<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I just wondered if anyone could tell me about double-majoring at Tulane. I know some schools make it easy to do this, while at others it is much harder. Would it take extra time/summer courses to do this, or could you get enough in the standard four years with summers off. If I could get a reply from a Tulane student who has actually double-majored, that would be fantastic.</p>
<p>And if it matters, my double major would most likely be political science + anthropology.</p>
<p>Many thanks.</p>
<p>My S initially double majored in Political Science and Environmental Studies. His main interest is Environmental Studies but when he first started there, ES was what they call a “coordinate major”. This means that you can major in the subject BUT you have to choose another Tulane-recognized stand-alone major. So he picked Political Science.</p>
<p>Fast forward 2 years and Env Studies became a stand-alone major too. So S dropped Pol Sci as a major and is doing a minor only. But based on research I helped S do when he was trying to figure out what to pick initially, it appeared to me that Tulane makes it pretty easy to double major. S would have been able to complete both and still graduate on time, although this includes about 12 hours of AP credits.</p>
<p>The issue for some students isn’t that it’s not possible, but the specific two majors one chooses. It would be potentially very difficult with some combinations but not in others.This is true at any university. </p>
<p>Additionally, for some students, including S, money was an issue. His scholarship, though small, helped. And it wasn’t applicable beyond the 4th year, putting some pressure on him to make sure he finished “on time”. That said, if he’d been interested in Pol Sci enough, he could have made it work for him. He also, for awhile, had another “primary” major and took a couple classes to see how he liked it. He didn’t, and those credits were basically wasted, especially since he did very poorly in both of those classes and they ultimately didn’t count towards anything at all!</p>
<p>I think you should take a hard look at the particular areas of interest you have and read through what classes are required. I found very good information looking through the website. And S got additional questions answered quite capably from the Advisement Office (although he ended up with at least 6 different advisors during his 4 years, largely due to changes after Katrina, I believe).</p>
<p>My D is finishing her Biochemistry/Environmental Biology double major. Four years, no summers. But she liked taking eighteen credits a semester, which may not suit everyone. Curiouser is right, it really depends on the combination of majors. But I think it’s fair to say that Tulane makes it relatively easy to double-major. It was certainly easier than at her sister’s OOS flagship.</p>
<p>Pretty much echoing what curiouser and New Hope said, my D is planning on double majoring in China Area Studies (also a coordinate major that is slated to become a full major this year so it will be in place for 2010-2011 school year and beyond) and English/Creative Writing. Just to add a twist, you can actually get two degrees if you complete 150 hours instead of 120, which is doable if you have a healthy dose of credits coming in. But that aside, if the majors are completely different like chemistry and English, it might be difficult, but definitely not impossible. Again, the more credits you have coming in the easier everything gets. But if the majors are somewhat more related, it is a little easier because then the requirements beyond the core are likely to be more similar.</p>
<p>It requires some extra planning from the start, so have your advisor really work with you. If you aren’t happy with the help you are getting, find a new advisor. But I am sure they would all be happy to work it through with you.</p>
<p>My D just finished her sophomore year at Tulane. She expects to graduate w/ a double major in Anthropology & Latin American Studies. It was her adviser who brought up, that based on the course work, it wouldn’t take that much more to get the double major. I agree that is the majors are in similar fields you should be able to get it done. Also, she came in w/ no AP credits & has not taken any summer classes. Good luck!</p>