<p>History is/was my first love when I entered college. I thought about majoring in it but then I heard all the talk about "law school" and I was all "there's got to be MORE to this..." So I dabbled on Russian and enjoyed my classes very much. My family thought I was nuts that I wanted to major in Russian but when I told them how practical it was given that there's always a need for Russian, they fully supported it. Then when I decided I wasn't too entirely happy with my school and I knew that Colgate had a very strong history department, and it would be my reason to transfer. But first, I sat in my advisor's history class for second semester freshman year. I was hooked on every single one of her words in her lectures from day one. I knew I couldn't major in Russian, I just had to major in history.</p>
<p>I haven't regretted since. My parents knew it was what I loved and trusted that Colgate would provide excellent education that would make me a competitive applicant for whatever I apply. I did reasonably well in my history major. You major in what you love and college will be less painful to go through and time will fly. If you're going to struggle (like I did in chemistry-related classes), the days will never seem to end.</p>
<p>It's normal for your parents to be fearful in this state of economy but remind them, REMIND them that you're not even graduating in one year, but a lot can change in four years. Duke and Rice will provide excellent liberal arts education that will make you a well-rounded job applicant who freaking knows how to read, analyze, and write (which is really the foundation of English, history, and philosophy majors). People from LACs get jobs just fine. What also counts for jobs are internships. So you can apply for practical like internships in the summer to reassure your parents that you'll have some experience for the job market.</p>
<p>There is a lot you can do with history if you want to deal with history itself (the skills you learn in your major as mentioned above will get you pretty much any entry-level job). Museums and archives are always looking. You can also work for the government at different levels. You can get a MA in Library Science which essentially is a professional degree like engineering- it's only one year (and full of BS as my friend thinks). </p>
<p>And yes, for history, languages are very important...</p>
<p>If you or your parents are worried about job prospects, look at this:</p>
<p>History/url</a>
[url=<a href="http://www.mcm.edu/academic/depts/history/career.htm%5DCareers">http://www.mcm.edu/academic/depts/history/career.htm]Careers</a> for History Majors
UConn</a> History: Careers
Jobs</a> for History Majors<a href="This%20one%20shows%20mean%20salaries%20for%20various%20careers%20with%20only%20a%20BA%20in%20history">/url</a>
[url=<a href="http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors/history.htm%5DUniversity">http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors/history.htm]University</a> of North Carolina Wilmington - The Career Center - Explore and Research Careers
<a href="http://www.kucareerhawk.com/s/762/index.aspx?sid=762&gid=1&pgid=346&coseid=33cf2230-c0d6-426e-9cfb-ab5a99aab83d&sMsg=%5B/url%5D">http://www.kucareerhawk.com/s/762/index.aspx?sid=762&gid=1&pgid=346&coseid=33cf2230-c0d6-426e-9cfb-ab5a99aab83d&sMsg=</a>
College</a> Majors and Careers - History and Political Science
<a href="http://www.pdx.edu/media/c/a/CARC_history.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.pdx.edu/media/c/a/CARC_history.pdf</a></p>
<p>It took me about 5 minutes to find all those, except the first one, which I have bookmarked. Also, try googling "careers for history majors." You'll be astounded by the sheer number of possibilities.</p>
<p>In reality, I feel like a major in the math/science disciplines can be more limiting than a liberal arts major. What can you do with a major in accounting? Be an accountant. What can you do with a major in nursing? Be a nurse. But you can do almost anything with a history major.</p>
<p>Many companies LOVE to hire history and other liberal arts majors. They have excellent writing skills, they know how to argue and analyze, they pay attention to detail, they can see how a company's actions can influence them in the future, etc.</p>
<p>If you're still worried about job prospects, compromise and double major or minor in history, but I feel like if history is your first love, you'll be so much happier there. I know I am. I'm also a history major but very good at math and science (but I really don't like them half as much as I like history). I had to make the exact same choice as you (but my parents are not so concerned about my future salary/job prospects so there wasn't as much pressure). I'm now thinking about going into Library and Information Sciences. PM me if you want more details.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>thanks everyone! i appreciate all the advice. i probably wont be able to attend a top LAC (too doggone expensive with no merit aid for me. grrrrrr) but i am hoping to try to do this double major wherever i go, and then go to law school. <em>crosses fingers</em> any more advice?</p>
<p>Apply to some mid-tier LAC's/universities that have what you're looking for because these are often the ones that will be giving out the most merit aid. You sound like a competitive applicant that can get money from those types of schools and still be fairly competitive for grad/law school. Especially the private ones. Good luck!</p>
<p>hey Mesquite_girl24, i'm a current duke sophomore who is (hopefully) double-majoring with an engineering degree and an arts&sciences degree. it's definitely not unheard of - many people do it, though usually with econ/engineering. </p>
<p>all of the duke engineering departments have a "recommended plan of study" - that is, a plan for when to take what classes. they assume you have NO ap credits whatsoever coming in, and then if you do have an ap credit to get out of a class, you simply substitute the class you can get out of with a class of your choice (so for you, probably a history class). here's the link to the ME course plan - Degree</a> Planning | Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science </p>
<p>i know it looks really complicated, but once you look at it carefully it makes more sense. also, a 4 or 5 on ap chem gets you out of chem 21, a 4/5 on ap bio out of bio 25, and a 4/5 on physics C (NOT b!!) mechanics out of phys 61 while 4/5 on physics c e&m out of phys 62. calc ab subsitutes for math 31 and calc bc for math 32.</p>
<p>most arts&science majors require 10 classes, and most students take 4 classes per semester (though overloading, so 5 classes, is often done also).</p>
<p>anyway, i hope this helps and that i haven't confused you TOO terribly =) good luck!</p>
<p>Can I hijack this thread to ask a similar question?</p>
<p>I want to double major in Biology and English - too hard?</p>