Double Major: History and...?

College Majors
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<p>I've known from the get go that I wanted to major in History (emphisis on US from pre-Revolution to pre-WWI, especially the Civil War) and either get a masters in Library Science and/or History and go into research or museum work. So, I get to college and, lo and behold, Pitt's History major is ten classes. That's it. I have four done already and I'm a rising sophomore! Really don't want to spend the rest of my college career filling my schedule with mindless electives, so I've been considering a double major. </p>

<p>I was originally thinking History/Anthropology when I first went to school, taking Cultural Anth my first semester. I got a high A in the class, but it was sort of...boring. The professor was only interesting when he talked about his personal experiences in the field and the rest of the time he was kind of..blah. So, then I was considering Poli Sci. I bombed the class I took. I didn't fail, but I didn't do very well - I'm actually retaking the class because I feel like I let the professor (and myself) down by doing so poorly (and because he is the sole advisor for the PS department and I don't want to feel like an idiot if I walk in his office). I'm not too worried about falling behind on credits as I'm already planning to enroll in for a couple classes this summer - I'm close enough to commute a few days a week, either by driving myself, or by bus (my town has a commuter bus that leaves every two hours and, as a Pitt student, Pitt buses are free, even when school isn't in session - I have no problem with that $90 transportation fee!). Buuuut, I've also been looking at History/English Lit. All of these are doable in four years, but I have no idea which one I should do. My mom and aunt (former Guidance Councilor - I call her my personal advisor ;) ) are with me - any of them would work. The question is which one?</p>

<p>I would have too many credits left over to do Major/Minor and Major/Major/Minor is just...no. </p>

<p>And, just to make my life THAT much better, I've been considering doing two certificates (not quite a minor), Historic Preservation and EU/West European Studies instead of a second major. Historic Preservation can only help a history major and the other one is out of personal interest (EU Studies and West Euro Studies are two different certificates, and many classes can count for either one. The main difference (from what I can see, anyway) is that one of them requires Study Abroad, which might not be financially possible for me). I was thinking that these would a better way to take a wide range of courses without mindless electives.</p>

<p>Any suggestions?</p>

<p>Oh, and Pitt requires a "related area", a minor/second major/certificate that complements your major. I probably should have mentioned that before lol.</p>

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<p>First -be aware that in most cases you’re going to need a PhD to “go into research” and the Library Science masters is essentially a job credential. Museum jobs are few and far between. That said…</p>

<p>Even at the masters level you’re going to need at least 1 modern research language. French and German are the usual suspects and having one beyond the “reading knowledge” level will be helpful in your graduate applications. So factor that into your scheduling if it’s not already there. Given your interests/time period, nailing down French is an obvious spot to do a minor - I see Pitt’s French dept. has some courses labelled 17th and 18th century topics that could well be useful for you.</p>

<p>I personally like the Historical Preservation certificate idea, particularly if you can manage to snag an internship. </p>

<p>Finally… don’t double major if you’re planning to go to grad. school in your undergrad major field (graduate school ad-coms want to see depth and commitment). Instead, you want to maximize the number of upper level courses you take in your department. Take courses that have a LARGE writing component and write your papers as though they were to be submitted for publication. I see that Pitt’s History department has an Honors program - that should be high on your priority list.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

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<p>Philosophy? It’s only 8 courses at Pitt.</p>