<p>First off, I'm not planning on doing this, for those who would immediately tell me that's a bad idea. I'm merely asking for the sake of curiosity. </p>
<p>One of my friends asked me if it was possible to triple major (he's an accounting major, if anyone's interested). I really have no idea if that's a thing, or if it's even possible to do it. So just asking anyone willing to answer: is triple majoring something that one can actually do? I assume that you would only be able to do it under certain circumstances?</p>
<p>I assume many people don’t triple major in STEM fields, yes? That would be similar to swimming with an anchor tied to both of your legs, I imagine.</p>
<p>Im planning on a triple major in math (BS), comp sci (BS), and music (BA). Im a freshman right now. Where I go double major + minor is pretty common. I am planning on graduating in four years, and know of at least one other triple major at my school (junior doing math, physics, music), but there are probably many more. Some schools have restrictions on majors if you are in certain programs, but other than that, you can do whatever you want. It just might take more time. </p>
<p>There are triple majors at almost every college, one girl from Virginia Tech comes to mind too (chem, physics, bio). The most I heard of was a quadruple major (math, bio, physics, and geology), but I believe that took 6 years to finish- it was Robert Ballard, btw (discovered the titanic wreck). </p>
<p>There’s a lot of triple majors at my school but they’re all humanities/social science. A lot of people triple major in Sociology/Communications/American Studies for instance. </p>
<p>the main problem with triple majoring in the STEM fields is that you also have to do internships and research if you want to be a competitive applicant to graduate schools and jobs in industry. Triple majoring in three STEM fields is nearly impossible and even if you get through it you’d probably have next to none of the above experiences.</p>
<p>He needs to see if his school allows triple majors and what the process is. He should also make a four year (or five year or whatever) plan with all of the requirements for every major (and other GE and graduation requirements) to see how long it will take and to make sure he stays on track. He should probably run his plan by an advisor to make sure that he’s meeting all of the requirements.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter what other people do if triple majoring (in the majors he wants to major in) is not allowed at his school</p>
<p>Yes, it’s certainly a thing. Whether or not it’s worthwhile is an entirely different matter. If one is doing a triple major, it needs to be because of real interest in each respective field, and not because of a perceived financial return or increased employment opportunity. Triple majors are a lot more common in the humanities and social sciences than they are in STEM fields. Double majors are pretty common in STEM fields. Computer science complements just about any science field quite well. A math major on top of a science major is nearly always beneficial. However, the sheer number of courses and the associated difficulty of courses in most STEM fields makes a triple major a bit unrealistic. </p>
<p>I didn’t do it out but I’m pretty sure I could have triple majored with just one semester extra in 3 STEM majors. (I double majored, industrial engineering and computer science, minored in math - I think it would have just been 1 semester more to make that math minor a major - might have needed two extra semesters I don’t know). </p>
<p>With proper planning, you might be able to get 3 majors done in 4 years. If not, it might take only an extra semester or two. </p>
<p>It depends. If you’re going in with a lot of AP credit and dual enrollment credit, then it could be possible in 4 years. There are a lot of factors involved there though. A French/history/communication triple major is going to be substantially easier and less time consuming than a physics/math/computer science triple major. </p>
<p>My school doesn’t allow triple majors, but we have “joint majors” that count as one major, so I’m doing Economics & Mathematics and Sociology–and graduating early. </p>
<p>I would actually expect a French/history/communication triple major to take more credits that physics/math/computer sciences, depending on whether you do one or more under BA requirements instead of BS requirements. If nothing else, all three should let you count Calc I & II three times (plus other math or cross-listed courses), whereas French/history/communication probably has at most the occasional cross-listed French/history course.</p>
<p>I have a friend who is a molecular biology, integrative biology, and public health triple major and he’s the president of a Pre-Med fraternity and also does pretty much everything in the world and manages to sleep and have a social life. Some people are crazy. If you’re a normal person it’s not possible.</p>
<p>Usually, no because the intense amount of work it involved if you want to graduate on time. Some schools restrict students to double majoring, however it can be done. It really depends on the college, their major requirements, and their policy on students majoring in three different disciplines. For what it’s worth, I have heard that double majoring and above is somewhat popular at Brandeis University as they described on tours.</p>
<p>However, you should also take into account whether the triple major would truly be valuable. Oftentimes, with a double major or even a major and a minor, you intersect disciplines that you may not need to do something like a triple major. Also, you should question whether coming out of a school that allows you to triple major easily is really valuable in terms of the skills they prepare students with. We’ve all heard of “depth not breadth” and certain schools where major requirements are lessened may not be preparing students with all the skills necessary to succeed in those fields.</p>
<p>At my school it’s possible for a student with loads of credits from APs/ community college courses to triple major and make it out in four years but I’ve never seen it done. The issue with triple majoring in the sciences is that there are often labs which accompany major specific courses meaning that a schedule with say, six classes, could actually contain ten when lab work/ discussions are factored in. I’d imagine that trying to schedule courses and labs for three separate majors to be an extremely difficult task although I guess it’s possible. </p>
<p>Yes, it is an actual thing and I know many people at my university who are triple majors. However my university has a maximum unit cap, so if you want to triple major, you have to make sure you finish all your requirements before you hit the cap. I originally wanted to triple major in East Asian Studies, Japanese, and Linguistics, but because I racked up too many units from community college, I came in with 90 units and therefore found myself getting close to the unit cap fast.</p>
<p>One thing that’s important to keep in mind is that many schools won’t allow you to apply credit to more than two majors. For example, if you’re a physics/chemistry/math triple major and all three majors require an introductory programming class, the class will only apply as credit toward two of the majors. This means that you may have to replace the credit with a more advanced programming course for the third major. The specific policies are going to vary quite a bit though. </p>
<p>I highly doubt this is the case at most schools… What about two majors that all require Calc 1-3 and DiffEq, are they going to require you take an additional 4 math classes because you want to double major? That makes no sense. I could believe this might be the policy somewhere, but it’s certainly not going to be most schools. </p>
<p>While that may sound impressive to some, it is not so much for grad/professional schools. They would rather see your focus, EC’'s and research in one area. Why do you need to triple major? Is it needed for some reason, or do you just want to shout “I am a grind”! Any employer could see your transcript to know you like classes in x, y and z…but most would like to see that you loved one of them, and followed through with related EC’s, research etc. Any grind can take a butt load of courses.
but showing you have interest and passion for all three past the classroom…can’t be done.</p>