I would like to double-major in two completely different fields of study, and I am unsure of whether or not I should just pick one or the other. I am mainly concerned by how much free time I will have doing this, and it is factoring into which college I will be committing to attending. So, I am curious, those of you who are double-majoring, how many hours a week are you working on the two majors? Do you have a lot of free time, or are you completely burnt out?
EDIT:
I think I posted this under the wrong topic of discussion. New to the site and no idea how to delete! Sorry about that!
I’m a double major (math & CS), double minor (music & dance).
In my experience (at my university at least), people who have a double major don’t have any less free time/ time to spend away from academics. This is because we take the same course load as anyone else, just distributed differently. I typically take one class in each of my majors/minors every semester, plus a gen ed/double up of something else (5 classes total). People at my university typically take 4-5 classes a semester and if they only have one major, it would instead be something like 2 classes in major, 2-3 gen eds/electives. Same number of classes, just in a different ratio. I have like zero elective spots; someone with a single major has a lot of room for electives.
I don’t have a lot of free time, but that’s because I have a lot of extracurriculars (mainly in the performing arts), not because of my course load.
It is my understanding that there is a difference between a double major (two majors within the same college) and a dual degree (two separate degrees from two separate colleges within the university). The first is often pretty doable since all of the prerequisites and gen ed requirements for that department or college will be the same. The second can be more time consuming and may not be doable in four years without considerable AP credits. My D is a dual degree student. She is pursuing a BA in Dance in the College of Fine Arts and a BS in Exercise Physiology in the College of Health Sciences. Some gen eds are the same, some are not. There are time and schedule constraints. Classes need for one degree conflict with classes needed for the other etc. She came in with 42 AP credits and will be taking 2 courses at our local community college this summer to not get behind on her required classes for her Ex. Phys. degree. She is doing well, has friends, and her dance degree while time consuming is doing something she enjoys.
(I’m from the area, and my dad attended the school. Double-majored, in fact).