Students sometimes believe that completing two majors, a so-called “double major,” is a sign of competence and ambition. This isn’t necessarily so. A double major will occupy nearly all of the last two years of study. This will effectively close out elective courses in fascinating subjects they would otherwise have time for and can result in a narrow curriculum. One major with imaginative, challenging electives is often a more ambitious course of study than a formal double major.
If students are enthralled by two subjects, they can go ahead and double major. No one’s permission or approval is necessary, but the student must have an advisor in each major. A student might decide not to complete a full major in a second subject but simply to take enough courses in it to make it an informal, undocumented “minor.” Anyone looking at the transcript would see the substantial background in the second field. If the student does complete two (or more) majors, all are noted on the transcript.
Unless disallowed by either an advisor or department, students who have two majors may apply a course required by both majors toward both major requirements. However, the spirit of a double major requires two separate and complete units, not one set of courses called by two different names.
Because completing only one major is required, courses in a second major may be counted among the 15 credits of required electives.