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How hard is it to double major?

g30rg3g30rg3 Registered User Posts: 178 Junior Member
edited April 2010 in College Life
How much harder is it to double major than to just declare one major? How much more would the workload be if, say, I double majored in biochemistry and French than if I majored in biochemistry and minored in French?
Post edited by g30rg3 on
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Replies to: How hard is it to double major?

  • MagnetoMagneto Registered User Posts: 601 Member
    depends on what you define harder as. I know for most schools, majoring in french or any language requires at least 8 french classes outside the beginners while minoring only requires 5 with the beginners (101, 102, and 3 more). so to answer your question, its pretty much going to be more classes to take for the actual major than minor but it is doable. Good Luck
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  • 1 Sky Pilot1 Sky Pilot Registered User Posts: 558 Member
    Not hard if you plan ahead and the fields of interests are somewhat similar. Since biochemistry and french are so...unrelated....I would major in one and minor in the other.
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  • justtotalkjusttotalk Registered User Posts: 939 Member
    You'll just have less electives beyond the gen ed. Way less in this case, because there's 0 overlap.

    Gen Ed is probably 30ish credits, each major is probably around 30, and biochem probably has outside science requirements (physics? obviously chemistry/ochem). So maybe you'd have like 20-25 credits of optional classes while in college, depending on how much gen ed and your majors overlap.

    If you do this route, I'd recommend taking as much gen eds as possible the first semester or two, so that if you change your mind at least your credits are useful.
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  • squelchy451squelchy451 Registered User Posts: 497 Member
    If theres overlap like Math and something like Physics, Econ, Compsci, or Stats, it's not that hard

    If you double major in East Asian studies and Biochemistry, I dont think you'll have many overlapping classes
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  • justtotalkjusttotalk Registered User Posts: 939 Member
    ^^^^Cornell '14? How would you know whether double-majoring is hard?
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  • singlefilesinglefile Registered User Posts: 20 New Member
    It depends on a lot of things.

    I don't know how much 'harder' it will be, but it will certainly require more effort, more classes, and a larger workload.

    I am planning on getting a BS in both Computer Science and Psychology. I'll have to fulfill all of the general education requirements of the university, the requirements of the college in which both of my majors are in (College of Science & Mathematics at my school), and then finally the requirements of both majors. It will probably take me an extra year or two, for which I am prepared.
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  • siemprecuriosasiemprecuriosa Registered User Posts: 503 Member
    ^ Wow, that sounds rough.

    It can also depend on what system your college uses. For example, I've heard a lot of people say that it's easier to double major at a school that's on the quarter system than at one that's on the semester system.
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  • g30rg3g30rg3 Registered User Posts: 178 Junior Member
    ok thanks everyone
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  • squelchy451squelchy451 Registered User Posts: 497 Member
    @justtotalk I just talked to ppl who are dbl majoring/tried double majoring that's how I know
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  • littleRainlittleRain Registered User Posts: 85 Junior Member
    what about triple majoring?
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  • peter_parkerpeter_parker - Posts: 923 Member
    Double majoring is not hard.

    How many courses does a major typically require in the department? 10-12 out of your 40? You'll still have a significant amount of electives after double majoring.

    A slightly more difficult challenge, depending on your school, is getting a double degree. For instance, if you want to get a BS in one major and a BA in another major, that would be a double degree. This sometimes might include a requirement of taking an inordinate amount of total and upper level credit hours. However if you have 20-30 hrs of AP credit this may not be a problem at all.
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