<p>What do you guys know/think about these programs? Are they much harder than one degree/major?</p>
<p>ummm.... I know two people doing BA/MA and they're uberextroadinary students. Combined BA/MA is extremely unusual... I don't know how unusual it is to finish the BA and then complete an MA at Chicago.</p>
<p>For double-majoring, it depends on what your major(s) are and it depends on you and what your interests are. For example, there are combinations that complement and overlap each other (econ/stat, econ/math, physics/math, public policy/econ, English/Comp Lit, etc.) I also know people who pursue majors that have nothing to do with each other (English/bio, Spanish/chem, econ/English). I don't know if these routes are necessarily harder, but they do take away a good deal of opportunities for electives.</p>
<p>I think it's also worth pointing out that many students come in with ambitions to double- or triple- major and many end up sticking to one major, and probably not even the major they thought they would do at the beginning of college. This phenomenon is common to almost all schools, not just Chicago.</p>
<p>I don't think the university even much encourages double majoring. Additional majors are marked on your transcript, but not on your diploma. I know plenty of people that are taking prereqs for two or three majors, but intend to only finish one and sample the best courses from the others.</p>
<p>As for the joint masters programs:</p>
<p>The Master of Arts in Social Sciences, i.e. A.M. Social Sciences, is not that hard to get into, and has almost no set requirements. If you are looking to go to a PhD program in history, sociology or the like, the requisite number of graduate courses and your performance in them could help you a fair amount in admission. I would wager the cut is around a 3.3 generally and a 3.5 in your social science courses to have a shot. Extracurricular experiences will not matter since it is an academically oriented, graduate school provisioned degree. The people who are really successful in this program continue on to higher studies in some form, e.g. PhD, MD, JD. It is a huge program by student size, but you get out of it what you put into it since it is very student driven. </p>
<p>The Master of Public Policy, which has concentrations like public finance but not official majors, looks for the well-rounded student in all aspects. You should have some foreign language skills, a bundle of relevant internships, and at least a 3.3. or so. In general however, the Harris School is not consider tops for public policy, so students who qualify usually qualify just wait to go to the leading schools in the field such as Johns Hopkins (SAIS), Harvard (KSG), Columbia (SIPA), Tufts (Fletcher) or Princeton (WWS). It also is a professional school versus a traditional graduate program, so there is something to be said that students without full time work experience might find the student body somewhat unappealing. </p>
<p>The Master of Arts in International Relations, i.e. A.M. International Relations, is far more selective. You would need something like a 3.5 generally and likely more towards a 3.6-3.7 in a social science major. A working knowledge of a relevant language is pretty much expected. It has an excellent placement record in both the public and private sector, and is known for being quite difficult.</p>
<p>So my next question is... Is it possible to graduate in less than 4 years? (Not that I would want to miss a year of an amazing undergraduate experience, but just wondering...)</p>
<p>Yes. I could probably graduate after 3 1/3 and many could probably graduate after 3 2/3. I know somebody who's doing it in 3. For him, he's doing one major, he knew what he wanted to study from the outset, he has never taken 3 classes, and he has planned his courses carefully.</p>
<p>Is there much time to try out some classes after the core but before diving into your major? I am considering about 3 or 4 possible majors, but I don't want to change my mind and wind up staying 5 years (a 5th year would increase my debt double- its a complicated private matter). So is it reasonable to change your major slightly and still graduate in 4 years, with the core taking up so much time? I want to be able to at least try some stuff out.</p>
<p>Also, with the foreign language placement exams, is it either full credit or none, or can you get out of maybe one or two quarters? And how hard are they?</p>
<p>You can place out of the first two quarters of Spanish for instance, which is wise since introductory languages suck at any selective school on account of the five times weekly class meetings. </p>
<p>It is not terribly hard to graduate in four years if you are judicious in considering the requirements of the majors you might pursue. For instance, someone torn between math, chemistry and physics can just load up on the core and common science requirements for the first three years, while throwing in an upper division course or two to test the waters in each. I myself was a social science major at large for first two years, and then finished econ in one year plus a summer (hence graduating in a little over three). However, I was still able to take the courses I wanted with the right professors and so forth.</p>