<p>I have interest in the fields of both mechanical/aerospace engineering and international relations. I have the skill-sets needed for both fields, and fairly comprable degrees of interest - so I was wondering what other people think about double majoring in engineering and I.R. I'm sure majoring in both would give a pretty versatile array of career options. I would also be able to deeply explore multiple interests. I love to work with numbers and to design things, yet I also love international studies and history. By studying these two majors, I would be able to pursue both of these interests. What other benefits would come with majoring in both fields? Are there any reasons why you think this would not be a good idea?</p>
<p>Also, what colleges (in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic area) would you recommend if I were to study both fields?</p>
<p>The hard part may be getting all of the requirements of both majors into the schedule space of a typical four year degree program, unless you go in with a lot of AP/IB/college credit that is accepted for subject credit (credit units won’t be all that useful in this situation) by the university you attend.</p>
<p>This may be a situation where a 3+2 program, where you major in IR at the “3” school while taking engineering prep courses, then transfer to the “2” school to complete the engineering degree (using five years of schedule space), may be an advantage. But beware of the usual issues with 3+2 programs (e.g. extra year of cost; transfer admission, financial aid, and scholarships unknown at the “2” school; choice of majors limited at many “3” schools; few 3+2 aspirants actually transfer; etc.).</p>
<p>There are probably very few jobs where both specific majors are useful, although general knowledge of social studies is good for engineers and general knowledge of STEM subjects is good for those in social studies.</p>
<p>What you may want to consider instead is major in engineering, but use your breadth requirements and free electives on IR courses of interest.</p>
<p>As far as colleges go, others can help you better at suggesting if you described your cost constraints and financial aid situation (including state of residency), as well as other desired attributes of schools besides having your desired majors.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.collegedata.com%5B/url%5D”>http://www.collegedata.com</a> indicates that there are only 39 colleges with all of aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, and international relations / national security studies. Some of them are false positives (e.g. Penn State regional campuses that function more like community colleges offering the first two years of course work for the main University Park campus).</p>