Joint Degree Program - History and Mathematics?? HELP

College Search & Selection
1

I am an international student wanting to study Hist and Math (high reach: Stanford; reach: UCBerkley, UCLA)

But then I have to apply separately and I’m not sure if the application time is worth it, and it seems no one does this??

Advice very much appreciated.

2

Does your question pertain to these schools specifically? At most highly selective U.S. colleges, you would be accepted into the general college, then simply choose to major in both history and math. Public universities (UCB, UCLA) in particular may have different policies, but does Stanford?

3

If you feel they don’t worth the time, then they are not for you!

4

Um okay, forgive my indecisiveness - I really want to get into Stanford, the reason I hesitate is fear of failure. Furthermore, I don’t see ANYONE AT ALL studying those two subjects in a joint degree program… I have never been to the US and I guess I am just scared?

5

It is not that rare for bachelor’s degree students in the US to have more than one major. Math and history should be doable at most universities that have both.

6

I think you’re confusing joint degree (sometimes called dual degree) with double major.

Here’s an explanation of the difference from one university. https://inside.cias.rit.edu/studentservices/student-services-information/doubledual-degrees/

It sounds like you want to double major. So the things you need to look into by looking at each school’s website are:

  1. If the school has more than one undergraduate college and you have to apply to a specific college, are both majors in the same college? (Most likely, you'll find both in something like the College of Arts and Sciences.)
  2. Do you just apply to be an undergraduate with the expectation that you'll declare a major at the end of sophomore year or do you apply to a specific major? Both are common arrangements.
  3. If you have to apply to a specific major, how do you apply to two, presumably within the same college? I'm entirely sure the information is available on each school's website.

As for double majoring in history and math, sure. You can do that. Why not? People double (and occasionally triple) major in all sorts of combinations. Sometimes it’s two unrelated subjects, both of which they find really interesting. Sometimes it’s two related subjects. Sometimes it’s one major intended to be practical and career oriented and another. purely for love of the subject.

7

I’d have to think it’s going to take five years to graduate with a double major of math and history.

8

^ This may depend on the college attended. In terms of the number courses necessary to complete both majors, the requirement at some schools will be ~19 out of 32 total.

9

Not necessarily. For example, at UCB, the history major needs 12 courses, and the math major needs 13 courses (though many math majors are exempt from 2 of them which are frosh level calculus). There is one possible overlap course (history of math). So that makes 22 to 25 courses out of the usual 32 taken in 8 semesters. The usual general education requirements take 9 courses, but 1 to 3 are covered by the majors, and 0 to 2 English composition may be covered by AP credit, leaving 4 to 8 courses beyond the major.

So the student in this case needs a total of 26 to 33 courses to cover both majors and the usual general education, which should be doable in 8 semesters with 4 courses per semester (with one overload semester in the maximum case of 33 courses).