<p>Hi guys, I'm looking to double major in economics and political science and the other school I'm deciding with is Amherst, that has an open curriculum. I was wondering how possible it would be to do this at WashU? Can you help me out? This is going to help me make my final decision tommorrow.</p>
<p>I basically answered this in the <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/washington-university-st-louis/1130800-washu-vs-amherst.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/washington-university-st-louis/1130800-washu-vs-amherst.html</a> thread already, but it is 100% doable and even encouraged to double major at Wash U. Econ and Poli Sci - my intended two majors actually - fit really well together. There are two reasons why it is easy to double major at Wash U:
- Lack of a “core curriculum” of sorts. There are distribution requirements, but they are generally easy to fulfill, and they aren’t like Wash U saying “you must take Biology and Chemistry and Spanish.” you get to choose how you want to fulfill those distribution reqs and nearly any class counts for one.<br>
- A lot of the majors just mesh together really well because of content, professors teaching in more than one area, and the general interdisciplinary nature of a lot of programs. I.e., the American Culture Studies major would mesh well with like 15 different other majors. Econ would mesh well with Poli Sci obviously, but also with international studies if you want to do international economics. Hope that made sense. </p>
<p>I don’t know a single Art Sci student who isn’t planning to get at least a minor in something else. Read the Wash U vs. Amherst thread again, as I included a fair amount of info about unique things in each of Econ and Poli Sci to Wash U :)</p>
<p>Hi flashmountain, sorry about that. I just wanted to double check that with other students! Thanks, I really think I’m going to WashU this year then!</p>
<p>Haha, okay! Congrats on your decision! As long as you weren’t 100% hardcore on being in the middle of nowhere in a really small environment, you’re probably making the right call.</p>
<p>My freshman son is planning to double major in econ and poli sci, with an eye towards law school. It is very doable. In general double majoring is very easy within Art Sci, because the distribution requirements can apply to both majors.</p>
<p>The poli sci major requires 30 credits (10 classes).
[Political</a> Science | Washington University in St. Louis](<a href=“http://bulletin.wustl.edu/artsci/politicalscience/#majors]Political”>http://bulletin.wustl.edu/artsci/politicalscience/#majors)</p>
<p>The econ major requires 36 credits.<br>
[Economics</a> | Washington University in St. Louis](<a href=“http://bulletin.wustl.edu/artsci/economics/#majors]Economics”>http://bulletin.wustl.edu/artsci/economics/#majors)</p>
<p>So econ + poli sci = 30 + 36 = 66 credits.</p>
<p>Getting an undergrad degree requires 120 hours, which works out to 15 credits per 8 semesters.
[Degree</a> Requirements | Washington University in St. Louis](<a href=“http://bulletin.wustl.edu/artsci/requirements/]Degree”>http://bulletin.wustl.edu/artsci/requirements/)</p>
<p>Art Sci has some distribution requirements - 9 credits each for NS, SS, TH, and LA, plus 3 credits for writing 1, and 3 each for SD and CD, but the SD and CD could easily overlap with the TH or LA requirements. The 6 of the 9 NS and all 9 SS overlap with Econ requirements. So, at a minimum, there are 3 + 9 + 9 + 3= 24 extra credits required for distribution requirements.</p>
<p>That adds up to 66 + 24 = 90 of the required 120 credits. Still a lot of room (two full semesters worth) to take classes in whatever you want. </p>
<p>I am an engineer myself, and back in the dark ages when I was a student, had a strict schedule of classes with strings of pre-requisites, with very little room for electives, so I’ve been surprised by how flexible my son’s schedule is in terms of course selection as a double major.</p>
<p>Hi, thanks sacchi! It seems very doable!</p>
<p>I think theres also a major in Political Economy?</p>
<p>Political Economy isn’t really a department. It’s a major that says if you take some of these X courses in Economics, and these X courses in Political Science, you’ll have a major in Political Economy.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it’s possible to major in Economics and Political Economy, or Political Science and Political Economy…if it is possible you of course won’t be able to double count most of your courses, so would need take a significant number of Econ or Poly Sci courses. </p>
<p>As for the major question…I tripled majored in Computer Science (engineering Prime), Math and Economics. Econ I was done with by my Junior Year, Math by 1st semester Senior Year, and CS I was one course short of completing (along with my degree) by 1st semester of senior year. That is, had I taken one extra CS course earlier on, I could have graduated with 3 majors one semester early. </p>
<p>(ArtSci students are capped by 2 majors, 1 minor or 1 major, 2 minors btw).</p>
<p>How did I do it?
All courses I took, with the exception of the required 2 humanities courses, satisfied one of the area requirements. I came in when a 5 on AP Econ meant we got 3 credits, so I only had to take 6 econ courses. (In total I had about 24 AP credits). I also never took more than 15 credits a semester, and half the semesters I took 12-14 (4 courses).<br>
My average semester was something like this:
2 CS courses
1 Econ Course
2 Math Courses
Where I would substitute other requirements, such as Technical Writing instead of the extra Math course. I thought about my schedule in detail before I started, and roughly kept to the general idea (I came in knowing I wanted the triple major, and never wavered).</p>
<p>Anyways, my point for this was to say anything is possible, and it doesn’t even require extra work. It requires:
a) Knowing what you want to do before you start, and not changing
b) Making sure all your courses count towards something required. Some might say this limits your flexibility, but I only took courses I was interested in. Sure I might have missed out on this course or that course, but so what?
c) Have a cogent plan for your next 4 years. Obviously it will change, and I’m not talking about taking X course durng Y year since course schedules always change. But it means taking a course from X department during Z semester, and sticking to it.
d) Know your graduation requirements ahead of time. Engineers need 18 ss/humanities credits, a min of 6 of each. I took 6 humanities course, and thus took 12+ ss courses. 12+ss courses is 4 econ classes…I needed 6 econ classes to complete my major…which means I only had to take 2 more courses than what was required of me anyway to complete an entire major. Take advantage of things like that.
e) It helps when things tie in together. For all 3 majors, I needed Calculus and Statistics. Had I picked more diverse areas, I would have had to take more general prereq courses which typically apply to nothing. </p>
<p>I thus have my second semester senior semester to earn the Mathematics with Distinction award (requires taking several extra math classes), and also doing extra CS classes to count towards my MS in CS (doing a BS/MS). </p>
<p>If anyone has questions/wants my advice on programs feel free to ask. While it is rare for people to do 3 majors (and not allowable for artsci students), it is possible. Again, I never took more than 5 courses a semester. I just had a plan set out from day 1 which I stuck to.</p>
<p>Sacchi, the way students at Wash U list the required number of courses for a major is generally by counting the number of “stand alone” courses that one would typically take that apply to that major only.</p>
<p>Thus for Economics for example, it is a 24 unit major (despite that it says 36…things like statistics, calculus, etc. are taken for a given).
The economics “core” requirement is
Intro to Micro, Intro to Macro (3 each = 6)
Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro (3 each = 6)
4 300-400 with 2 having 4011/4021 as prereq (3 each = 12)
= 24 units.
(some might argue against including intro to micro and intro to macro and thus say Econ is a 18 credit major, which is what I usually do).</p>
<p>Majors typically require from 18-24 units. </p>
<p>It’s done this way since courses like Calc count towards so many other things and can be double counted.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks marcdvl! Your post was really informative and I’m glad to say I commited to WashU today!</p>
<p>Good choice rdgonzalez! WashU blows Amherst out of the water :)</p>
<p>I know this thread specifically refers to poli sci/econ, but could someone explain how easy/difficult it would be to double major in bio and poli sci? What about for bio and a second major in Olin? The distribution reqs made it seem like this was really difficult to do.</p>
<p>Read my thread?</p>
<p>Yes, I was just hoping someone could give me input on this particular situation</p>
<p>Have you looked at the requirements for each? I’m going to assume you haven’t because double majoring in ArtSci is as easy as anything. Double majoring in ArtSci/Olin can be slightly more time consuming because Olin classes won’t fit the distribution requirements for Artsci. </p>
<p>Look at the bulletin, and the requirements for your degree, and each major. Make an excel chart and list classes you need, what counts for what, etc. It’s a time consumng process but extremely helpful.</p>
<p>You really shouldn’t have questions after that…any double major at Wash U is more than doable (maybe not architecture/engineering, but anything else is doable).</p>
<p>If one of your majors is in Olin, business school will be your "primary"school, and you will not need to complete the art/sic distribution requirements, only the classes required for the second major. Your degree will be from the business school.</p>
<p>^Incorrect 100%</p>
<p>Second Major in Business
Requirements for Non-B.S.B.A.-Degree students
A second major in a field of business allows you to combine your academic interests between two schools. Opportunities for second majors are offered to all non-B.S.B.A.-degree students. You may select a major from the following disciplines:</p>
<p>Accounting
Economics and Strategy
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Healthcare Management
International Business
Marketing
Operations and Supply Chain Management
Organization and Human Resources
If you combine your academic interests, you are required to follow the degree requirements for your primary major. Requirements for your second major include a core set of requirements and 12–18 units of business course work. Core requirements are as follows:</p>
<p>MGT 100 or MGT 380 or MEC 380
MATH 131 and 132
MEC 290
MEC 292 or ECON 1021
QBA 120 and 121
ACCT 2610 and 2620</p>
<p>Because your core requirements are drawn from both business and nonbusiness disciplines, you are required to complete a minimum of 24 business units through the Olin School. Transfer students from another institution must take a minimum of 18 credits through Olin Business School.</p>
<p>For details on the Second Major, please visit the Olin Business School website at [Majors</a> and Minors: BSBA| Olin Business School - BS in Business Administration (BSBA)](<a href=“BSBA | Major & Minor Programs | WashU Olin Business School”>BSBA | Major & Minor Programs | WashU Olin Business School).</p>
<p></p>
<p>Minors
Business students can pursue a nonbusiness minor in any recognized academic discipline offered within the University by satisfactorily completing all the requirements for both the B.S.B.A. degree and the minor outside of Olin. Required courses for a minor may range from 15 to 27 units, depending on the specific regulations of the academic department.</p>
<p>The Olin School offers students pursuing an undergraduate degree outside of Olin the opportunity to earn a minor in a field of business. The Olin School offers minors in the following fields:</p>
<p>Accounting
Entrepreneurship
Finance
General Business
Healthcare Management
Managerial Economics
Marketing
Operations and Supply Chain Management
Leadership
Strategy
Specific requirements for all business minors are listed on Olin’s website: [Majors</a> and Minors: BSBA| Olin Business School - BS in Business Administration (BSBA)](<a href=“BSBA | Major & Minor Programs | WashU Olin Business School”>BSBA | Major & Minor Programs | WashU Olin Business School).</p>
<p>You can always choose your primary school.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>not exactly. For art majors, the Art school has to be the primary school, and I am pretty sure the same is true about engineering school for engineering majors. I see that Olin lets you choose.</p>
<p>Arts&Sci has more extensive distribution requirements then the professional schools, so it might be easier to have Olin as a primary if you don’t mind your degree coming from there.</p>
<p>Engineering there are some second majors (i.e. CS) that don’t require Engineering be prime. </p>
<p>For art you’re right (although technically you can choose to be in art ;p )</p>