I’m currently a freshman in college, and I’m really torn between two majors. I have a passion for both math and comparative literature, and I’m trying to figure out what I should focus on.
I took both math and literature classes during my first year here, and I enjoyed both. I’m a pretty advanced student in math I guess. I took real analysis and abstract algebra, and they were great. At the same time I’m also taking intermediate-level literature classes, and they equally interest me. Grade-wise, I do slightly better in math than literature (A vs. A-), but it might have to do with the fact that I’m in a liberal arts college, and personally I feel that the grading in humanities subjects is much stricter. Although it’s a top-ranked college, I do feel that our math program is easier than those of research universities.
I get a BA for any major I choose, so it won’t be hard for me to double major, but this is just pushing my decision till three years later. I’ll have to make a choice anyway… I kind of have the idea of working in academia, but it’s not the only choice. So could someone provide some suggestions/advice? Thanks so much!!
I don’t understand your logic for not double majoring. If you love them both, then major in both of them. You won’t necessarily have to choose between the two of them later; you may find a career that, for example, primarily utilizes your writing skills but also incorporates your math skills (like technical writing) or vice versa (like market research).
Otherwise, it kind of doesn’t matter - it’s all about you and your interests - but there are more employment opportunities for a math major than a comparative literature major. You could major in math and minor in comp lit.
Hi Juillet, thanks for the reply! Because I have the idea of going to graduate school… that’s why I need to make a choice.
You can double major and then go to grad school in whatever one you choose to further your education in. Just because you have two majors doesn’t mean that whatever you do after college has to directly relate to both of them.
But I do hope that I’ll do something related to my major. And the problem is that I can’t choose which one I want to further my education in…
So if you can’t choose, why limit yourself now if you don’t have to?
Let’s say that you decide tomorrow to major in comparative literature. You take a couple of math classes in your junior year, and you realize now that you want to go to graduate school in math instead. Except you’ve chosen prematurely, so you don’t have the coursework and have to spend extra time in college or taking non-degree classes afterwards. (Imagine the same scenario vice versa - same outcome).
Or - here’s another. Let’s say you double majored in comparative literature and math, and you decide to get an MA in comp lit. Great! Then you, I don’t know, teach literature in high school for 3 years. And then you get bored and want to change careers, and decide you want to be a statistician. Great! You already have all the math prerequisites you need so you can go back and get the MA in statistics if you want (or whatever).
And even if you do major in both and then decide to pursue a career in comp lit only (unlikely - there aren’t many careers that are directly related to comp lit), a math major can still be pretty valuable in a lot of other ways. It expands the way you think. That’s what college is about.
Basically my point is, don’t limit your options before you have to. If you truly love both and you can’t decide right now which one you want to go to grad school for yet, it makes far more sense to double major (or at least major in one and minor in the other) than it does to pick before you are ready and potentially regret it later.
Math will open up a lot more doors than comparative lit, and lead to greater pay. You can read the classics at home for leisure.
If you enjoy both, study both. Maybe getting deeper into each will make one rise about the other. Also, if you’re thinking of a PhD one day, you better love one above all else. It takes passion to be successful in doctoral study.
Comparative literature [isn’t about ‘reading the classics’](Comparative literature - Wikipedia) in the same way someone would in their leisure time (or potentially, at all - the whole point of comparative literature is that different cultural traditions have different classics, and that the texts and works that different cultures consider classic or central to their identity help speak to the history, culture, and language of those peoples).
But it is true that a math major is likely to be more in-demand and lead to higher salaries, if that’s something you’re concerned about.