<p>So I'm considering getting a double major in psychology and physics if I go to Reed, but I heard that's exceedingly difficult due to the senior theses. Is it possible to enroll for an extra year to do the two theses separately? Thank you.</p>
<p>Yes it is, and that’s what some double majors end up doing. Be aware, however, that institutional financial aid is only available for four years, so you’d better graduate on time if you need money.</p>
<p>I know there’s a Psych-Theatre double major currently at Reed who plans to graduate in four years, so it’s not completely impossible if you plan ahead and are good at time-managing (though some might argue that theatre is less time-consuming than physics–I don’t know about that; I think doing a senior thesis is hard for everyone).</p>
<p>Thank you very much. I’m going to have to graduate in four years since my family is extremely low-income, but I think I can do it.
Also, as someone whose involved in theatre quite a bit, I can attest to the fact that theatre can sometimes be the most time-consuming activity you’ll ever do.</p>
<p>I have no idea how you (or anyone) could juggle writing 2 theses in one year, unless you were superhuman. I think you would either have take an extra year to space them out or attempt to write one as a junior and one as a senior, meaning that you would have to take your junior qual in one of the disciplines by the second semester of your sophomore year… which also seems pretty unrealistic. </p>
<p>Perhaps if you took most of your group requirements, like intro science, language/math, social studies, etc, during summer sessions at PSU or a local college, or if you’re coming into Reed with a lot of college credit already under your belt, you would have a better chance at getting both sets of major and departmental requirements completed in 4 years. But basically, in order to double-major, you would probably have to supplement your 4 years at Reed somehow (with classes taken elsewhere or another year)</p>
<p>You will most likely run into a lot of people (professors, advisors, admin) that will say you should major in one discipline, take a bunch of classes in the other, and use your thesis to explore both. I have a friend who was a bio major but very involved in the psych department as well, and she wrote her thesis on neuroscience. This is a much more sane direction to pursue and you will still learn a ton in both disciplines, even if you don’t graduate with a piece of paper to prove it (perhaps you could call it an unofficial minor).</p>
<p>Other options: It is possible to petition Reed’s fin aid office to give you more than 8 semesters of institutional aid. I don’t know what they base their decision on or how often people get this, but I know it is an option. Ask them for more info.
You can potentially petition to combine 2 majors into 1 degree (and 1 thesis), i.e. Physics-Psych. That sounds like what the Theatre-Psych student did. It doesn’t sound like most people are generally successful at doing this, though, and it involves jumping through a ton of hoops. Contact the department chairs for more info.</p>
<p>I actually met someone at Reed who was doing a double major between Psych and Physics. Sadly, I don’t remember his name, so I can’t recommend you to him XD But it shows it’s possible, albeit pretty much a 90 degree climb.</p>
<p>I might double major too, although between two subjects with a bit more overlap 
French lit and religion, whatup.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, there are two different things on the table- double majoring and interdisciplinary degrees. Double majoring is getting degrees in two different disciplines and meeting all the requirements for each, including writing two theses. Interdisciplinary degrees are combining two disciplines into one (usually hyphenated) degree and it only involves writing one thesis. There are some already established interdisciplinary degrees, such as Lit-Theatre and Bio-Chem, and then there are Ad Hoc interdisciplinary degrees, where you combine two disciplines to create your own program with the help and approval of faculty.</p>
<p>I think real double majoring is somewhat rare, though I’m sure there are always a few masochists who attempt it. 
Ad hoc degrees seem to be more common, but if you look at the statistics ( [REED</a> COLLEGE BACCALAUREATE DEGREES BY DEPARTMENT](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/gradbydept.html]REED”>Baccalaureate Degrees by Department - Institutional Research - Reed College) ), it is still a small percent of the student body.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to say it can’t be done, just trying to help you realize that it sounds a lot easier in theory than in practice, especially before you’ve matriculated. But if that’s what your heart desires, then figure out how to make it happen and go for it.</p>
<p>You think the leap between French lit and religion is small enough that I could make that an interdisciplinary major? Given that I still want to major in religion as a junior, obviously.</p>
<p>Short answer: Yes, but it mostly depends on you.</p>
<p>Long answer: I think the deal with ad-hoc interdisciplinary majors is when you make your proposal to do one, you basically need to already have thought of a thesis topic that skillfully combines both disciplines. So if you figure that out, then you have a better shot of being approved and being successful. (Also, If you look at the stats I linked above, someone had done Russian/Religion so language and religion have been combined… maybe try to look up their thesis and figure out how??)</p>
<p>Have you been on reedlj? There are some similar questions to yours that might give you more info.</p>
<p>“I actually met someone at Reed who was doing a double major between Psych and Physics. Sadly, I don’t remember his name, so I can’t recommend you to him XD”</p>
<p>When I visited as a prospie in spring, I was actually set up to have lunch with this guy. What a smart person! He also worked at the nuclear reactor I think, and participates in fire dancing. From what I remember him telling me, he was taking a fifth year or at least another semester to finish his second thesis.</p>
<p>I met someone else who is doing a true double major in four years, but he’s taking classes over the summer to get some group requirements out of the way. He’s planning to write one thesis starting the spring of his junior year and one starting in the fall of his senior year.
Ambitious!</p>