Hey all,
I’m a rising senior, so majors have been on my mind recently as I’ve been looking for colleges with top ranked programs that I’m interested in. I’m one of those people who has a passion in many subjects: science, writing, business, social media, the list goes on. To me, the idea of having only 1 major seems kind of ridiculous because there isn’t 1 thing that I’m passionate about more than anything else–I’m passionate about everything equally, so it doesn’t make sense to me to have a concentration in only one subject.
So, what are the pros/cons to doing a double major and 1 minor VS 1 major and 2-3 minors? (Also, is this even possible? I’m not super informed on majors vs minors)
I’ve heard that double majoring causes more workload and potentially a 5th or 6th year, but I’ve also heard that that problem can be fixed by skipping your first year by using all AP/Dual Enrolled credits. Even if it’s harder work and longer time, is it more beneficial in the work force? Would it make sense to get a major in something like biology and then get another degree in economics or do they have to be related in some way?
What else are the pros/cons to double majoring or having multiple minors? (From your own experience or someone you know)
Thanks!
You might appreciate the curriculum at University of Rochester. There are no general ed requirements; rather, you do focused study in at least three different areas via majors, minors, and clusters. Then, there is the option to do a fifth year tuition-free, studying something different than your original major.
University of Rochester’s requirement of a major, minor, or cluster in each of science, social studies, and humanities is effectively a set of general education requirements.
You would really need to check with each school about the possibilities of multiple majors/minors. Some majors are run out of different colleges within a U and don’t lend themselves to outside students. It’s all YMMV.
This is one of those things that seems like a problem until you get there.
Nobody is really equally passionate about everything- but many people are very interested in a lot of things. One of the great things about the US approach to university is that you can taste of a lot of things, and then specialize in one that you find particularly interesting as an academic subject. As an example, collegekid considered a double major in physics & astronomy- but discovered after taking a couple of classes that she enjoys astronomy as a hobby, not a course of study.
With a very few exceptions employers are not terribly interested in minors, and if you double major in subjects with no obvious links (eg, French Literature and Physics) grad schools & employers will only really look at the one that is interesting to them. Doing sequential undergrad things in different subjects is kind of pointless, unless you have somebody who is happy to just keep paying for it while you become a perpetual student. Bear in mind, also, that in many areas, your peers will be spending their summers getting relevant work experience- not taking random series of classes just for the fun of it.
When you shortlist the colleges you apply to look at their core requirements (ie, Gen Eds), and look for those with relatively few requirements. Also, look into established multi-disciplinary subjects (such as cognitive science).
@collegemom3717 has a lot of good advice. A lot of jobs in business involve writing and working with social media so that would cover 3 or your 4 current interests. Most likely though, your interests will change.
Note that not all colleges offer courses in business and if they do it may be in a separate school, with limited opportunities to take classes in the arts and sciences school. A liberal arts college is a good choice for someone with greatly varied interests, but they don’t generally offer courses in business/finance.
My older son was able to triple major at Cornell and graduate in 4 years, but all 3 majors were in the College of Arts and Sciences and at least vaguely related (French, history, government). He only took one course outside CAS, the famous wine course in the Hotel school.
My daughter graduated from WashU in 4 years with 2 majors and a minor (history, secondary education, environmental studies), but again all 3 were in Arts and Sciences. Because of the student teaching requirements of senior year, she had to complete her history major by the end of junior year, and she wasn’t able to study abroad at all. These days being a high school teacher pretty much requires a double major, so colleges make that possible for their students on that track.
For both my kids, the multiple-majors path was only possible because they had lots of APs which allowed them to place out of a number of requirements.
A lot of colleges let you explore freshman year and don’t require you to declare a major until sophomore spring. Take a variety of courses and see what intrigues you 2 or 3 years from now.
Double majors and majors/minors that overlap are the easiest to complete, as there are many common courses so it may not extend your time in school. However, they may not make a huge difference in the long term. For me, what worked well was minoring in something completely different from my major, that highlighted a valuable skill that differentiated me from others in my major(s). I was a double major in Math/Computer Science, and a minor in Communications. The double major was not really a big deal as this was back in the dark ages when Comp Sci was often part of math departments. The Communications minor was of interest to employers (and surprisingly enough continued to be 20+ years later), as it showed I was a geek with writing and presentation skills. Not necessarily skills that commonly go together, but a combination that offers great potential.
Combing a STEM major with some type of humanities minor is often attractive to employers as it shows you are more well-rounded than the average STEM major.
First, I wouldn’t advise extending your time (and cost) as an undergrad to add a 2nd major. Second, if you add a 2nd major or minor, I think that it being a practical help with employment (but of course your interests as well) is the way to go. For example, my son is majoring in Business/Finance and adding a minor in Math.
Adding minors or 2nd majors in Comp Sci, Math, Stats, even a second language can be helpful for your career.
The ease of double majoring/having multiple minors is depending on things like:
-Core curriculum and requirements for major at the school you attend. For example my S went to a Jesuit college with a large core and it was much harder to double major than it was at my D’s LAC which had a smaller and more flexible set of distributional requirements.
-How many credits you go into college with – as credits fro APs etc. may take care of a number of the schools distributional requirements freeing up more room for electives/second major etc…
-School policy-- ex. at my D’s LAC they only allowed students to declare one minor.
I agree that I would not stay longer at a college to double major or to take an extra minor. More important that you take the classes you are interested in, regardless of if they lead to an additional major/minor. You can always list some of the more important classes you have taken on your resume.