The Advantages of Pursuing a Second Undergraduate Degree
Taking on two college majors can mean much more work for students, but it may bring a greater reward. A double major can provide access to higher-paying occupations as well as cultivate critical thinking and communication skills. About 20% of college students graduate with a double major.
What is a Double Major?
Generally, a double major refers to a degree in which a student has earned enough credits for majors in two different, but often related, disciplines. Students typically earn one degree with two majors that are on the same bachelor's degree track. Some universities allow students to double major in two unrelated fields and degree tracks, though.
A double major is different from a dual-degree program, which typically confers two separate diplomas and may require more credit hours. For example, a dual-degree at Stanford University in California requires 225 credit hours to graduate compared to 180 for a double major.
Requirements for a Double Major
A bachelor's degree typically consists of 120 credit hours, though school requirements vary. A double major can usually be achieved within those 120 hours, or the minimum required by a university, but that may depend on the school and what the majors are. Some majors might require students to take more than the minimum number of credits, but most students graduate in four years.
Universities typically allow students to count general education and major-specific classes for multiple majors, which can help students progress through a double major efficiently. For instance, a student majoring in journalism and political science could take a course like Press Law and Ethics and potentially count it toward both majors.
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Not every school does that, though. Stanford, for example, dictates that for a double major, "both sets of requirements must be fulfilled without overlap." But research found no evidence that people with double majors spend more time in college.
Pros and Cons of Double Majoring
Tackling multiple majors can have drawbacks as well as benefits. Depending on the college, students may need to juggle two sets of academic requirements. Double majoring just to have it on a resume is the wrong approach. Students should consider whether a second major will help develop a new skill and open up doors to more employers. Students need to balance the practicality of a major with their passions or skills. A second major is most valuable for students early in their career. Later on, employers are typically more interested in their work experience than their college majors. Some exceptions would be education or accounting, where certification is required.
One potential drawback is that double majoring might prevent students from taking some electives, since those hours are typically used up on major-related courses. This could result in a more challenging schedule. Senior year ended up being heavier than it otherwise might have been, because both majors required extensive projects as part of graduation.
“If there is a downside to double majoring, it’s energy, stress and time in your young early-career moment,” he says. “Frankly, that’s when you have the energy, so why not invest heavily? Why not do the extra major when you’re young and can handle staying up late and getting a little bit of extra work done? It’s going to be a lot harder to pick up those skills in your 40s.”
When to Declare a Double Major
Schools typically don't require students to declare a major until the end of their sophomore year, though in some cases students declare on their college application. It is advised to wait until after they've started college to declare. And it is suggested that before students declare a major, much less a second major, they take courses they're interested in and look for internships or jobs that give them related work experience.
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For students who are certain about what they want to study and think a double major might be for them, there are benefits to declaring early. Academic advisers can help students come up with a strategic plan to map out courses over their four years.
For students pursuing a second major, it is recommended that they have a separate academic adviser for each major to make sure they meet all of their requirements. Some schools may require students to formally declare two specific advisers while others may have a more relaxed policy. It is also suggested that students make sure at least one of their advisers is paying attention to their general education requirements.
Lucrative Double Major Combinations
According to a 2021 paper in the Columbia Economic Review, pursuing a double major almost always predicts greater earnings than pursuing either major alone. A combination of business and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), two business majors or two STEM majors will be the most lucrative. Those with STEM or business degrees, or some combination of those double majors, seem to have around double the benefit of every other major on its own and at least a 40% boost to earnings relative to double majors with neither STEM nor business.
Much of the value in a double major comes from the types of degrees paired together. While combinations of STEM and business degrees are the most lucrative, research found that some degrees paired with an arts and humanities degree can also yield a strong economic benefit.
Arts and humanities majors alone don’t tend to lead to higher future earnings, and the financial benefit is also minimal when pairing two majors in arts or humanities. However, pairing one with either a business or STEM major could be about twice as lucrative, his research shows.
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When figuring the financial benefit of double majoring, other factors need to be considered, such as the student's skill level in each area. Although pairing business and STEM majors appears to lead to the highest earnings, on average, "it may be true that for a particular individual studying STEM, the best thing to pair that with would be arts (or) humanities rather than business. That has to be made on an individual basis with a variety of considerations."
Is a Double Major Worth It?
In 2018, one graduate student double majored in psychology and sociology at Arizona State University says his double major forced him out of his comfort zone, introducing him to new concepts and helping him form working and social relationships with new people.
One who graduated in 2005 says senior year ended up being heavier than it otherwise might have been, because both majors required extensive projects as part of graduation.
One's career took some of the course that it took because of that double major. One wouldn’t have the experience or the success as a teacher or as a researcher on the topics that one work on if one hadn’t been able to use that Spanish fluency. One now works as a senior fellow and policy researcher at The Century Foundation, a think tank in Washington, D.C. schools. One's ability to speak Spanish fluently has opened doors that wouldn’t have otherwise been available.
One credits one's double major with helping one get into graduate school. One is working toward a doctoral degree in social psychology at Trent University in Ontario, which one hopes will help one land a high-paying job in the future. That's yet to be determined, one says, adding that one's honors degree might be more beneficial.
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