Do Double Majors Matter?

[PonyGirl93]

Not sure if you are concerned about the ease of getting a double major, but it is something to consider. TESC goes a little against tradition and classifies their BA in History as a Social Science, which is a plus, as your gen eds will mesh perfectly. As for your core classes, you'll have to take 66 credits as opposed to the regular 60, not a biggie. However, as you mentioned, you won't be able to "throw away" credits with stuff like FEMA.

As far as how job prospects are effected, I am clueless. Good luck either way!!

[ryoder]

Excellent advice from cookderosa.
I am going int an MBA at wgu soon and might do a double major if I can get it all by testing for very little time and money. Anything else and I think im better off investing in the MBA.

If you aren't doing a masters then maybe a second bachelors would make a lot of sense. You do need to be agile and adaptable in this economy. Personally I would consider a professional degree like business to compliment your well rounded liberal arts degree.

[cframe]

.....removed

[KyleH]

Check the box, get to grad school this fall. 6 months and $1500 is crazy if you plan on getting a masters or phd, this is money and time into a black hole. I can't imagine a scenario where having a BA in political science and history is any more useful than having a BA in underwater basket weaving with a MA in history or political science. In other words- liberal arts fields ALWAYS value higher education. We are not talking about career training, accounting, secondary education, business, science, etc. We are talking about social science. NOT the same as the previously mentioned examples. Think of it as having a double major high school diploma and then going on to earn a college degree. Interesting, but not especially relevant.

*I challenge the suggestion that the reason not to get a double major is laziness or money, that's absurd. But, that's for another thread.

I can connect you with someone who is finishing up a double major MASTERS in history and poli sci from WESTERN NEW MEXICO UNIVERSITY It's the least expensive option for that degree in the country. He is a high school social science teacher but just landed a job teaching at the community college. A PhD is another animal- so if you are thinking of doing a B&M program, I'd contact those programs directly. You may have deficiencies that you need to fill rather than adding more classes that won't count. A PhD online usually asks for a master's, so your goals should be clear to you before you make those decisions. You should start looking at master's degrees and get through your undergrad as fast / cheap as possible.

I second the suggestion of checking out the forum at Degree info for grad school help.

Okay wow. I never even considered a masters before now because I assumed it would be too expensive to be worth it. Maybe I was wrong. What you are saying definitely makes a lot of sense, especially that a double major undergrad is pointless if I've got a masters.

I would love to get in contact with somebody doing anything similar to what I might end up doing, especially if he can tell me the general price range of doing this.

KyleH --
It has been a while since I contacted TESC about this very issue, but you might want to check with them if you CAN double major in Hist/Pol Sci. If I remember correctly, this was not an option because there was too much overlap in the subject areas. I would hate to be wrong and cause unnecessary worry, but would hate for you to make plans in that direction and not have looked into it either.

Ugh. I'd hate to take all the classes and then find out it's not even possible. :eek: Thanks for pointing that out.

[Kaz]

KyleH's follow up post made my post moot. Good luck!

[burbuja0512]

Regarding a double major: First of all, I agree with Ryoder's comment about a business degree as a second major. I have worked in the business world for a long time, and most people I work with have majors totally unrelated to what they're doing... however - I have heard of job applicants with little experience and a non-related degree getting turned down for jobs, usually related to lack of experience, but also because they don't know anything about business.

I have also heard of some people that work their way up to a prestigious position only to have people say something like "oh... what do they know about product placement (or other business-related topic), after all, they are a psych major." I don't personally think this - but I have heard it said when poor decisions are made.



Regarding a Masters: So... that said, I TOTALLY agree with getting your masters as fast as humanly possible. Yes, a double major is nice and could slightly set you apart from the crowd, but there are jobs that you can't even apply to unless you have a graduate degree. I look at an undergrad as a requirement for a decent job. It's kind of like how a high school diploma used to be viewed. Those of us here that have managed to work our way up in our professions without one - we're either really lucky, or really smart, most likely a combination of the two lol.

Don't put yourself into an enormous amount of debt over a masters. They're not cheap, but you can do the research and find one that is a reasonable price. There are a few job exceptions where advanced education won't pay for itself in the long run, but in most careers it will so a little debt is ok.

[KyleH]

Not sure if you are concerned about the ease of getting a double major, but it is something to consider. TESC goes a little against tradition and classifies their BA in History as a Social Science, which is a plus, as your gen eds will mesh perfectly. As for your core classes, you'll have to take 66 credits as opposed to the regular 60, not a biggie. However, as you mentioned, you won't be able to "throw away" credits with stuff like FEMA.

Actually, yeah. I'd figured out a very efficient way of doing it, using a bunch of overlap. That was what was so appealing about a double major, but gosh fema credits are so convenient.

KyleH's follow up post made my post moot. Good luck!

haha thank you!

Regarding a double major: First of all, I agree with Ryoder's comment about a business degree as a second major. I have worked in the business world for a long time, and most people I work with have majors totally unrelated to what they're doing... however - I have heard of job applicants with little experience and a non-related degree getting turned down for jobs, usually related to lack of experience, but also because they don't know anything about business.

Very interesting. I sort of doubt I'm going to go for a business degree, though. Just not my thing.

Don't put yourself into an enormous amount of debt over a masters. They're not cheap, but you can do the research and find one that is a reasonable price. There are a few job exceptions where advanced education won't pay for itself in the long run, but in most careers it will so a little debt is ok.

Yeah, I'm not fond of debt either. It does look like the foreign service values a masters quite a bit, so I can probably make the money back.

[MISin08]

[...]I sort of doubt I'm going to go for a business degree, though. Just not my thing[...]

This is where I point out that at 40 you may wonder (like I did) why you worried about personalizing your undergrad when some business education is useful everywhere, like a Swiss army knife. Worry about "your thing" with the masters.

Phillip

[cookderosa]

[QUOTE=KyleH]Okay wow. I never even considered a masters before now because I assumed it would be too expensive to be worth it. Maybe I was wrong. What you are saying definitely makes a lot of sense, especially that a double major undergrad is pointless if I've got a masters.

I would love to get in contact with somebody doing anything similar to what I might end up doing, especially if he can tell me the general price range of doing this.

QUOTE]

Did you look at the WNMU degree? $1500 goes a long way in that program. Look closely at how they do it- if you take 6 credits, they let you have instate tuition (take more and it goes WAYYYYY up, so most people only take 6 per term). Anyway, you do 2 each 18 credit concentrations. That means, that in the future, if you want to teach- you are qualified in both. IF you do the 3 way masters you wouldn't be. Just sayin.

I saw you joined Degree Info, he's over there- I'll post in your thread for him (Matt Brent) to chime in.

[KyleH]

Did you look at the WNMU degree? $1500 goes a long way in that program. Look closely at how they do it- if you take 6 credits, they let you have instate tuition (take more and it goes WAYYYYY up, so most people only take 6 per term). Anyway, you do 2 each 18 credit concentrations. That means, that in the future, if you want to teach- you are qualified in both. IF you do the 3 way masters you wouldn't be. Just sayin.

I saw you joined Degree Info, he's over there- I'll post in your thread for him (Matt Brent) to chime in.

Whoa, that's quite a difference between 6 and 7. So basically you do 6 credits a semester and graduate after three years at around $887 a semester (assuming I'm not missing something)? Works for me.