Easier to get into Grad school with 2 degrees?.

[aaabha]

Easier to get into Grad school with 2 degrees?

 

 

 

Is it?

Currently Im majoring in Psychology with a minor in Sociology.

I was thinking however, getting a major in Sociology as well would be beneficiary - although it may take an extra semester. (Currently Im a 1st semester Sophomore).

 

Just wondering what you thought.

I'll probably go through with it, but as far as grad school is concerned, will it help a lot?

 

for example, if it was between me and someone else, and it looked like this:

Kid - Major in Psych, minor in Soc. 3.8gpa.

Me: Major in Psych and Soc. 3.2gpa

 

Still think they would take me over the other guy (even though he has a higher gpa)?

 

thanks

....

[CharonY]

Most of the time multiple degrees do not help. The advisers usually didn't and probably most won't see any added value. General assumption is that you learn the important bits in grad school anyway, whereas everything before that just provides a basis to start learning from.

[DJBruce]

Is the same true for someone wishing to pursue physics into grad school. It has been recommended by many people that double majoring in mathematics and physics would be highly beneficial if not for getting into grad school or at least for the actual material in it. Is this true, or does it not really matter in physics as well?

[timo]

It has been recommended by many people that double majoring in mathematics and physics would be highly beneficial if not for getting into grad school or at least for the actual material in it. Is this true, or does it not really matter in physics as well?

In my opinion it does not help. Neither for helping you to understand grad-school physics (that's what before-grad-school courses are supposed to do B) ), nor to impress people (except maybe fellow students), nor for communicating with others or understanding standard arguments (the language and way of thinking and expressing ideas is surprisingly different in math and physics ). But of course I do not know the US system, only a bit of physics and math.

 

I wonder who recommended that? Did the professors really say people should have a degree in math or did they just mean that they'd be happy if their average PhD student did understand the work he does a bit better (for which not pursuing a math degree seems helpful due to the additional time to learn the math required in physics)?

[DJBruce]

In my opinion it does not help. Neither for helping you to understand grad-school physics (that's what before-grad-school courses are supposed to do B) ), nor to impress people (except maybe fellow students), nor for communicating with others or understanding standard arguments (the language and way of thinking and expressing ideas is surprisingly different in math and physics ). But of course I do not know the US system, only a bit of physics and math.

 

I wonder who recommended that? Did the professors really say people should have a degree in math or did they just mean that they'd be happy if their average PhD student did understand the work he does a bit better (for which not pursuing a math degree seems helpful due to the additional time to learn the math required in physics)?

 

One of the professors as well as a post-doc at the university I go to both said that they feel one of the most important things about physics at the undergraduate level is learning the proper mathematical background that will come in handy when you work on more complex matters in grad school. The undergrad physics adviser reverberated the idea that a double major in physics and math could be very handy. Then the undergrad math director stated that it was incredibly incredibly useful to double major in physics and math. (Of course he might have been trying to increase his own number of math majors).