Reader Question: Double Majoring at Vassar?

Every week, I field many e-mails from prospective students who want to learn more about Vassar. Those questions are always so well thought-out and incisive, that I think other perspective students might benefit from reading them. So, in addition to answering those questions individually, I'll start to post some of them here as well.

Last week, I received an e-mail from a prospective student asking me to explain the process of double majoring at Vassar. "There are two subjects I'm really interested in," he wrote, "Biology and Economics. I know those two are worlds apart, but is it possible to study both (and major in both) at Vassar?"

The short answer: absolutely! Will it be more difficult? Sure. Will you have slightly more work and less free time? Yup. But is it possible? Definitely. In fact, many Vassar students (myself included) are double majors.

On my tour of Vassar as a high school student, I remember vividly something that the student tour guide said: "Vassar is a place where everyone has countless, equally intense interests. It's a place where your friends will be pre-med with a major in Art History, or looking to earn an MBA but also take a dozen literature courses." He continued, "And that's the great thing about Vassar; you never have to limit yourself."

After nearly three years at Vassar, I couldn't agree with him more. Double majoring is fairly common here. Some people, like me, double major in subjects that are semi-related. Since my first week of my first year at the College, I knew that I wanted to major in both History and Political Science. The two disciplines have obvious overlaps in terms of writing style and subject matter. Often, I will learn more about history in a poli sci course, or more about politics in a history course. They complement one another. Similarly, I know students who are majoring in other related subjects, like Biology/Chemistry, Economics/Mathematics, or Film/Media Studies.

Other, more adventurous students, however, will major in seemingly unrelated disciplines—Economics/Music, Physics/French, Biology/Drama. On average, I would say that each major requires about 12 total courses over your four years (in which you will take a minimum of 32 courses). How you choose to allocate those courses is left to each student's discretion.

I would also add that disciplines that appear on first glance to be unrelated might actually complement each other in exciting ways. My freshmen year, I met a someone double majoring in History and Media Studies. Why? He wanted to work for the History Channel. Consider someone this year majoring in Economics and Chinese. Why? To give himself the option of doing business in Asian markets.

So, getting back to your original question, it is absolutely possible to major in Biology and Economics. Whether you're looking to combine those two disciplines (say, by pursuing a career in the bio-pharmaceuticals industry) or whether you're interested in studying them separately, you will have the option of doing both at Vassar. That said, I would encourage anyone interested in double majoring to review the specific requirements for each department. You might find, for example, that both disciplines require a senior thesis, and doing two theses in a single year might prove very difficult. Those are issues to think over and discuss with your academic advisor once you get here in the fall.

Keep e-mailing me those questions! (brfarkas@vassar.edu)