<p>Hi there! I'm (hopefully) entering Uni this spring, and I've reached a dilemma. I have an undying passion for music that typically takes up all of my waking time, but lately I've also grown interested in physics. I've always been good at math/science, so academically I feel I could have it down.. but really, all of my troubles lie in the fact that I absolutely NEED a social life. I've tried, and proven to myself in the past that without one I will go completely and utterly nanners. What would the course load be like? Is it possible to maintain a social life while carrying out these two majors? Do you know anyone who has done anything similar? I really appreciate your time! Also, sorry if this is in the wrong forum. I will move the post if need be.</p>
<p>You would probably need a 5 year double degree. Read this about the different kinds of degrees involving music:</p>
<p>[Double</a> Degrees | Peabody Conservatory](<a href=“http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html]Double”>http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html)</p>
<p>You can also major/minor, or study physics and do music on the side, so to speak.</p>
<p>We know of two students who double majored music (instrumental performance) and physics at UCLA. Both took five years to finish. And yes, both had some sort of social life.</p>
<p>I know a girl who’s triple majoring in performance, engineering, and physics. She surprisingly only has to stay for an extra semester or two. Her schedule is ridiculous and, as far as I know, she experiences many nights of little sleep. I was toying around with the idea myself a little while ago but I decided not to. If you truly want to do it, though, there’s no reason not to. Music and physics are both awesome subjects. They’re both very time intensive between practicing, studying, rehearsals, labs, etc. People who are passionate about it make it work, though. </p>
<p>Oh, and yes, this person does have a social life. With proper time management anyone can manage to find time for friends. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Not all universities have performance included in a music major. A BA degree without performance would include sequential courses in theory,musicianship, composition, ethnomusicology, music history, music technology and so on. Generally these would take up 1/4-1/3 of your overall coursework. For a BM, generally music courses comprise 2/3-3/4 of your course work. For a BA with performance, or a BM, naturally you would add applied study. In any case, if you are an instrumentalist or vocalist, you would have lessons, practice, rehearsals and performances.</p>
<p>The proportion of studies involved in a physics major would vary according to program and whether it is a BS or BA. I believe that a BS would involve 2/3-3/4 classes in or related to physics, and a BA would be less.</p>
<p>Then you would have to consider distribution requirements. Some schools have extensive distribution requirements, others have none. If you are considering two intensive majors, that would take up most of the 30-40 classes for a degree, I think that distribution requirements would be a big factor. Looks at these on websites, and then the requirements for the two majors, add up the classes, and see if they even fit into a 4 year degree. IN a similar fashion, you could also draw up a sample plan that would give you and idea of the course load for each semester. (Music and physics would usually have pretty clearly prescribed paths.)</p>
<p>I would be curious about how the person cited who is doing performance, engineering and physics is doing that, honestly. What kind of school, which degrees, how many years, any distribution requirements and so on. It sounds like a stretch to me, but people do it I guess.</p>
<p>Social life is important, but so is health- physical and mental- including sleep!</p>
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<p>Agreed–this does not sound a scenario that would work for many (in that she is graduating only 1 semester late) unless many of the credits are overlapping in the two academic majors. Hard-working or not, it would be almost impossible to schedule so many classes, labs, and required rehearsals. </p>
<p>I don’t mean to imply that nivramrelyt was exaggerating, but it could be that one of those three is a minor, or that the music major is an academic major without a large performance component. One of the problems with performance majors is that the scheduled rehearsals are somewhat irregular and cause problems for the scheduling of academic courses.</p>
<p>One thing to consider if attempting something like this is that it is much easier if the two degrees are in the same college (ie. Arts & Sciences), as opposed to Physics being in the Col. of Engineering, or the Music being in a separate conservatory program. Sharing core curriculum is MUCH easier than trying to work things our between two different colleges within a university.</p>
<p>Just as a point of reference, to help clarify your thinking - here is Bard Conservatory’s sample 5 year curriculum plan with different majors in the BA degree - including Cello/Physics: [Bard</a> College Conservatory of Music | Undergraduate | Sample 5 year plan](<a href=“http://www.bard.edu/conservatory/undergraduate/sample_plan/]Bard”>http://www.bard.edu/conservatory/undergraduate/sample_plan/)</p>
<p>She did come in with a lot of AP credit as far as I know. She also overloads to like 22+ credits a semester. She may have to finish her degree elsewhere, though, as our engineering program is co-op, I think (in which case it would be over 9 semesters). I’m not totally sure though. I’m not too familiar with the engineering curriculum here. She just told me she was doing it in 9 semesters.</p>
<p>Pretty impressive!</p>
<p>I could see the engineering and physics having a lot of overlap, so with science and math APs, she could have already completed most of her freshman year basics in HS. If there are co-op requirements (like Northwestern) then her last 3-4 years would be a big conflict with performance requirements and rehearsals, so am not sure how this could even work.</p>
<p>The performance degree is the one that is a bit more difficult, but if she really piled on the APs and took lots of theory and ear training as part of private lessons, it is possible that she also started her performance major with one year under her belt, maybe more. However, for the full Performance degree (as a vocalist?) I would think the last two years would be a schedule nightmare between rehearsals and performances. </p>
<p>But, if she did all that, good for her.</p>
<p>My son is a physics/music performance dual degree student, and he still has a social life. Despite the demands of physics and labs, it is the music that takes up most of his time. He also attends a school that limits the number of AP credits that can be used. Another consideration is the layout of the school. For example, the Eastman/URochester combo is great, but there is a shuttle involved that takes up a good amount of time. The same can be said for Peabody/Johns Hopkins. My son’s program is five years, but that allows students to spend a term or two highly focusing on one of the majors/degrees if needed. It also allows for study abroad if that is of interest. It’s difficult, but it’s certainly possible. Oh - one more thing - there is a difference between a double major and a dual degree. You may want to check those both out. Good luck!</p>
<p>Examine the actual courses you need to take. Some schools have less distribution requirements (Brown, Hamilton Vassar, Amherst) and it is easier to do a double major at these schools. If you have already chosen a school, you can get an idea of which physics courses have labs, how long the orchestra and/or choir rehearsals are, etc. Also, what are the performance expectations - do you have to have ‘juries’ - how many recitals are required. All the above will influence how much ‘free’ time you actually have. You may want to do this now while you still have time to apply to a few more schools - you may think differently in late April and it will be good to have a few more options.</p>