In the United States, a multiple major[1][2][3][4] refers to an academic program in which an undergraduate student fulfills the requirements for two or more distinct disciplines or fields of study, receiving a single bachelor's degree with all majors listed on the diploma or transcript.
This practice allows students to pursue diverse interests or enhance their career prospects by demonstrating expertise in multiple areas.
[6] Students cite enjoying the coursework, gaining parental approval, and finding a job after graduation as the three most important reasons for pursuing a second major.
[11] According to the Teagle Report, the ten most popular concentrations for double majors are: In addition, the ten most popular double major combinations are: The goal of many colleges and universities is to produce students of a wide breadth of knowledge, an aim that is evident in the implementation of general education courses and other similar curricular requirements.
This provides a stark contrast to social and natural science double majors who see a negative impact to hyper-specialization in terms of acquiring a broad range of knowledge.
On the contrary, it appears that an education and math/science pairing results in ‘‘lower’’ earnings compared to a single math/science major.
On the other hand, Males do not suffer the earnings penalty that female education double majors often do.
Liberal Arts colleges, where close to a third of students have two majors, the return to earnings are small and insignificant.
Compared to their single major peers, double majors appear to be more involved in extracurricular activities, more likely to hold positions in student organizations, and more likely to pursue academic interests (research projects with faculty or honors thesis) outside the classroom.
On the one hand, traditional gender socialization lends itself to less financially lucrative majors (those in the humanities, for example).
On the other hand, the promise of financial rewards (as well as parental pressure) may push many women towards the science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors.
[clarification needed] Furthermore, double majors are slightly more likely to have graduated from a private high school and have taken more AP classes.
The greatest increase in the number of double majors appears to be happening at the most selective colleges.