How much more work is a double major?

Hi Mitra, with careful planning you should be fine. :) But, it'll also depend on where you go and what you major in.

I got my degree about 6 years ago, so things may be a bit different now, but in general I recommend doing thorough research on the programs and schools you're interested in, and basing your considerations on the following to start:

1) Where you go and whether they're on a semester or quarter system. For instance, I went to Santa Clara University (SCU), which is on the quarter system, so theoretically was able to get more classes in than I would have on a semester system (you may want to ask any friends who went to a semester school what their experience was, too). You can factor in summer classes, too, but I actually only took one summer class during my whole four years and was still able to double major.

Some schools also offer a chance to get a double degree if you get a double major, but may require more credits before you qualify. For instance, I majored in English and Finance and got enough credits for a double degree (...but since then, SCU now requires many more credits to qualify for a double degree, so I imagine it'd be harder now), so I have a BSC in Finance and a BA in English. Otherwise, if you don't qualify for a double degree or your school doesn't offer it, you may have to designate a primary and a secondary major instead. You'll only get an "official" degree in your primary one. I'd recommend clarifying for sure with your school if a double degree is something you really want.

2) What you major in and how much your required classes overlap. I majored in Finance and English, which didn't have a lot of overlapping courses, but neither had an unusually high number of required courses, either. For example (I'm making up numbers since I don't remember the exact numbers in my case), if you're on a quarter system and take four classes a quarter and want to graduate in four years, you'll have room for 4 classes x 3 quarters a year x 4 years = 48 classes. Then I recommend rounding down in case you ever need to drop a class here and there (life happens!), so let's say you have room for 45 classes over 4 years.

Now, let's say you need to take 15 classes to fulfill your general ed requirements, 20 classes to get major in Finance, and 15 classes to major in English. 50 classes is a bit more than you have room for, but let's see where some classes overlap. Looks like 3 of your required English classes also fulfill general ed requirements, so that's 3 fewer you need. Oooh, and another 2 of your Finance classes fulfill general ed requirements, so there's another two. After that, looks like you'll just need 45 classes to double major--perfect!

I'd caveat this with making sure you have additional buffer space for changing your mind (what if after a few classes you decide you want to change one of your majors? do you have room to spare if the classes you took no longer satisfy your new major's requirements?), or if certain classes you need are only offered once a year (or once every two years--it happens!). This may influence the major(s) you choose, too. For instance, I chose Finance over Accounting because Finance required fewer courses, which allowed me to double major in English (what I really wanted to major in). My fiance also double majored, but had two majors with much more overlap (Religious Studies and Political Science), so he didn't have to plan his classes nearly as carefully to pull them off in 4 years (he actually graduated a quarter early, too).

3) What else is important to you while you're in college. With my double major, I didn't have time to do a lot of fun elective classes or study abroad. Looking back, I really wish I'd studied abroad, even for just a quarter. I probably could have still made it work, but it would've taken some extra effort to make sure all the classes still fit in and my study abroad classes qualified toward one or both my majors. Or, maybe you want to take fewer classes here and there to take advantage of a great internship that comes your way (another thing I wish I'd done!). Or, leave some room to have some fun and grow as a person in other ways. College shouldn't be 100% about your classes. :) Remember that you have only so much time and energy to spend, so budget it according to what's most important to you.

4) Why do you want to double major? Ask yourself a few questions: What would a second major give you that a minor wouldn't? If you're budgeting your time so carefully to pull this off in 4 years, would you rather just pick one major and graduate early? If at the end of your 4 years in college, a job interviewer asks you why you double majored and what from each major prepared you for the workforce, what would you say? Or, simpler and much more importantly, what about each major makes you happy, and why would you be happier with both?

For me, I really wanted to major in English, but I also really liked math and wanted a better chance at job stability. Since I wanted to challenge both the qualitative and quantitative sides of my brain, I couldn't imagine doing all English or all math, so I decided to double major since I liked both and thought I'd learn really useful but different things from both.

Hope this helps! Feel free to message me if you have any questions, and all the best of luck!