<p>Or, grad schools in a lot of different fields, say, grad schools in physics, psychology, applied math, neuroscience, etc...? I know that most people have specialized to some level at this point - however, we must consider that grad schools do take people in from a lot of different majors - and some people are still undecided at this stage, right?</p>
<p>Well, to give you an anecdote, Robert Rubin (former Secretary of the Treasury under Clinton) got into both the PhD economics program at Harvard and also Harvard Law School.</p>
<p>Generally, though, people only apply to graduate school in one area (law school is, after all, a professional school, not a graduate school).</p>
<p>To be honest, many graduate programs do not admit people from a variety of majors. You're expected to have a strong background in and a strong interest in the field in which you're applying -- after all, you're applying to spend 4-6+ years doing only intensive research in that field. I believe everybody I met during my graduate school interviews was a biology major (or molecular biology, or biochemistry, etc).</p>
<p>If you're undecided about what you want to study or research, graduate school is not a good option for you.</p>
<p>I applied to two different areas, but they are sort of related. I know other people who have applied to two or three types of programs but not in wildly different fields.</p>
<p>In my field of geology, it is fairly common not to have an undergraduate degree in the geosciences. Many MS programs will accept people with undergraduate degrees in any of the sciences, including chemistry, physics, biology, and even math. Heck, there is a MS student here with his BS in computer engineering (albeit it took him having to take a lot of classes before getting admitted)! You normally can't get directly into the PhD program without a degree in the geosciences, but it is not unheard of, and you normally must complete all deficiencies before the end of your first year (including all major core courses recommended by your committee and the allied sciences intro courses you may not have completed). </p>
<p>This situation probably isn't too common in the other traditional sciences. However, the humanities may be a little looser. </p>
<p>When I was applying to graduate school, I thought about both geology and geological engineering programs, but ultimately decided pure geology was the right path for me.</p>
<p>Yeah, I should have added that it's totally different if you're in an interdisciplinary field -- I applied to both cell biology programs and neurobiology programs, for example, because my research interests are in cellular neurobiology. Some people apply to programs which have different names at different schools, but they are usually applying for the same subject, even under different monikers.</p>
<p>Dang.... I want to apply to fields in both the natural sciences and the social sciences. However, UWashington social sciences generally are considered to be "slacker majors" and I'm not willing to waste my parents money on those - plus, they really are easy... And as for natural sciences, applied math, astronomy, and neurobiology are what I want to try for. But I'll be self-studying the biology and chemistry for the GRE exam for those [BTW, I am not a neurotypical, I do better when self-taught] - since courses in those tend to be massive and it's easy to find resources on those, as compared to resources in more theoretical math/physics subjects.</p>
<p>Mollie: Yeah, in computational neuroscience, they tend to say things like "We prefer students who have majored in math, biology, physics, chemistry, computer science, or a related field." Or "Your undergrad major can be in anything as long as you have at least a year of physics, a year of math, blah blah blah." Or "The relevant disciplines for this program are [list]. Most successful applicants have majored in one of these and have sufficient background in the others to be able to enroll in upper level courses in those fields."</p>
<p>There are also interdisciplinary programs that overlap - I emailed Brandeis asking if they allow apps for multiple departments, because if they do I would consider applying to biophysics as well as neuroscience - they share a major research center and I think that neuroelectronics, for instance, are quite interesting and relevant to both.</p>
<p>I was having the same question... I'm trying to decide whether to pursue a graduate degree (probably a master's) in psychology or in math. Both areas interest me greatly (I'm a double major, and I hope to have research experience in both areas before I graduate). My problem is that, my number one deciding factor is going to be funding. My understanding is that there is considerably less funding available for psych grad programs than for math (correct me if I'm wrong.) Basically, my predicament is that, if I'm able to get into a math grad school that offers me good funding, I'd do that - but, if money doesn't even come through for math, I think it would come down to me choosing math or psychology for a master's program at my not-so-competitve state university (which would both be free, due to a scholarship I already have), in which case, I think I'd enjoy psychology more. Would it be totally crazy to apply to a handful of math grad programs, and then to the local (and free) psych master's program as a backup??</p>