Double majoring sounds scary. Two majors? What madness, right?
To many people having one major is enough of a hassle, but for some people double majoring is a breeze. For me, having two majors is like having one, but that is because my graduation requirements have a lot of overlap.
Before you immediately double major your freshman year, there are a few things that you should consider:
- When will you graduate?
Will double majoring set you back more years than you planned or will you graduate on time? If you are not going to graduate on time, then is it worth it to double major? If it is still worth it or only a year longer then, by all means, go for it, but if that is a deal breaker then you might want to stick to your preferred major and minor in the other option.
- How will your course load look?
I decided to double major when I was a sophomore. I only had three credits coming into college and I took all of my required core classes freshman year. Sophomore year and junior year were full of 18 to 19 credit hour schedules every semester. That’s right, I had to take six classes every semester to get to where I am now in my degree. The problem was that I had to take multiple pre-requisite courses to get into other classes since I did not take any of the pre-reqs for my second major freshman year I was a semester or two behind. Now I have only eight classes left until graduation.
- Can you double major in your preferred majors?
You are not allowed to double major in two fields within the same school in some instances. Luckily, Communications and Journalism are not in the same school, but in the same College. My college will only allow 40 hours of course work within your certain school to go toward your degree. This may be different in other colleges, so ask your academic adviser about your options.
- Is it going to take up your free time?
In college there is not a lot of free time to begin with for most full time students, but double majoring may take some more time out of your already busy schedule.
If you can answer these questions and you are ok with them, then by all means, double major! It is only as bad as you make it. But if you have any major doubts about whether or not you should double major, then maybe you should reconsider why you want to double major and make sure that it is the right path for you.