<p>First year undergrad majoring in economics, possible double major in philosophy. I want to double major with philosophy because I like it and find it interesting. Is this a bad idea? i feel that it will differentiate myself from the crowd when applying for a phD or masters. But I know i will have to take a lot of math in undergrad to be prepared and competitive for grad school. I want to graduate on time in 4 years, so would it be too much work to handle? Especially if I want to do some good research on top of that. So does the opportunity cost outweigh the benefits? </p>
<p>I doubt a second major in philosophy will differentiate you from the crowd. Though many other students won’t have another major in philosophy, a department’s admissions committee probably won’t care. It’s unlikely to help unless you went into some sort of a joint program in economics & political science with a focus on political philosophy, or a philosophy program with a focus on social and political philosophy. You can do it for your own interests, but if you plan on grad school in economics, it might crowd out other coursework. You could always just do a minor in philosophy or just take elective courses in it. Now, if you went to law school, it would be a great combination. It might be good as well for public policy, where you wouldn’t need as much math.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great post. I actually stumbled upon that website while googling econ grad school or something. Some good information on there. As of now I feel set on wanting to go further in economics, so you are probably right that philosophy is not the best idea. I will probably just consider minoring in it, to give my mind a break from math from time to time.</p>
<p>So again, thanks for the great advice zapfino</p>