<p>Does anyone have any advice on how plausible it would be to double major in cellular bio and linguistics? I really love to study foreign languages and virology, but I don’t know how successful linguistics alone would be in the job market. Any opinions?</p>
<p>-Both majors are arts and sciences majors, so neither will be directly related to a job. You might not be able to do much in careers directly related to either field without a graduate degree.
-It probably would be feasible to double major in both of these fields, though a cell biology major will require a core of coursework in related science fields (e.g., general physics, calculus, general and organic chemistry). This could limit the number of unrestricted electives that could be used to complete the other major.
-Loving to study foreign languages is not necessarily the same as studying linguistics. Linguistics can be a fairly formal abstract field focused on general theory and research on language, and it can be less focused on learning actual languages. If there are particular languages that interest you, you could major or minor in one of them.
-Since you are interested in virology, have you considered a major in microbiology instead of cell biology?
Some other options:
-If you studied microbiology, you could do a second major in anthropology (focusing on areas like global health, medical anthropology, etc). This could be a great background for graduate study in public health. Of course, you could do some study of anthropological linguistics (or, a relevant for reign language) as part of a anthropology major.
-If you’re interested in cell biology and linguistics, have you considered an interdisciplinary major in neuroscience or cognitive science. Those majors could include coursework in your fields of interest. If you’re specifically interested in virology, perhaps a neuroscience major (including some linguistics coursework) would lead to a grad school focus on infectious diseases of the nervous system. Other coursework that could combine an interest in language and neuroscience would be speech and hearing science.
-If you had an interest in doing fieldwork in virology or public health, you might consider studying a language that would be useful for certain regions of the world where there is a need for research on infectious diseases. For example, what about studying French and/or an African language (or, studying these as part of an African Studies major). Again, a good background for graduate study in public health, especially if combined with a bioscience major.
-A major + major or major + minor combination doesn’t need to be in related fields, however. You can just study two unrelated fields simply because they interest you.
-Of course, you may not be interested in any of the options I suggested. I’m only trying to expand the range of possibilities to consider.</p>
<p>Thanks! So if I decide that after grad school I want to work for the CDC monitoring emerging diseases, what would be best to double major in undergrad so that I can get a pre-med background (without majoring pre-med) and be able to learn multiple languages?</p>
<p>Probably, microbiology or another bioscience major that would prepare you for graduate study in the area. Pre-med is not a major. Pre-med is a set of required courses (usually, 2 semesters each of general biology, general physics, calculus, general chemistry, and organic chemistry). Most good major programs in bioscience fields will require these courses anyway, whether or not the student intends to apply to med school. Pre-meds can major in any field as long as they complete the pre-med requirements, though most probably major in a bioscience field or chemistry.</p>
<p>As for languages, a lot depends on what languages interest you. If you’re interested in Chinese, it might be difficult to do along with a bioscience major (because both are time-consuming majors) and you might need to focus on just that one language. If you study a Romance language, like Spanish, it would be easier to pick up another related language, e.g., Portuguese or Italian. If you really want to learn another language, especially a difficult language, you should study in a country where it is spoken. t/his is more difficult for a science major to do and be able to take required science courses while abroad. If you are interested in emerging infectious diseases in underdeveloped countries, you should study a language that is relevant to international health workers and/or that is spoken in an area where you might want to do field work. French is generally relevant and is spoken in Africa, for example, though may not have many speakers among affected populations in the field. If you are just interested in other languages for your personal or cultural interest, then you can study whichever ones you want.</p>
<p>There are a few universities that have certificate programs in biosecurity, which might interest you. These might allow you to do some study abroad. Most of these tend to be in landgrant public universities with colleges of agriculture. I think Georgia is one and also Iowa State. Some of these programs are afiliated with colleges of agriculture or veterinary medicine. [University</a> Centers for Agricultural Biosecurity - Critical Needs for Research in Veterinary Science - NCBI Bookshelf](<a href=“http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22903/]University”>University Centers for Agricultural Biosecurity - Critical Needs for Research in Veterinary Science - NCBI Bookshelf) There are some graduate programs in emerging diseases public health, e.g., <a href=“http://www.gwu.edu/learn/graduateprofessional/findagraduateprogram/fulllistofprograms/publichealthmicrobiologyandemerginginfectiousdiseases[/url]”>http://www.gwu.edu/learn/graduateprofessional/findagraduateprogram/fulllistofprograms/publichealthmicrobiologyandemerginginfectiousdiseases</a>
BTW, in your college search, don’t fail to look into landgrant universities with colleges of agriculture since programs in microbiology tend to be more common at such schools. Some such universities like Wisconsin will have extensive international programs with good opportunities for studying lots of different languages.</p>
<p>Any strong bioscience major should be able to prepare you for grsduate study in the area. If you specifically want to do a microbiology major as an undergrad, here are curriculum recommendations from the American Society for Microbiology: [ASM’s</a> Curriculum Recommendations: Microbiology Majors Program](<a href=“http://winstgsrv.fch.aptaracorp.com/asm/index.php/asm-s-curriculum-recommendations-microbiology-majors-program.html]ASM’s”>http://winstgsrv.fch.aptaracorp.com/asm/index.php/asm-s-curriculum-recommendations-microbiology-majors-program.html)</p>
<p>A few universities like Tulane offer undergrad degrees in public health, but it is probably better to save that for graduate study. There are some schools that offer joint degrees in public health and a bioscience field. BTW, Tulane is a good place for public health in the area since they have a focus on tropical medicine and global health. [Tulane</a> University - Graduate Programs and Degrees - Academics -School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine](<a href=“http://www.sph.tulane.edu/publichealth/academics/grad_progs_degrees.cfm]Tulane”>http://www.sph.tulane.edu/publichealth/academics/grad_progs_degrees.cfm)</p>
<p>CDC offers a number of competitive undergrad and grad traineeships: [CDC</a> - Career Training Fellowships & Internships](<a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/Fellowships/CareerInternships.html]CDC”>http://www.cdc.gov/Fellowships/CareerInternships.html)
Schools with research ties to the CDC, e,g, may offer some opportunities for undergrads to participate in research, e,g., Emory: hared.web.emory.edu/whsc/news/releases/2011/12/emory-and-u.s.-cdc-partner-to-continue-building-global-public-health-network-with-6-million-grant.html</p>
<p>Finally, you also should at least give a passing consideration to a nursing major as another pathway, whether at the undergrad or graduate level (though this pathway leaves less opportunity for language studies)… Some nursing programs offer a track in international nursing. At the grad level, you probably can combine it with studies in public health.</p>
<p>Actually, I’m going to either Wake Forest or Boston University in the fall. I really like the idea of microbiology and some language for undergrad. Thanks!</p>