<p>My son is in his 2nd year at Lehigh. He would like to double major in the College of Business and Economics. Because Lehigh's business courses are only 3 credits, it is very difficult to get a double major in 4 years... especially as an athlete who is unable to overload every semester. </p>
<p>I do not understand why the business courses are only 3 credits as they seem to be much more time-intensive and rigorous than the courses he is taking in the College of Arts and Sciences that are 4 credits.</p>
<p>Does anybody know why the business courses are only 3 credits?</p>
<p>They are 3 credits because they have 3 hours of class per week (well, 2.5 hours). Arts and Sciences is the anomaly. Even then, only some departments give 4 credits for 3 hours of class. I know that math doesn’t and it has much more rigorous classes than the business school.</p>
<p>I agree Math at Lehigh is rigorous. My son took Calc 21 and 22 last year but they were both 4 credits. I assumed the the credit weighting was based on hours of class per week but some of the 4 credit A&S courses meet for the same amount of time as the 3 credit business courses. </p>
<p>My son did take 2 summer school courses to help his cause but he really needs to do internships his remaining summers. I am trying to convince him to settle for one major.</p>
<p>Based upon my son’s experience, it looks as if each class is assigned credits based upon the rigor of the coursework and the amount of work the student has to do to do well in the course. </p>
<p>Your son could look into double majoring in an area where there is significant overlap. His advisor can also help tremedously in this area. Good luck!</p>
<p>Ps. Not sure how it works in your son’s major, but in Engineering, a student can work with a professor on their research project (if selected by the Prof.) for course credit - from 1-3 hours depending upon the number of hours worked. Also, some majors give credit for summer internships as well.</p>
<p>Thanks Mum!!! My son actually said this weekend that he was thinking of declaring a major early so that he would get a dedicated advisor. I think having that will help him tremendously because there are so many options for him.</p>
<p>I’m still a bit confused with how they can only assign 3 credits for many of the business courses. His Accounting and Economics courses were just as time-intensive and rigorous as his 2 Calc courses and he considers some of the 4 credit A&S electives much, much less demanding. Although this is his opinion and every student is different. As a parent, paying the full Lehigh tuition, I’m just trying to understand what we are paying for and I am really trying to prevent paying for an additional year!!!</p>
<p>Kelly, Completely understand! I would encourage you to contact the department and ask why it appears to be so inconsistent. In Engineering, it is pretty clear that it is linked to the difficulty of the class, however, it sounds like that is not the case in Business.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with asking! You are paying the bill!</p>
<p>All of my engineering classes are 3 credits, save for a 2-credit lab.</p>
<p>The lab is central to my major and is a huge time commitment… why it is only 2 credits is beyond me, considering that Mkt 111 is 3 cr. and has not nearly involved the same amount of time or effort.</p>
<p>I think it just happens sometimes, and really truly depends on the nature of the class and who the professor is.</p>