<p>I got accepted at JHU on Friday (#JHU2019) and I intend to double major in Bio and International Relations, as well as do pre-med advising. How difficult would this be to do?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that’s impossible. The International Studies major is itself very rigid, and it requires like 80 credits… Maybe you could do IS and pre-med, but I don’t think there’s room for an extra major, especially since you have a max credit limit of 18/semester in the school of Arts and Sciences (and trust me, you will die if you take 18 credits every semester). You can always Google search “JHU ______ major requirements” if you want to see for yourself. </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that’s impossible. The International Studies major is itself very rigid, and it requires like 80 credits… Maybe you could do IS and pre-med, but I don’t think there’s room for an extra major, especially since you have a max credit limit of 18/semester in the school of Arts and Sciences (and trust me, you will die if you take 18 credits every semester). You can always Google search “JHU ______ major requirements” if you want to see for yourself. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that an IS/Bio double major is “impossible”, but it would be difficult. Keep in mind that some of the social Science and humanities courses that you need as major requirements for IS will fill the distribution requirements for Bio.
As for the 18 credit thing, you won’t necessarily “die” when taking 18 credits per semester. I know quite a few students (granted most of the are engineers) who have taken 18 or more credits per semester. </p>
<p>Haha, thanks for calling out my exaggerations, saif235… Yeah, you won’t “die” taking 18 credits a semester, but I still stand by the fact that taking 18 credits a semester every semester (I know lots of engineers doing so, but very few A&S students), along with all the expected experiences you’re supposed to have as a premed student is not something you want to do if you can avoid it. </p>
<p>Also, there’s a Bio major and a Molecular/Cellular Bio major. The former has Gen Bio I and II required, while the latter doesn’t but does have more upper level electives required and a research requirement. So I would just stick with the basic Bio major if the double major is still something you were considering. Keep in mind that you don’t need a major to fit around the pre-med requirements, if that makes sense; they don’t have to count towards a separate degree. If IS is your passion and Bio is just something you’re doing for med school, just drop it. </p>
Don’t pay too much attention to the number of credits. As an A&S student I routinely took more than the recommended number (my senior year, over 20 each semester). You’ll quickly learn what you can and can’t manage and then you’ll adjust your schedule as necessary. If you’re set on doubling in IS/bio, register for the relevant courses and see if you can do it. You’re better off realizing early that you can’t do it than realizing too late that you can.
Actually, double major in Biology & International Studies isn’t that hard. I suggest you look over degree checklist for each major and make a 4-year plan.