Math + Physics, CS, Econ, or else?

College Majors
1

<p>I think a thread like this has been posted before, but I might as well as start a new one.</p>

<p>I just finished my first year in college, and I decided I want to study mathematics. But I think it would be interesting to either double major in something else that is somewhat math related, such as physics, CS, or economics so that I get to learn some applications of math (BTW, I still haven’t figured out if I want to study pure- or applied-math, but I certainly want to mix some pure math courses in my curriculum). Right now, I’m considering of going to grad school after graduation (to study something–I don’t know if that will be math yet). So here are my thoughts on those majors.</p>

<li><p>Math + Physics
I really enjoyed science back in high school, and I especially enjoyed physics, so I’ll be taking the first-year physics course next year. The requirement of this major is relatively challenging, but still realistic to finish in three years since I’ve already taken multivariable calculus, diff eq, and linear algebra. The only scary part, though, is that I’m not very good with my hands, and I’m scared of screwing up some important labs :(</p></li>
<li><p>Math + Computer Science
Currently I have no experience on CS, but I’ve always wanted to learn something about it, so I’ll be taking a course in next fall. If I happened to have liked it, this one would be pretty tough to finish in 3 years because it has a pretty dense requirement, and I haven’t taken discrete math yet. The math behind this field seems somewhat interesting (logics, probability, combinatorics, number theory, etc).</p></li>
<li><p>Math + Economics
I don’t know much about this subject yet, but it certainly sounds interesting to learn. The requirement of this is relatively easy as well. I still don’t know what type of math this major uses except that I know a lot of statistics is involved.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So as you can tell, I still don’t know much about any of those majors above, and I’m certainly not trying to pick one of them right now. But if any of you are involved in any of that major (you don’t have to be majoring in math), please let me know what it’s like, what kind of math is involved, and how well you recommend that major to me. I’d also like to know what kind of careers I can get in, since my thought about grad school might change by the time I graduate.</p>

<p>Also, if you can recommend me any other majors besides those three, let me know and why you are recommending that major.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I just finished the first year as a math major at my college and right now I am gravitating towards a minor in computer science.</p>

<p>During most of high school I immensely enjoyed physics, but the more advanced it got the less it interested me. (I had some physics beyond AP Physics C.) I am also not a big fan of labs. So well, no college physics for me.</p>

<p>When I started college I thought I would double-major in math and econ because I liked my econ class in high school and it sounded like a good idea. I did well in my first econ class in college but it just didn't click. When the professor recommended that students who want to continue with econ add the economy section of a major newspaper to their daily reading list, I realized this major was not for me. I think undergraduate economics is taught more qualitatively than quantitatively for the most part. The only math an econ major at my college requires is introductory calc and statistics, though they recommend a lot more math if you want to go to grad school in econ.</p>

<p>I ended up taking a CS class by accident because I was lotteried out of one of my math classes. Bingo! After two semesters I liked it so much that I considered a double-major, but then I had to realize that CS required so many courses that I would not be able to double-major unless I took only CS electives that are cross-registered with math (but I would rather take topology or number theory than optimization or high-speed scientific computing for my math major...). I finally decided to stick with a minor even though it won't look as good as a major on a resume.</p>

<p>I don't think the core CS courses require a lot of math, but many of the applications do. Graphics relies on linear algebra, for example, and sound analysis and manipulation uses various techniques from analysis. As for discrete math, check with your college what you are actually doing in it. At my college discrete math is taught as an introduction to proof-writing with a little bit of logic, set theory, number theory and combinatorics thrown together - all stuff that many math majors know without taking the course. I never took discrete math, but the math department offered me a position as a student grader for the course :)</p>

3

<p>Thanks, b@r!um. I guess I'll never know what I'd like until I take a course in those subjects. And yeah, the only math requirement CS majors have at my school are discrete math and calculus, and I'm already familiar with some of discrete math contents (logics, number theory, set theory, and combinatorics), and I think my school has an upper-level course in combinatorics, graph theory, and boolean algebra.</p>

<p>Any other suggestions are appreciated.</p>

4

<p>@ b@r!um:
I am very interested in maths, physics as well as CS. I hope to major in physics, but I can't really be sure. Should I study all three in my first semester so that I am not disqualified outright from majoring in one of them?</p>

5

<p>l have study physics for two years in MIT and i think it's quite easy for math students to study physics! I hope you can study physics instead of computer ,which is too difficult for you ！</p>