Help for a Humanities Loving Science Nerd!!

College Search & Selection
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<p>Ok, here's the problem. I like alot of things. I like science and math, as well as English and foreign language (French). I thought I had figured it out and would get a double major in Econ and English, but I have this nagging feeling that something either in Engineering or Biology might be right for me, too. </p>

<p>First of all, How do you decide between fields? I know that alot of people switch majors in college, but if my perfect major is some sort of engineering, it would be nice if I knew that now, and so could apply to engineering schools like MIT, Olin, etc.</p>

<p>Secondly, is it possible to double major in engineering and something in the humanities like English? I really love English, but I would feel unbalanced/be missing something if I just majored in English. The same is true if I just majored in a Science field. I really feel like I need them both.</p>

<p>Thirdly, which schools have the best humanities and science departments? I'm guessing this would be schools like Stanford and Duke... but can anyone else name some schools with top humanities and sciences for me?</p>

<p>Currently, I'm focusing on applying to larger universities where I'll have all the opportunities I need. This way I can figure out what things I want to major in. The list of Majors I'm interested in is: Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Economics,
and English Literature. I most likely will major in English, and then double major with one of the science ones (if this is possible).</p>

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<p>Personally, I plan on double majoring in Engineering (currently planning on Biomedical) and a humanities subject (likely Philosophy or English). As I am an incoming freshman, I can't really speak to the difficulty of accomplishing this, but I will be attending a school that is competent in both the humanities and the sciences. I have been told that what I intend is possible, if not necessarily easy.</p>

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<p>you should seriously check out <em>Harvey Mudd</em> in Claremont, California.
Harvey Mudd is listed as a liberal arts school, but it is also a Caltech-esque science and engineering powerhouse. Not to mention it is small (like Olin) but part of a major college community (Duke/Stanford). Plus the L.A. location is great for biomed stuff.
Yes, this is shameless local repping on my part, but Mudd is really an awesome school.</p>

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<p>Sooner or later you'll decide what you'll want to do, so it is probably best to pick schools that are generally good overall, rather than look for department specialties. </p>

<p>Don't be hellbent on Double majoring, you may find out that you want to be a nuclear engineer who works in France, and that may satisfy the demands on both sides of your brain. My point is there are ways you incorporate different talents of yours into your life without the overwork that is a double major. I really had a penchant for Math, Science, History and Economics, and magically, I found a "Financial Engineering/Operation Research" major that incorporated all these things that I liked, which was the major that I applied for to the majority of my schools. Maybe there's a specific field that hits most of your targets.</p>

<p>Now, however, I feel like I may be interested in ChemE, BioE, or Material Science. After next year, I may be an Applied Physics major. You just never know what you are going to want to study until you get some textbooks under your belt. </p>

<p>You might look into broad Core Curriculum (such as the one at Columbia [shameless plug]) to satisfy your broad intellectual interests. </p>

<p>Yes it is possible to do that double major, but you may have to either, sacrifice the depth of your engineering program, or have to stay an extra year. Some schools (such as Rice University) are easier to double major at because there are lax major requirements and lots of AP credits. If you decide you keep this track, you might want to pay attention to schools that make you choose a department on your application, and will put you into a "school" such as an engineering school or a college of arts and sciences school that could have a difficult transfer process.</p>

<p>10 Schools I think you should look at:
Columbia - Pick a major, and balance yourself with a Core or 4+1/3+2 programs
Rice - see above
Princeton - Although you can do only one major they encourage you to incorporate a variety of aspects of knowledge into a senior thesis, don't have to choose being an Engineering or Art& Science major at Application
Stanford - Top departments in all fields, don't have to choose being an Engineering or Art& Science major at Application
Yale - Top Humanities Departments, good science too
Duke - Good school in Science and humanities
UChicago - Has a diverse Core Curriculum, excellent departments in both English and Science; no engineering (yet)
MIT - You said it yourself, it has the science you can take classes at Harvard and other schools in the area if you want in depth humanities, if you find MIT's not to your liking
Brown - Study whatever you want, make up your own major incorporating everything
Carnegie Mellon - another school that encourages intellectual diversity
University of Rochester - they have this 5th year of undergraduate study free deal, I think, which will enable you to get all you want.</p>

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<p>It's very difficult to double major in engineering and anything else because there are so many required courses for an engineering major. Mikethemaddog has the right idea with how to incorporate all your interests and he has a good list of schools for you, too.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all your help!</p>

<p>First off, to Mikethemaddog66, I have a lot of those colleges on my list! So that helps reaffirm that I'm on the right track!! Columbia is fairly high, as are Stanford, Duke, UChicago, Princeton, Yale, and Rice. I know there are other ways to combine interests, but I have such a deep interest in both humanities and the sciences, I don't think my interests could be satisfied without a double major. Like with Columbia, for example, although the Core would cover many different areas, I wouldn't get that indepth study of English if I majored in EE at SEAS. And that would be sad : (</p>

<p>Ejhfast, what school are you at? That's wonderful that you can double major in Engineering and the humanities!!</p>

<p>Hollyert, thanks for the Harvey Mudd suggestion. I've already looked at the Claremont Colleges, and would most likely be interested in CMC. However, I'm wondering if I could do a double major through CMC and Harvey Mudd. Do you know if that's possible?</p>

<p>Yes, yes, I know this is difficult. But I think this would be the best choice for me. I really believe that double majoring like this would make me happy, lol. </p>

<p>So, if anyone would like to post new schools/reaffirm schools where it's feasible to sanely double major in the sciences (not necessarily engineering, but perhaps biology or neuroscience) and English, please do!! I would be most grateful!</p>

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<p>Because of the class requirements of the "core" [ which essentialy take up your first two years there], it is notoriously difficult to double major at Chicago if one of your majors is in the sciences- it would be almost impossible to do so in 4 years anyway.</p>

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<p>I'm not sure about double-majoring between CMC and HMC but you certainly could take a substantial number of courses at both... I'm sure the CMC/HMC websites have more info on that. Going to HMC alone also might take care of that, if you're very into science/engineering, because the humanities there are easily supplemented by CMC/Pomona/Scripps (Scripps especially for French), but going to another school (besides Pomona) would mean sacrificing the upper-level sci/eng classes at HMC. But really with those schools you cannot go wrong. However, if you're looking for the easy package deal, I can't help you.</p>

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<p>If you were to go to CMC, a math degree would be on campus, a science courses would be through the Joint Science Department (shared by CMC, Scripps, and Pitzer, sometimes supplemented through Pomona and HMC courses if they're not offered by JSD), and an engineering degree would be taken in a 3-2 arrangement (I believe this is the only option, but I could be incorrect...perhaps a 4-year off-campus major is possible), so your situation would depend on which "science-y" field you pursued :) One thing to note is that CMC does not allow minors, so you would have to pursue a double or dual major (again, don't take me on my word here, but I'm pretty sure about the claim).</p>

<p>For the record, I chose Claremont (Scripps) because I was also very torn between English and engineering (neither of which I ended up studying, but I did do two closely related fields). The trouble I had was that few small schools, as you've implied, have the resources to excel in both areas. But another issue that I encountered was that large schools often closed off certain fields to students of other "schools," i.e. you could be in the School of Engineering or the School of Humanities, but couldn't cross over (or at least not easily). I'm sure plenty of schools offer ways around this, but be sure to take it into account. Claremont offers excellence in a wide variety of fields without the extensive limitations of many larger universities. You'll find the same true at some other LACs, many of which are regularly listed here, but I don't know the info off the top of my head. Point is: don't limit yourself to large schools if you think you'd be interested in the environment of smaller schools, because some of them will still offer what you're looking for. </p>

<p>On a final Claremont-related note, I would not recommend HMC to a student whose primary interest is in the humanities. I would definitely recommend it to someone who said "I absolutely want to major in the sciences, but would like to pursue English studies as well." Since you've indicated the reverse, however, I'd advise you to look elsewhere in Claremont, while remembering that some of HMC's wonderful resources will be available to you (and obviously, be sure to look more closely into what exactly these would be). And as the colleges you've mentioned all indicate a competitive application, I'd especially advise you to look closely at Pomona (noting once again that the only engineering option may by 3-2, while some LACs offer regular 4 year programs).</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Oooh! Pomona/Caltech 3-2 Program... totally forgot about that. That's always another option.</p>

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<p>Reed College in Portland also has a 3/2 program with Cal Tech. It is like Chicago, with a "core program" in the Humanities, and is very strong in the sciences.</p>

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<p>add Davidson and William & Mary. I know W&M has an engineering 3/2 programs with Columbia and WUSTL.</p>

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<p>Blondie625,</p>

<p>To answer your question, I will be attending the University of Virginia. It allows crossover between the Engineering School and College of Arts/Sciences, and actually, it requires all Engineering students to fulfill credits in the humanities. Also, I will not have to complete all degree requirements in both schools (Engineering + Arts and Sciences), but simply finish my Engineering degree concurrent with the courses mandated under a humanities major.</p>

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<p>I'd second University of Rochester for you. It has a top-notch engineering program, with all the other hard sciences and liberal arts offerings you could want. Switching out of engineering is an easy option (of course, switching into engineering is harder). And even engineering students are required to take a "cluster" of 3 courses in a humanities area and a social sciences area, so you'd get the breadth of education you want, but could pick those clusters that interest you. Rochester is also generous with merit aid, and it does have the Take Five program where you go for a fifth year tuition free.</p>

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<p>blondie: One thing you might want to think about because I ran into this when I got an engineering degree and wanted to double major in Econ. If you get a Bachelor of Science at some schools it's impossible to double major in a subject only offered as a Bachelor of Arts. And, you have to consider that a BA in Chemistry is not to the same depth as a BS in Chemistry, and might not carry the same cachet in the employment world or in application to grad school. I know this is true for computer science. I have encouraged my son (who is thinking about CS as a major) to pursue a BSCS rather than a BACS. This gives him some problems if he wants to double major in economics (another of his interests). There are only a few schools who offer BSCS and BS Econ. At each school, check out the coursework required for the degrees you want.</p>

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<p>Look into Dartmouth, too. It is on the quarter system which allows a diversity of interests. I wpuld also look into Swartmore. Both these schools offer engineering and strong liberal arts.</p>

<p>I</p>

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<p>I would avoid Columbia unless you would be satisfied by the core. It would be almost impossible to complete core, study engineering and complete English degree. I'm not sure why you would need a major to explore love of the Humanities. An actual English major requires a study of criticism that might not interest you. Perhaps the core is closer to your idea of the humanities.</p>

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<p>Engineering aside, and even if you decide not to double major in anything, if you're just talking about the sort of place where the necessary vibe exists, I don't think you can do much better than Wesleyan:
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/06/arts/dance/06lerm.html?ex=1182484800&en=9d032da076d9a74f&ei=5070%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/06/arts/dance/06lerm.html?ex=1182484800&en=9d032da076d9a74f&ei=5070&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I'd recommend Stanford, Brown, Duke, Yale, Chicago, Dartmouth and Princeton - a fairly flexible curriculum at all these schools, and each of them excel across all departments.</p>

<p>Also check out Columbia's core curriculum - I know I really disliked this when I visited Columbia, but other people appreciated how broad it was. Also another great school all around.</p>

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<p>If I said I'm most likely to double major in CS and English, would that change any of the above opinions?</p>

<p>Btw, thank you so much for your help! You guys are amazing!</p>