I was just wondering how hard it is to double major at notre dame. Specifically, I was wondering how hard it would be to do a biological sciences-economics double major, as this would keep options open for both business and medical school. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
It’s not hard as far being able/allowed to do it. A LOT of ND students double major across colleges, and about a third of Mendoza students double major outside of business. It seems that adding a second major and/or a minor is really encouraged at ND. My daughter has a double major and her adviser encouraged her to add a minor, which she did (and she’ll be able to graduate on time). A lot of her friends do the same.
You can definitely do a double major like biology and economics. As well, there is a science-business tract at ND. Most students seem to add another major or minor - My oldest son was a chemistry major and medieval studies minor - an alchemist!, My daughter is a history major and education minor, and my younger son is an IT management major with a history major. College is a great time to study what interests you! Or in the words of Prof McKenna of the anthropology department, “There is nothing you CAN’T do with that major” Have a great time at ND!
Double majors like Bio-Chem would be really hard but yep, Bio-Econ is totally doable (since econ is the “easier” major). However, you’ll need to take a lot of required courses as you’ll need to satisfy both college of science and college of arts and letters requirements. It will help a lot if you have some AP courses under your belt (ex: calc, english, history to be specific). Planning is key!
thanks for the replies. Just one last question- is this doable in terms of gpa? I eventually want to go into medical/dental school so keeping gpa up is key. I plan on working very hard, I just want to be sure Im not working my butt off just to get bad results becasue I picked too hard of a courseload…
Note that Econ is in the school of Arts & Letters, not in Mendoza. Doubling with College of Science and Arts & Letters is very doable. For example, lot of Bio majors end up with a second major in a language, which is also doubling between Science and A&L.
@T41997, I think the fact that so many premed students at ND do double major indicates that it is, in fact, doable as far as GPA. Otherwise they wouldn’t be doing it. There may be some who attempt it and then change their minds or drop one to a minor, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I think it’s more common that people start out with one major and then add a second one. The only way to know if it’s doable for you is to give it a shot and see how it goes. You’re obviously a strong and dedicated student to have been accepted to ND, so I imagine you’d have no problem.