<p>These are the majors I'm seriously considering at Rice and I'm having trouble finding outside information about them. I'd love for anyone who has done research on them or anyone who attends Rice to give me their take on these prorgams. Are they Rice's best programs, just okay or to be avoided? Are there plenty of research opportunities with psychology?</p>
<p>I’m also kinda interested in econ.</p>
<p>While I wouldn’t say econ is their best program (tough when you’re up against music/architecture/engineering), it is their largest major according to their site.</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to The Department of Economics at Rice University](<a href=“http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~econ/]Welcome”>http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~econ/)</p>
<p>I would also appreciate some info on this area.</p>
<p>Hey</p>
<p>I can try to help you to the best of my ability. I am not in either program but know something about them</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I have taken one psychology class. it was amazing. There was chances for research as well as it was very cognitive in approach. </p></li>
<li><p>They are not Rice’s strongest programs. Thats is a fact. they are excellent as is Rice, but Rice’s most famous depARTMENTS are the engineering, architecture and music schools</p></li>
<li><p>They have advantages (especially psyc) of small classes and many research opportunities</p></li>
<li><p>Dr.Mikki Hebl is the most amazing professor ever. (teaches social psyc)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>There is a another thread somewhere about this… some psyc majors posted there. ill link if I can</p>
<p>Economics has two paths - B.A. in Economics or B.S. in Mathematical Economic Analysis.
B.A. in Econ requires only 10 classes within the department, MathEcon requires about 16 plus senior research. Rice’s MathEcon program is it’s strong point, and most students get offers from top companies after graduation, that is if they don’t go to grad school. I’ve heard that many of the classes are great (if you like econ) and the profs are great. However, Econ 211 (the intro class, most take it as a frosh) is pretty much a weed-out class and is taught by boring/demanding professors. The rest is on the department website linked in post #2.</p>
<p>I am not majoring in MathEcon but 2 of my close friends are, so if you have any super specific questions, I can try to answer them.</p>
<p>I agree with Antarius about psych - small classes, loads of opportunity for research. I think it’s even required to design and implement your own on-campus experiment, but don’t hold me to that. Almost all the psych classes require at least 3 hrs of participation in experiments, meaning you must be a guinea pig for the profs experiments (nothing freaky, just boring mostly). I took Psyc 101 and 203 (Intro to Cognitive Psych.) and while 101 was a great/easy class, 203 was more time-intensive than I had planned. Got a B. Eh. I’m not a psyc major.</p>
<p>dude- take PSYC 202. it is beyond amazing!</p>
<p>If it’s convenient for you Antarius, could you please post the link you mentioned in post 3?</p>
<p>sure. here it is.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/rice-university/720128-psychology-program-rice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/rice-university/720128-psychology-program-rice.html</a></p>
<p>was a couple pages down… a post from maybe a month ago?</p>
<p>Post back with any questions!</p>
<p>I’m also thinking of doing Econ or Math-Econ.
How rigorous is math-econ? Do people ever double major with that, or is the coarseload too heavy?</p>
<p>Also, what (if anything) is the difference between a B.A. and a B.S.?</p>
<p>Is there a comp sci requirement for math-econ (financial modeling on computers or anything?)</p>
<p>Thank you Antarius for the link. I’d also like to know about the possibility of double majoring with Math-Econ AND just Economics. Would an Economics and Psychology double major be a stretch?</p>
<p>Econ and Psyc isnt a hard double major at all. There really is no point in Math Econ and Econ as math Econ is like hard ecn. i believe yu need to take all or almost all ecn classes and more in math econ</p>
<p>I think a double major would be pretty easy. from the standpoint of being able to do it w/o taking too many classes a semester</p>
<p>You can’t major in Math Econ and Econ, like Antarius said. The department doesn’t allow you to do it, largely because it would be so repetitive and pointless, as they share many of the same courses. I’m doubling in Math Econ and either Stats or Math , proabably the former. If you get on the ball early so to speak, and have AP credit for calc, then its not a problem to double major, and still be able to take a history, english, anthropology, etc. type course each semester just for personal interest. Its just more difficult to double in a BA and BS degree, such as pairing any engineering degree or some science degrees with a social science/humanities.</p>
<p>TheFutureIsHere there is no comp sci requirement for Math Econ, although you have the option of fullfilling your diff eq/linear algebra requirement with a computational and applied mathematics course that does linear algebra programming. I don’t know any people that have done this, most people just take the “regular” math version of the class. You can also fulfill the Stat requirement with a more rigorous stat class than the one that most people take. </p>
<p>Rice has a Financial Computation and Modeling minor which is 6 classes, 3 of which are already required for a degree in Math Econ anyways. You also have to take an economics elective in financial markets, and you may also take some statistics classes in computational finance that focus on market models and times series analysis.</p>
<p>I am doing this minor also, and like I said, it won’t be difficult to complete, since many classes can count for multiple major/minors.</p>
<p>B.A. vs B.S. (Bachelor of Arts vs. Bachelor of Science)
…
Most Bachelor of Science programs are a little more intense than a Bachelor of Arts program. In other words, in addition to the degree having to be in a science related field, the degree itself will contain more required courses than a Bachelor of Arts degree. Of course this varies from college to college, but within each school the bachelor of science program is always more intense than the bachelor of arts program. There may be one more required course per semester, or more science courses required. The bottom line translation is, the program is harder to get through; in some cases, a lot harder.
(source: [Bachelor</a> Degree - BA Vs. BS](<a href=“http://ezinearticles.com/?Bachelor-Degree---BA-Vs.--BS&id=272581]Bachelor”>http://ezinearticles.com/?Bachelor-Degree---BA-Vs.--BS&id=272581))</p>
<p>Many high-profile employers like to see a B.S. If you plan on applying to grad school or maybe a government job, you should strongly consider getting a B.S.</p>
<p>Westsidewolf is correct; MathEcon + Econ is a no go. It can be easy (or very hard) to double major depending on what you choose as that second major. Many people do the Financial Computation and Modeling minor. Managerial Studies and Policy Studies are both very popular second majors for MathEcon. ((NOTE: Managerial Studies and Policy Studies both can only be second majors – you must have another major)) The Business minor is popular for many students.</p>
<p>Or you can double in History, Hispanic Studies, etc. Whatever floats your boat. Just know that double majors, minors, etc. tend to leave you with little time for “fun classes” so you better pick something you enjoy :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the answers guys. It sounds very complicated, but I’m sure I’ll get the grasp of it. Do the college versions of high school counselors help you pick classes and make sure you’re on track? And at Rice, what kind of schedule is it? How many classes per day etc…</p>
<p>Well, it can vary. There are a few people (my rating of usefulness is in brackets out of 10)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Academic Advisors. you meet them during Oweek to help you pick classes (4)</p></li>
<li><p>Peer Academic Advisors - Students who are qualified (1)</p></li>
<li><p>Fellow students/Oweek people (10). the more you talk to the more perspectives</p></li>
<li><p>Academic Advising office (5)</p></li>
<li><p>College Masters. Faculty members “in charge” of a college (10)</p></li>
<li><p>Upperclassmen in your major (11) </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Next, ho9w many classes a day is dependent on your pick. Most classes are</p>
<ol>
<li>MWF for 50 mins (like 10 to 10:50)</li>
<li>TR for 75 mins (10:50 to 12:05)</li>
<li>one day for 2.5/3 hours</li>
</ol>
<p>Basically a 3 cred course has 2.5 hours a week of classtime or a little more </p>
<p>On average people take 15-18 credits. </p>
<p>Dont worry about it. there is plenty of time and loads of help</p>
<p>If you put a “tentative” major or school on your app, that’s what you’re classified under going in (you can always change it). Each semester that school mails you a checklist and the grad. requirements for your major so you know what you have and haven’t done. Or maybe just Natural Sciences does that, idk. And you can always schedule an appt with your major’s/school’s advisor throughout the year if you want.</p>
<p>For most people it’s about 2 or 3 classes a day, like 3 classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (MWF) and 2 classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays (TR). You usually have options in working out your schedule though (unless you register for lots of classes that only offer one section, etc.), so it’s also not uncommon to know someone who got themselves 4 classes on MWF and 1 class on TR or some similar combo and have massive chunks of “free” time - when they really should study but won’t. 
A few classes (like in visual arts) have longer Monday and Wednesday classes, and so they don’t have Friday class. I only have one morning class on Fridays next semester.</p>
<p>I recommend signing up for 18 to 20 credits, and then DROPPING one or two classes that you just don’t like or are too time-consuming. You don’t want to overwork yourself first semester - you spent all four yrs in high school doing that, now it’s time to relax a teeny bit 
It’s a good idea to try out a class or two during the free shopping period because why not? But do NOT be scared or too stubborn to drop something when you feel you’ve stretched yourself too thin. You’ll just wind up stressed, fat, and with low grades. :D</p>
<p>This might all sound complicated, but I assure you it’s not. And there is tons of help if you need it. Mainly enjoy your summer and don’t start stressing about this stuff yet (or ever) because you’ll figure it out during O-Week, like everyong else is saying.</p>
<p>Haha, I have to be accepted first which will be a stressful venture in itself, so I don’t have time to be worrying about that stuff. I’m almost certain Rice is the school for me, if Rice were a woman, I’d probably marry her now so yeah, I think it’s likely I’ll apply early. </p>
<p>Thank you for all your very detailed responses reid and Antarius!</p>
<p>Rice is a woman… Condoleeza Rice that is ;)</p>
<p>hehehehe</p>
<p>just to clarify, both econ and math econ are BA degrees. math econ is NOT BS</p>
<p>Oops! My bad! :(</p>
<p>I thought MathEcon was a BS… I wonder why it’s not. Hmm.</p>
<p>Also I would like to say that a majority of BS degrees require a research thesis while most BA doesn’t (If I’m not wrong). BS is recommended for all science majors while BA is usually for humanities and arts (hence the Bachelors of Art and Bachelors of Science). BS has more requirements and classes to take than BA</p>
<hr>
<p>Some times you will see a AB degree, it is the same as a BA</p>