Difficulty of simultaneous majors

<p>How difficult is it to double major in political science and business administration? Is it doable in eight semesters?</p>

<p>difficulty, no idea, but feasibility, certainly.</p>

<p>Quick count of approximate units needed (assuming FL already satisfied):</p>

<p>Business: 38 units UD business + 24-26 LD prerequisites = 64-66 units (includes R&C)
Political Science: 11 PS courses + 1 history course ~= 48 units
Additional breadth: ~3 courses (AL, BS, PS) ~= 9-12 units</p>

<p>Total is about 121-126 units.</p>

<p>less than 40 courses in total it sounds. so definitely easy, you’ll be cruising at about 16 units err sem. peasy.</p>

<p>I have passed the following AP’s:
US History - 4
Chemistry - 4
English Lang - 4
Spanish Lang - 5
Calculus BC - 5
Cal AB Subscore - 5
Micro Econ - 5
English Lit - 3 :(</p>

<p>Can you fulfill the history prerequisite for Poli Sci with the history AP exam? Which math do you recommend taking? 1B, 16B, or 53?</p>

<p>Math: 53 or 54 if you want to learn more math (or are considering later work in math heavy economics or finance) and find the material in the [sample</a> Math 1A and 1B finals](<a href=“http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/current-undergraduates/new-students/choosing-an-appropriate-first-math-course.html]sample”>http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/current-undergraduates/new-students/choosing-an-appropriate-first-math-course.html) to be stuff you know well (and some people find these courses’ subject matter less difficult than 1B anyway). 1B or 16B if you want to be a typical pre-Haas / pre-med academic sandbagger (the curve may be harder than you think because lots of other students do this).</p>

<p>On history AP, it does not fulfill any [Political</a> Science major requirements](<a href=“http://polisci.berkeley.edu/undergrad/requirements/post/]Political”>Requirements for the Major | UC Berkeley Political Science).</p>

<p>So the net effect of your AP credit is:</p>

<ul>
<li>Fulfill R&C A (4 on English Language).</li>
<li>Fulfill foreign language requirement (5 on Spanish Language) if not already done.</li>
<li>Reduce by one the number of math courses needed (5 on Calculus BC – you need to take one instead of two math courses for Haas) and allow taking a more advanced math course like Math 53 or 54.</li>
<li>Allow you to skip Chemistry 1A if you want to take Chemistry 1B or 3A (4 on Chemistry).</li>
<li>Give you a bunch of units to improve class standing.</li>
</ul>

<p>If you try for the proposed simultaneous majors, you have basically saved two courses with your AP credit (one R&C, one math).</p>

<p>Im leaning toward taking math 53. Is self studying required before taking math 53? I heard that either 53 or 54 requires self studying if one decides to skip 1B.</p>

<p>if you got a 5 on BC, it’s probably a waste of time to take 16b/1b. just go to 53, things will be fine, no need for self study since no one else does it and the course is curved anyway.</p>

<p>Math 54 is the course which assumes some knowledge of introductory differential equations from Math 1B that may not be covered in other non-Berkeley second semester calculus courses or AP:</p>

<p>[Advanced</a> Placement (AP) Examinations - UC Berkeley Department of Mathematics](<a href=“http://math.berkeley.edu/courses_AP.html]Advanced”>http://math.berkeley.edu/courses_AP.html)</p>

<p>This appears to be chapters 9 and 17 of the Math 1A/1B/53 book:</p>

<p>[Math</a> 1B - UC Berkeley Department of Mathematics](<a href=“http://math.berkeley.edu/courses_lowerdivcourses_math1B.html]Math”>http://math.berkeley.edu/courses_lowerdivcourses_math1B.html)</p>

<p>Well im going to take math 53 then. Also im assuming math 53 looks better than 16b/1b on a haas appliction. Is Econ 141 the only Econ or business class that requires math 54?</p>

<p>No undergraduate business course requires more than Math 16A.</p>

<p>Economics C103 and 141 require Math 54. You probably want to take Math 54 and possibly more advanced courses (104, 110, 113) if you decide to major in Economics with the goal of going to graduate school in Economics.</p>

<p>[url=&lt;a href=“http://www.econ.berkeley.edu/econ/grad/preparation.shtml]Preparation[/url”&gt;Preparation | Department of Economics]Preparation[/url</a>]</p>

<p>@youcrazy: Math 53 will NOT look better on your haas app. it is taken with the same eye as the 16a/b series. IMO, you should only take 53 if you plan on double majoring in a chem other math intensive series, or, if you like math or are good at math. Don’t take it thinking it will help you application-wise.</p>

<p>[FAQs</a>, Undergraduate Program - Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley](<a href=“Admission FAQ - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas”>Admission FAQ - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas)</p>

<p>Keep in mind poli sci and bus admin are both top UCB programs (buz especially so), but they are completely different in subject matter. Though the units may not be that immense, keep in mind that a poli sci/buz degree is heavily quantitative/logical as well as qualitative. It is definitely a difficult double major to pursue considering the diversity of skills you need to be successful, but if you can pull it off, it is very valuable.</p>

<p>^ +1 to the statements that 53/54 ~ 1 series ~ 16 series in the eyes of haas</p>