Double Major (1 Viewer)

[xoNat]

Where can I find more information about undertaking a double major? I'm a bit confused how it works like do you choose specific classes for it? and how exactly is it different from a double degree?

thanks guys

 

[totally_screwed]

to clarify majors and minors are specialisations within an undergraduate degree, minors have more space for electives rather than core units related to the specialisation, and so they're easier to complete than majors. some people double major and others do a major/minor, for example, major in something that's relevant for career and minor in something out of personal interest

so yes you choose specific classes for majors which are in the handbooks provided by diff universities and for diff majors

at the end of a double major you will have qualified for one bachelor's degree like b. arts, with specialisations in whatever majors/minors you picked

double degrees are double degrees lmao like two bachelor's degrees completed at the same time/successively (like science/arts, commerce/law), or a bachelor's degree with coursework doctorate (b. science/med), you come out with 2 qualifications at the end of it, takes longer

hope that helps but maybe jimmy can be more clear

 

[mmmmmmmmaaaaaaa]

To add on,
A double major won’t necessarily add time or lengthen the time of your degree, whereas a double degree will.
I’ll use BEconomics for example. We have a choice of 3-4 majors we must choose from, then there is also a shared pool of majors which we can either choose to do another major/minor from etc. This should all be outlined in the course handbook/outline for your degree. If you do a single degree, you’ll generally have a fair few elective spaces whereas in a double you won’t. Those elective spaces is where you’d do your 2nd major classes. Some may overlap if it’s within the same disciple/field of work (ie. UNSW Business School).

There are benefits to a double degree (apart from the cost of extra fees), in that being it generally allows for you to build up your resume better - which is definitely helpful in this current environment.

 

[liamkk112]

Where can I find more information about undertaking a double major? I'm a bit confused how it works like do you choose specific classes for it? and how exactly is it different from a double degree?

thanks guys

double majors usually exist in more flexible degrees like arts, science, etc, not usually for more "strict" programs like engineering or health courses. essentially, where you would be picking elective units or a minor in your degree, that's replaced with units from your second major, so your classes are basically more restricted to the majors you picked (less electives to pick from a variety of different majors/fields). the simplest way to think about it is that you'll be taking all the required classes to graduate with one major, and then all the required classes to graduate with the second rather than flexible classes you would otherwise pick. for example if you majored in chem and math, you'd study all of the core chemistry units (organic, physical, inorganic etc), and then all of the core math units (analysis, linear algebra, etc), and then perhaps some other elective units left over. it also varies based on the uni - pretty sure at unsw if u did a double major then the required units to take would be halved to "split" the load of each major (eg if each major was 90 credits then you'd only have to take 45 credits in each major instead), leaving all the electives free, whereas at usyd your electives are used up (not entirely sure on this though).

double degrees basically combine two different "areas" of coursework together (different faculties basically), both outside of the scope of each other. for example if you wanted to do economics and bio as a double major, it wouldn't be possible since a science degree doens't offer a major in economics and vice versa for a business degree. however if you take on a business and science double degree, then you're able to complete coursework in these two different areas, and at the end you'd graduate with two bachelor degrees rather than one. usually a double degree would take ~1-2 years extra, since you have to basically complete the work required for two degrees - although some requirements like the amount of electives would be removed from each, so you won't have to take the 6 years that might be required (assuming each degree individually takes 3 years). so it's advantageous if you want to be skilled in multiple different areas (again when i say areas i pretty much mean different faculties - science, arts, business, law etc), without having to take multiple bachelor degrees separately, although this obviously comes at the cost of some extra time (not really that much though). it does make you more multidisciplinary which can be good in a lot of cases, or useless in others (some people only really end up "needing" one of their degrees but of course it's good to have lots of skills).

if i had to sum it up into one sentence - double major is exploring two different fields in one degree/area of learning eg bio and physics under science, history and english under arts etc, wheras double degree is exploring two different fields in two degrees/areas of learning eg bio and eco under science and business, history and law under arts and law etc.

 

[xoNat]

double majors usually exist in more flexible degrees like arts, science, etc, not usually for more "strict" programs like engineering or health courses. essentially, where you would be picking elective units or a minor in your degree, that's replaced with units from your second major, so your classes are basically more restricted to the majors you picked (less electives to pick from a variety of different majors/fields). the simplest way to think about it is that you'll be taking all the required classes to graduate with one major, and then all the required classes to graduate with the second rather than flexible classes you would otherwise pick. for example if you majored in chem and math, you'd study all of the core chemistry units (organic, physical, inorganic etc), and then all of the core math units (analysis, linear algebra, etc), and then perhaps some other elective units left over. it also varies based on the uni - pretty sure at unsw if u did a double major then the required units to take would be halved to "split" the load of each major (eg if each major was 90 credits then you'd only have to take 45 credits in each major instead), leaving all the electives free, whereas at usyd your electives are used up (not entirely sure on this though).

double degrees basically combine two different "areas" of coursework together (different faculties basically), both outside of the scope of each other. for example if you wanted to do economics and bio as a double major, it wouldn't be possible since a science degree doens't offer a major in economics and vice versa for a business degree. however if you take on a business and science double degree, then you're able to complete coursework in these two different areas, and at the end you'd graduate with two bachelor degrees rather than one. usually a double degree would take ~1-2 years extra, since you have to basically complete the work required for two degrees - although some requirements like the amount of electives would be removed from each, so you won't have to take the 6 years that might be required (assuming each degree individually takes 3 years). so it's advantageous if you want to be skilled in multiple different areas (again when i say areas i pretty much mean different faculties - science, arts, business, law etc), without having to take multiple bachelor degrees separately, although this obviously comes at the cost of some extra time (not really that much though). it does make you more multidisciplinary which can be good in a lot of cases, or useless in others (some people only really end up "needing" one of their degrees but of course it's good to have lots of skills).

if i had to sum it up into one sentence - double major is exploring two different fields in one degree/area of learning eg bio and physics under science, history and english under arts etc, wheras double degree is exploring two different fields in two degrees/areas of learning eg bio and eco under science and business, history and law under arts and law etc.

ohh ok this is a great summary thank you so much

 

[carrotsss]

double degrees basically combine two different "areas" of coursework together (different faculties basically), both outside of the scope of each other. for example if you wanted to do economics and bio as a double major, it wouldn't be possible since a science degree doens't offer a major in economics and vice versa for a business degree. however if you take on a business and science double degree, then you're able to complete coursework in these two different areas, and at the end you'd graduate with two bachelor degrees rather than one. usually a double degree would take ~1-2 years extra, since you have to basically complete the work required for two degrees - although some requirements like the amount of electives would be removed from each, so you won't have to take the 6 years that might be required (assuming each degree individually takes 3 years). so it's advantageous if you want to be skilled in multiple different areas (again when i say areas i pretty much mean different faculties - science, arts, business, law etc), without having to take multiple bachelor degrees separately, although this obviously comes at the cost of some extra time (not really that much though). it does make you more multidisciplinary which can be good in a lot of cases, or useless in others (some people only really end up "needing" one of their degrees but of course it's good to have lots of skills).

keep in mind the above doesn’t apply as much at usyd because you can choose your second major from the shared pool within most liberal studies degrees (eg bachelor of science, bachelor of arts), so basically anything other than law and engineering can be chosen as a second major without any problems - if you wanted to do a double major in bio/economics in a simple 3 year bachelor of science that would be fine, likewise for a double major in maths and music

here’s a list of majors/minors you can choose:

Shared pool (Table S)

www.sydney.edu.au

 

[liamkk112]

keep in mind the above doesn’t apply as much at usyd because you can choose your second major from the shared pool within most liberal studies degrees (eg bachelor of science, bachelor of arts), so basically anything other than law and engineering can be chosen as a second major without any problems - if you wanted to do a double major in bio/economics in a simple 3 year bachelor of science that would be fine, likewise for a double major in maths and music

here’s a list of majors/minors you can choose:

Shared pool (Table S)

www.sydney.edu.au

yeah theres definetly some differences between the unis eg uts science degree basically works like an engineering degree (u have flexible first year, then u have to lock in your major, and no double major usually), unsw science degree doesn't let u pick anything outside of "science" domain as a major if u do a bsci, etc