It seems like you can double major only if the majors are within the same degree.
What if I wanted to major in something like, I don’t know, Chem Engineering and History? They are both unrelated so must I only choose one? Can I double the majors onto one degree or must I pursue two different degrees?
Will schools let you do that?
How can I do something in the science field as well as something in the humanities?
Because I want to do a ton of things in life- perhaps go to both medical and law school, but my bachelors comes first.
Or should I get my bachelors in the science field and my humanities for my masters? But that wouldn’t work, will it? Don’t you have to meet class requirements for a masters?
Someone please explain thoroughly and thoughtfully.
The problem with pairing engineering with anything is how many courses engineering students have to take, in a specific order, which limits extra room to tack on a minor or another major. So that’s part of why ChemE + History might not work out. But other combos, if allowed by your school, might be fine.
A lot of this depends on the school. Any engineering major will be intensive enough to complete on its own, so a double major in anything else isn’t generally the best idea. But there are definitely schools that let you do almost any double major you want as long as it falls under certain unit requirements and the majors aren’t too similar. Mine is like that.
These definitions can vary by school…but…roughly…
Double Major = Two majors within the same college (like Liberal arts) that both confer the same degree, such as a BA degree or a BS degree
Dual Degree - To Majors that confer different degrees, such as a BA in Philosophy and a BS in Chemistry or if the two degrees are in different colleges, like Engineering and Liberal Arts.
Second Major = this can simply be a double major, or at some schools, it’s a version of a dual degree, where you don’t plan on completing the requirements for the second degree.
A History/Chemical Engineering combination would be a dual degree. You would have to meet the requirements for both degrees, such as the language requirement for the liberal arts degree, and the math/science requirements for the engineering degree (as well as it’s degree’s core classes in history and chemical engineering).
Each school has it’s own guidelines for pursuing a double/triple major or dual degree. You usually will need approval before being able to pursue either course.
Good Luck!
Thank you for clearing that up!!!
It sounds as if you don’t want to be too limited in your choices early on, so when you are choosing colleges look at what the distribution requirements are (also known as General Education [GenEd] or Breadth or similar names). Some colleges are very prescriptive, especially those with a ‘core’, such as Columbia. That’s not a good or bad thing- if the Core appeals to you it is a great thing! - but it gives you an idea of what you would be taking.
Except for engineering (and some CS) programs, you can do a lot before and after declaring a major. Don’t get too hung up on the idea of a double major: in most cases they don’t matter that much. Many people get a second major (or a minor) very late in their college process, b/c they have picked up enough courses just out of interest to go ahead and take the last requirements. I know quite a few students who have double majored in a science and a humanities (currently know 5: doing Physics + French, Physics + History, Bio + Music, Bio + IR, Math + French). It takes some self-discipline, but it’s do-able
Generally speaking, yes: there is an expectation that you have a strong foundation in the subject before you go for a masters. The most obvious exception is business, where experience is more important.
But here’s the thing: your very best bet is to follow your interests. When you get to college, take classes that are interesting to you and follow those interests. You might consider colleges with inter-disciplinary majors - for example, cognitive science is a major that can include humanities subjects such as philosophy,anthropology, and linguistics, as well as physical and social sciences such as psychology, neuroscience, biology, math, and computer science.
Do also note that you could attend medical school with a humanities major (like history) and you could attend law school with a science major (like chemistry). You don’t have to limit yourself to one or the other on the basis of what you major in. In fact, engineering majors can do very well if they go into law - working on intellectual property cases like patents for scientific discoveries. And many medical schools are now specifically seeking out humanities and social sciences majors.