<p>I'm a freshman at Brown University. Brown has no core or distributional requirements, so I can take whatever courses I choose and I can easily double major. I plan on majoring in economics. I am also taking Basic Mandarin Chinese. I'm wondering about the practicality of double majoring in Econ. and East Asian Studies. The typical Brown student takes about 32 courses during her (the school is majority female) undergraduate career. Economics is a 9-course requirement. East Asian Studies is a 14-course requirement</p>
<p>Pros-
-I would establish myself as someone both fluent in Chinese and interested in working with China (or east Asia). This would give me an edge over, or at least put me on equal footing with, people who grew up speaking Chinese and took a few courses in college
-The Department is solid, and the course material is very interesting, so none of the courses woud be a waste of time.
-I plan on taking Mandarin for all four years (the equivalent of 8 courses), so concentrating in East Asian studies would only require six additional courses.
-I would have more contact with faculty who might be able to connect me with job opportunities directly after college in the interim between graduation and law school (this is tentative. I might just want to go straight from college to law school.)</p>
<p>Cons-
-Double majoring would prevent me from going very in-depth into either one of these fields. I would be taking the bare minimum of required courses in Chinese, and I would not be specializing as much as I could with economics.
-Law schools seem to place a great value on writing ability. Economics is not very writing-intensive, so my only writing experience would come in later seminars in East Asian Studies (and a smattering of courses taken outside these majors).
-I would also be depriving myself of a comprehensive background in the natural sciences and other areas of history</p>
<p>With law school admission as your only criterion, do you think this would be a strategic move? Can you think of any other pros or cons?</p>
<p>I want to major in economics above all because it is the most fascinating subject I have studied, but also because it seems very practical in case I opt out of my current career-plan. I'm also comparatively better at economics than at most other subjects.</p>
<p>This sort of plan is possible, but I eventually came to a life decision that included only one of these majors. Perhaps you should wait until at least the end of this year to decide.</p>
<p>I think that 6 more courses is a little much. Those would be 6 quality courses you are not taking in other areas, and you would still be taking all of your language courses. It seems like enough to have the "Fluent in Chinese" line on your resume, though I am also in the same situation with a foreign language (with only 3 more courses). If you study abroad in China or do an internship over the summer, combined with 4 years of taking the language, I simply doubt you are gaining much by adding East Asian as a double major and sacrificing time for other courses. </p>
<p>However, if you come to like the literature or culture to the extent that some of those 6 extra courses look really appealing, it would definitely be a no-brainer.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: It's been a long time since I was planning to go to law school -- and I went for an MBA instead.</p>
<p>I'm not sure law schools care about your undergrad major, although I'm pretty sure they would prefer anything other than "pre-law." Have you thought about what kind of law you want to practice? Knowing you want to work with the Chinese world somehow certainly informs your language choice. </p>
<p>It's not law school, but a friend of mine with a BA in Sociology and a minor in Biology went to medical school. He said the admissions officers were all ecstatic to see someone (anyone) who did not have a BS in "Pre-med," Chemistry or Biology. YMMV.</p>
<p>sreis, I think you make a fairly valid point. I do plan on taking the language for four years and having an internship which makes heavy use of my skills. I also am considering taking a language intensive 8-week course in Beijing over the summer. I still think that a major in the subject would probably fortify my credentials and clearly demonstrate my interest in the area. I also do have a strong tentative interest in the culture and history of East Asia, and unlike a lot of other subjects that captivate me, I haven't already learned very much about East Asia. It also seems like somewhat of a waste to have spent so many courses dwelling in one subject without getting any acknowledgement of it on my degree.</p>
<p>I sort of anticipated all of the comments about the irrelevance of the major one picks. I tend to think of that more as a general guideline than a concrete truth. While it is pretty much indisputable that law schools, for the most part, are accepting of most majors (especially Philosophy, Economics, Political Science, English, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Math) I also think it's true that people fluent in Japanese and Chinese have an edge in law school admissions and a huge leg-up in getting jobs in corporate practice. This could definitely come into play at a lot of the schools I'm looking at. They get throngs of econ majors applying, but very few econ/east asian studies majors.</p>
<p>I want to be a corporate counsel for an organization that either operates from China but is based in the US or an organization that operates China and works with the US. If that doesn't work out, I can always work as a corporate lawyer.</p>
<p>if you're planning on using your language skills for a legal career, they have to be flawless--pretty much at the level of a highly-educated native speaker, so that you can explain technical things and draft detailed writing in two languages. Getting one tiny word wrong can make a huge difference. For example, today in class we discussed how "O to A for life, so long as the property is used in some way, then to B" is totally different from "O to A for life, but if the property is used in some way, then to B" in what it promises to A, B, and O. </p>
<p>It may not be possible for you to achieve that level of fluency in four years, and you'll be competing for jobs against people who grew up speaking both languages. However, I don't think this is a reason not to study or major in the language--the study skills you gain, and whatever knowlege you get, are definitely worth something, and East Asian studies is probably a fairly uncommon major for law school admissions. Just have a reasonable idea going in of what you hope to get out of it.</p>
<p>Stacy, what I've heard is at complete variance with your impression. I think that more often than translating the specifications of statutes and decisions, lawyers who work with China will typically more broadly describe the legal complexities involved, and will also explain legal issues to US representatives. My school has one of the best East Asian Studies programs and, while I think it's impossible to achieve the fluency of a highly educated native speaker in four years, I think I will still leave with the skills to get pretty far.</p>
<p>To the OP -
I think that your choice of major is just fine for law school and a career in law. As you are well aware, pretty much any major will do. The important thing is that you really seem to enjoy your studies. </p>
<p>I do think that you are overestimating the value of the language skills you would have upon graduation to your career as a lawyer. I would certainly not characterize it as a "huge leg-up in getting jobs in corporate practice". Certainly, if you intend to work for a law firm or corporation that does extensive work in China, it will be essential to understand whatever Chinese dialect that is spoken in the region in which you are doing business. However, to the extent that a deal will be governed by Chinese laws, your Chinese language skills will get you only so far. You will always need to hire local Chinese counsel to review all of the agreements and to handle any disputes that arise. Please remember, too, that while U.S.-based business ventures in China are expanding and growing at an enormous rate, that practice area still represents only a very small part of what goes on at most law firms and corporations. </p>
<p>I think that Stacy actually made an excellent point with respect to language skills. If you are an attorney either working in China (though, remember, you would only be admitted to practice in one or more states in the U.S. -- not to practice in China) or working in the U.S. representing clients with interests in China, you will need very fine technical Chinese language skills to do the job properly. Most of the attorney that I know who work in China or Hong Kong today are either native speakers or have spent a significant amount of time living and working in China. </p>
<p>Perhaps you should consider studying abroad in China for a year, if possible?</p>