Possible Triple Major

<p>Hi guys. I am still in high school but I have already begun seriously looking at my options for majors. I know that many people do double majors, but I personally have never heard of a triple major.</p>

<p>Is it possible to major in computer science, computer engineering, and software engineering? The three majors would all have overlaps, at least for the beginning courses (perhaps not as my path progressed onto more advanced topics).</p>

<p>More importantly, how many years would a triple major take? My parents will financially support me for four years, but that's it. I am comfortable a rigorous schedule and am also fine with summer classes. But with such a heavy schedule, it would not be possible for me to support myself and continue on past four years of college, as I doubt I could work a decent paying job in at the same time.</p>

<p>Thank you very much for all of the advice</p>

<p>EDIT: I figured I should probably add in the colleges that I am looking at. Currently my grades and test scores are in the ivy league range. Obviously there is no guarantee, and who knows what will happen, but I am hopeful that I will get into an ivy league or a similar caliber school. Right now I'm looking mostly at Stanford and MIT, with a possibility of Dartmouth.</p>

<p>NO…NO…NO.</p>

<p>1) Throw out software engineering at the undergrad level. You can enough software engineering foundation from a regular 'ole computer science degree.</p>

<p>2) Unless you want to go into hardware, what is the purpose of the computer engineering major?</p>

<p>Answer: Just major in Computer Science</p>

<p>Note: This question may be better answered in the engineering thread, but I am pretty sure that other will give the same answer as I did.</p>

<p>NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.</p>

<p>Oh, and no.</p>

<p>I couldn’t imagine even doing a double major with engineering as one unless there was INCREDIBLE overlap. Engineering majors already require a ton of major classes, more than any other.</p>

<p>That would be a hell of a lot to take on. I wouldn’t recommend it.</p>

<p>It’s also important to note that many schools won’t allow a single course to be applied to more than two majors, so even if there was significant overlap, it may not go as smoothly as you may be envisioning.</p>

<p>Most schools won’t even let you get a triple major (I know for a fact MIT will no longer let you do this).</p>

<p>Also, I don’t know any college that offers a “software engineering” major rather than just computer science.</p>

<p>You’re like the guy at the buffet, thinking he wants some of everything he likes. Time is coming when you have to be able to logically narrow it down, make the right commitment and intelligently build on that, get the depth and some relevant experience.</p>

<p>Take some electives, man. Like finance or something if you want to be career-oriented. Or math.</p>

<p>I agree with everyone else. You are destined to kill yourself if you try this. Just major in computer science and minor in math, for example. That’s it. I don’t even know if you’ll be able to complete all 3 majors within 6 years, let alone 4.</p>

<p>^What comfortablycurt said.
Worse, my college doesn’t allow a single course to be applied to TWO majors.
^And what GLOBALTRAVELER said.</p>

<p>Stick to Computer Science. (This comes from someone who is on her way to majoring in Computer Science after being in a similar dilemma as yours)</p>

<p>Hey guys, I was wondering if I could quadruple major. HYP are my matches and Stanford is my safety. If I’m the best student that HYP have ever had, would they allow a quadruple major?
SAT-2500
ACT-36
6’s on every AP exam as a freshman</p>

<p>OP, you should try narrowing your interests.</p>

<p>OP, listen to the advice on this thread. Seriously, focus on your strengths</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Are you crazy? Of course they won’t. Had you scored higher than an abysmal 36 on your ACT’s, it would certainly be possible. </p>

<p>I’m quintuple majoring in physics, math, computer science, chemistry, and biology, with minors in astronomy, geology, anthropology, and philosophy, but I got a 2600 SAT/ 38 ACT, and I held a 6.0 UW GPA through all of high school, with 43 AP classes, with 6’s on each AP exam. Also, I cured cancer, built a rocket that went to the moon, fed over 250,000 people in Africa for over 4 years, and I regularly play guitar in a worldwide touring band. I’m also a triple Olympic Gold Medalist.</p>

<p>Ignoring the insane amount of sarcasm on this thread…</p>

<p>DON’T. DO. IT. My mom went to an LAC, double majored in bio and chem, and minored in German. She said those four years were insanely difficult, and that was just minoring in German. A friend of hers (who I’ve met) attempted a triple major due to the large amount of overlap as you said. Even with the overlap, this person nearly flunked out due to the sheer massive course load.</p>

<p>To put it simply, don’t do it. The fact that you have an Ivy League degree in computer science will be fantastic enough.</p>

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<p>They probably won’t let you double major in CS and SE, because the two majors often have most of the same upper division courses. The difference is usually that SE has a few more software engineering methods courses instead of additional CS topics courses. One overview software engineering course should be enough in school, so a CS major is generally preferable. Not that many schools offer an SE major anyway.</p>

<p>CE tends to be more hardware oriented, often with additional EE (electronics) courses. You can consider CS or CE based on your level of interest in software versus hardware. You can major in one with some electives in the other subject.</p>

<p>You can triple major at MIT, unless they just axed it. I know a triple major at MIT (recent grad). Also, I know someone who quadruple majored (not at MIT) and graduated in 3.5 years.</p>

<p>No Ivy League [or Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Berkeley, etc] offers a degree called “software engineering.” Computer science is what you would major in if you want to be a software engineer, and you would just take software engineering-focused courses. Unless you actually like hardware (which is not really that common among CS people), there’s not much point in double majoring in computer engineering [although it might indeed be a good minor]. Just major in CS if you want to be a software engineer (it will also probably give you more options than just a “software engineering” degree, being more flexible)</p>

<p>I am a current student at Stanford. There is no “triple major” per se, but it might be possible to earn a dual degree, and a double major for one of those degrees. </p>

<p>Terms:
double major – one diploma, two majors
dual degree – two diplomas (one a B.S., one a B.A.)</p>

<p>This means that you would earn a B.A. with one major, and a B.S. with two majors. I have never heard of anyone doing this, although people do double majors occasionally and dual degrees more rarely. Be aware that a dual degree requires 225 units of coursework, which is already a lot. If you took the maximum allowed courseload every year at Stanford for four years, including petitioning for extra units, you could take up to 252 units.</p>

<p>Relevant info:
<a href=“Stanford Login - Stale Request”>https://undergrad.stanford.edu/academic-planning/majors-minors/double-majors-and-secondary-majors&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Dual Bachelor's Degrees (Concurrent B.A. and B.S.)”>http://web.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/bulletin1011/4872.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;