My ideal university scenario...

b_r_um
Mon, 31 May 2010 19:50:32 +0000

That sounds like a heavy workload for 4 or 5 years of college.

Many engineering majors need 5 years just to finish their engineering requirements, let alone requirements for a second major or fun electives.

Let’s look at a specific scenario. Suppose you were to attend UC Berkeley. Their civil engineering program leaves you a total of 2 electives after requirements for the major and gen ed courses. The political science major requires another 12 courses. Using your poli sci courses as free electives and towards your gen ed requirements, you might be able to finish the double major in 5 years with very careful planning. That’s assuming that you would not run into scheduling conflicts (good luck!) and that you would take a full course load each semester (many engineering majors don’t).

Also note that a double major in 5 years leaves you with exactly 0 free electives. If you want to take a few fun classes, you would need to stay for a 6th year.