<p>S was accepted yesterday and they have him in system as a Psych major. The issue for him is that he is positive that he wants to dual major in fine arts. Given the scheduling difficulty at UCSC (have heard that it's hard to take courses if it's not considered "in your major"), will it be impossible for him to get the courses he needs to even complete a double major? Anyone at UCSC that can give better clarity here? Can't find enough on their site.</p>
<p>Fine arts? You’re going to have to specify which major.</p>
<p>In general, your son will have no trouble taking lower division classes for any major. The exceptions are, well…Psychology and Art (as in, drawing/painting). Those are the two most impacted programs at UCSC. So he might not get to take any lower division psych courses right off the bat. But this is especially fine if he wants to double major. </p>
<p>It only becomes difficult to take classes outside of your designated major once you hit upper division classes (any class number larger than 100). At that point classes are often restricted to people who are declared.</p>
<p>By the way, your son is only a proposed psychology major. It doesn’t mean much, except that he is on their advising mailing list. He will have to take a few courses before he can declare. [UC</a> Santa Cruz - Program - Declaring Psychology Majors/Minor](<a href=“http://psych.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/the_psych_major.php]UC”>http://psych.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/the_psych_major.php)</p>
<p>Hopefully that clears up a lot of your questions.</p>
<p>Yes, that clears it up. Thank you! I see what you mean in terms of “fine arts” --covers a vast amount of concentrations in art. Sorry about that. He’s most interested in photography. Your response makes me feel that it is possible for him to do both, but 3rd/4th years will be more of the issue. I just want him to be aware ahead of time, so he can plan well. thx very much.</p>
<p>It’s not impossible. I have a friend who is double majoring in art and legal studies and she hasn’t had that much of a problem getting her classes–and she didn’t even decide she wanted to double major until spring quarter of freshman year. If he’s dedicated enough, it can be done.</p>
<p>I was just admitted for Comp. Eng. but I’m planning of switching to Comp. Sci. I am also thinking of double majoring in either film or physics. It probably sounds like an odd coupling, but is it impossible to juggle engineering and another major? Not for sure about anything but I’m just curious.</p>
<p>I don’t think either of those is possible, at least not easily. You might be able to add physics if you are willing to take 5 years. There is only 4 classes that overlap with CS and Physics. A bit more with CE. Yes, the course work will be incredibly tough. You’ll probably not get any easy quarters the moment you hit upper division classes.</p>
<p>[Physics</a> B.S. at UC Santa Cruz](<a href=“http://undergrad.pbsci.ucsc.edu/programs/physics/physbs.html]Physics”>http://undergrad.pbsci.ucsc.edu/programs/physics/physbs.html)
[Current</a> Curriculum Charts | Jack Baskin School of Engineering](<a href=“Baskin School of Engineering – Baskin Engineering provides unique educational opportunities, world-class research with an eye to social responsibility and diversity.”>Baskin School of Engineering – Baskin Engineering provides unique educational opportunities, world-class research with an eye to social responsibility and diversity.)</p>
<p>The key to figuring out if you can double major is how many classes in lower division overlap. There are councilors at the advising departments that will gladly help you make a 4/5 year plan of all of your classes to help you figure out how possible a double major is. It is also somewhat dependent on which math you place in/out of. Placing out of Calculus (Math19A/B) via AP score would be a major advantage.</p>
<p>Yeah, I had seen those a while back. I was disappointed that more classes didn’t overlap, but I was hoping it was possible. Is it possible to double major in two engineering majors? I was also looking at bioinformatics which is in baskin. Both have quite a few overlapping classes, but I’m not sure since some other UC engineering programs don’t allow doubling in two engineering majors. </p>
<p>Also, if you’re wondering, the trouble for me wasn’t deciding on a major, it was more of deciding which one. So much I’d love to learn, and not enough time. Deciding was a batch if you know what I mean.</p>
<p>Double majoring within engineering would be…unwise. For your sanity, anyhow. Bioinformatics one of the toughest majors at UCSC, right behind bioengineering. </p>
<p>I believe the rule at UCSC is that you can double-major between most engineering majors, but you cannot major in one and minor in another. </p>
<p>Chances are you will go into school and decide you’ll like one subject more than the other anyhow. Take the lower divisions for whichever you like in your first year. Just keep on track with math classes and you’ll be flexible enough to take on any major.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I’ll probably major in comp sci and talk to a counselor to get some stuff straightened out. Might minor in film if possible. And again, thanks.</p>