Kristina Johnson waited almost two years to choose a major. When the time came, she ended up not declaring one – instead, she declared two.
“About halfway through sophomore year, I needed to declare my major and sign up for the next semester’s courses,” says Johnson, a senior majoring in business administration and marketing.
“I made an appointment with an adviser to see where I stood, and she told me about the double-majoring possibility.”
FAU academic advisers say it’s common for students to declare two majors, especially within the same college.
Kirk Hammond, the coordinator of academic programs in the freshman advising office, says that students within the colleges of business, arts and letters, and science are often the ones who pick up second majors, although that’s not always the case.
“Students who plan to go to law school often do political science [in the college of arts and letters] and criminal justice [in the College of Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs],” Hammond says. “It’s something in their field.”
Hammond also advises that incoming freshmen shouldn’t worry about their majors during their first semester. Instead, students should be concerned with adjusting to college life.
But even if students decide on two areas of study right off the bat, there still may not be enough time to fulfill all the requirements within four years. For instance, second majors are rare in the College of Education, because students need to gain classroom experience and earn their teaching certificates.
Joe Waters, the assistant director of academic and student services in the College of Education, says the college only gets a student who’s working toward two bachelor degrees once every couple of years.
“We seldom see it in the College of Education, because our tracks have very limited electives,” Waters says. “It’s usually students who have acquired about 160 or so credits [by starting with the other major first].”
To determine whether or not it’s possible to pick up another major, the first step is to meet with an adviser and pick up the Undergraduate Application for Second Major.
After filling out the form, students should take it to the dean’s office in the college of their new major, even if it is the same college as their first.
Once the paperwork is approved, the student must then turn the form in to the registrar’s office to complete the process.
In Johnson’s case, she was approved for a second business major because there was enough flexibility in the curriculum.
“One of the selling points was only having to take a couple of extra classes in order to achieve the double major,” Johnson says. “Marketing classes have applied to both majors so far – electives to one major, but required as part of the other.”
The other selling point to Johnson was to increase her marketability to employers down the line.
“I hope that they will open more doors for opportunity,” Johnson says. “And, of course, I can’t deny that I hope it will help me make more money.”
