Five-year dual degree BA/BFA?

<p>My d is interested in studying both math and art, and a number of universities have five-year dual degree programs. I can't find any indication on the website that you can do this at U of I, so thought I would ask here. Thanks for any info.</p>

<p>There is no specific 5 year program for a dual degree between FAA and LAS college. However, both allow dual degrees, which is needed to be able to apply for it (the business college does not accept dual degree candidates). The way it works, absent having one of the specifically recognized five year dual degree programs at UIUC that you can start as a freshman, is that you have to first be accepted and start at one college and then for beginning of sophomore or junior year (some don’t allow it until junior year) you apply to the other college for admission to the second degree program. That application to the second program can be denied so you should not accept freshman admission on the assumption you will later be admitted to the second program. General rules applicable to dual degrees are here: [title</a> | Illinois](<a href=“http://admin.illinois.edu/policy/code/article3_part8_3-801.html]title”>http://admin.illinois.edu/policy/code/article3_part8_3-801.html) FAA’s mention of them is here: [FAA</a> Policy Regarding Dual Degrees | College of Fine + Applied Arts](<a href=“404 - College of Fine and Applied Arts”>404 - College of Fine and Applied Arts).</p>

<p>The type of dual degree you are contemplating will not be easy to do. First, with dual degrees, you need to take at least 30 hours more than the total hours required for your first degree, meaning rather than having somewhere in the range of 120 semester hours to graduate, you will need at least 150. Second, you will not only need good grades before you apply for the second degree so they can conclude you can possibly do it, but you will also need to to take any freshman year (and sophomore year if applying for junior year entry in second degree) required coursework for the second degree to be able to apply. Third, unrelated majors like art and math have a risk of having course conflicts that can possibly set back any five year plan. For example, you could have, during a semester, a required course you may need for one major and it is a course you must take before taking future course, and that course is being given only at the same time of another course in the other major that you also need to take before taking future courses. Those conflicts are usually avoided when the dual degree majors are related (such as math and engineering) because there is usually some coordiantion done in those related programs to avoid course conflicts (e.g., engineering students need the math coursaes so the math courses are not scheduled for the same times needed engineering courses are set) but that will not be the case for unrelated majors. Fourth, don’t count on being accepted into FAA for any talent based program if you start as a math major because those require portfolio or audition and many are rejected based on those even as freshman. Fifth, the FAA requiremetns are not only unrelated to the math program but the huge number of required courses for an FAA major and the requirement that you essentially do almost nothing other than FAA programs and courses for two semesters, make it particularly difficult to pursue a second degree unrelated to your FAA major. Finally, there are always a signficant number of freshman who come to UIUC with the belief they will seek dual degrees. When they look at junior year to see how many of those are actually doing so, it is always a small number. The usual quip is that the others all came to their senses.</p>

<p>Wow. Thanks so much for the thoughtful and detailed reply.</p>