Students who embark on two majors during their collegiate careers must go through a different process to register and select classes than students who are only pursuing one major.
William Wheeless, a freshman in mathematics, said he attends two different advising meetings before he registers.
“I had to go see the undergraduate director for physics and actually enroll in that major before I could sign up for any of the classes,” Wheeless said. “It’s important that you do this because some classes are only available to specific majors.”
Students who choose to double major are assigned an adviser in each of the colleges that offers their majors.
These students are only required to see one of their advisers to receive their Personal Identification Numbers for registration in PackTracks, but they are encouraged to see both of their advisers before they register.
“Each degree program sets its own policies and requirements,” Jeffrey Reaser, an assistant English professor and an adviser for the English department, said. “It’s in the student’s best interest to go to both advising sessions because the advisers of one department don’t know the policies of other departments.”
According to the N.C. State Majors and Careers Web site, a double major can be beneficial to a student’s career aspirations.
Students who double major will learn additional skills and expertise that will make them more competitive in the job market.
“Physics and math are closely related, so my knowledge in math will help me in physics and physics involves the application of math,” Wheeless said, “I’m not sure what I want to do yet but I am thinking about working for NASA or IBM where both my degrees could be applied.”
In achieving two degrees, more opportunities are available after graduation — a fact that is very attractive to students.
“I’m considering double majoring in aerospace and nuclear engineering because having two degrees would qualify me for a wider range of jobs,” Nikki Sheppard, a freshman in nuclear engineering, said.
If a student decides to undertake two majors, he or she must consider how closely the two majors relate and how long they intend to stay in college, according to Reaser.
Some majors, such as aerospace and mechanical engineering, have many overlapping classes and only require a few extra courses to achieve both.
Reaser said other majors differ greatly in their course loads and the process would require several extra years in college to obtain.
“The closer the degrees are in classes, the easier it is to double major in them,” Reaser said, “But if they’re too different, it’s almost impossible to get both degrees in a reasonable amount of time.”
