I’m starting college in September, and the school I will likely be going to offers two majors I am very interested in: Biology and Behavioral Neuroscience. Since both majors have some of the same required courses, I figured I would double major in them both and minor in something else (undecided as of yet). However, a friend of my family recently started graduate school and said that she regretted double majoring–I know she did international studies as one, and I think her other was something like sociology or global commerce. She said the workload was too much for her to keep up with, and that if I want to double major I should start with one major and then add the other one in later if I feel up to it. But I’m worried that if I wait to add a second major I’ll be a bit behind and crunched for time.
Has anyone had experience in majoring in both of these fields–or just double majoring in general–and have any advice?
Plenty of people double major but how easy or not will depend on the college in question. Some colleges have more required foundation/core classes which can make it more difficult. I don’t think one can make a blanket statement that it isn’t a good thing to do. If you want to double major, personally I think it is good to think about it from the beginning as you map out courses. (Of course, you might change your mind once there - not uncommon) You can always drop a major should you choose to do so.
Are you currently awaiting responses from colleges or do you know where you’ll be going next year?
@doschicos I am awaiting a few responses, but I will likely be going to Centre College, as they accepted me into their Bonners Scholars Program with a pretty decent scholarship.
Congrats on the acceptance and the scholarship. I would definitely check Centre’s policies and see if you can get opinions from recent grads and current students at the school on the double majoring.
Double majoring and still getting out in 4 years would mean increasing your courseload consistently. That could end up being stressful. If you decide do double major but spend an extra year doing it, it would just be an extra year of school but not necessarily more difficult.
It is very possible at many schools to double major and still graduate in 4 years. Again, depends on the school and organization of the student. Many schools have 4 year graduation rates in the high 80s to 90s percentage wise and there are always students in that group who double major.
^ This is true @doschicos but the students you’re referring to often utilize a school’s predetermined dual degree programs that are built to allow students to graduate on time. If a student were to double major in something like psychology and electrical engineering they would probably have more core classes for their respective programs and that would require summer classes, over-full-time enrollment, or extra time in school.
What you are describing is not true in my experience. Perhaps for engineering which is very rigid and usually requires starting right in freshman year but many, many majors are combinable. I know students who double major in computer science and history, philosophy and chemistry, just to name two examples, and they have zero problems graduating in 4 years - no summer school, no extra credits per semester, no extra time in school. These aren’t dual degree programs. Without knowing what schools the OP is considering, it is hard to advise with specifics but that is why I recommended asking at the schools and asking current students and recent grads. I think your statements, @philbegas, don’t ring true for the more selective schools I am familiar with that have high graduation rates. Also, the OP is considering double majoring in two fields in the sciences so that should help a little.
Well as with most things @doschicos , the truth is probably somewhere in the middle! Since our evidence is anecdotal at best, it’s good for OP to be armed with all of it haha. If they want to double major, they should be checking the requirements for schools on their list and making sure it’s not more than 4 years (and if it is, making sure to notate it somewhere).
Adding another major later is a sensible idea. Start out by planning to minor in one of the subjects. Both subjects have minors with the same required courses as their major, so you should be ok on time for a year or so until you need to decide to turn it into a major or go in another direction.
You should also ask yourself why you want to double major, what purpose it serves. A conventional major + minor allows more room for depth in your primary subject, which can be important for grad school, plus it allows more room to sample a number of subjects and add breadth to your academic program, which is typically one of the blessings of attending a LAC. Many students at LACs end up majoring or minoring in a subject that wasn’t on their radar at the outset of college, having discovered the interest through breadth requirements. I’m not saying that will happen to you, but one of the disadvantages with being bent on double majoring from the get-go is that you won’t allow yourself the time or the room in your program to experiment.
Double majoring is not a bad idea for certain students, though, depending on their rationale. Give it time.
Double majoring is a mistake if checking all of the boxes for the second major means taking courses of less interest and foregoing other courses that are of more interest to you. If all of the courses for the second major are ones that you would take as electives beyond your first major anyway, then there is no problem with having the second major.
Double majoring just because both majors have a lot of overlapping classes never struck me as a good reason to do it. If that’s the case, just take some of the additional classes of interest - maybe add a minor. Particularly with two closely related majors like biology and behavioral neuroscience - just supplement whatever major you choose with the additional coursework from the other. AND adding in a minor? That’s just too much.
Students often feel like they have to complete formal requirements when really a good way to approach learning what you want is just taking the classes you want to take to learn the skills/knowledge you need/want.