Which is the most difficult undergraduate academic major?

[Unicorn_Prince]

I have a poll already set up here http://www.yourfreepoll.com/gducyruzsp.html Feel free to to explain your thoughts as to why you believe this as well. Is there is any way to quantify this? Also, I'm not knocking anyone's choice of major fyi. If all other things are equal (student's intelligence, quality of professors, the college/university, etc) which academic major would be the most difficult for someone to complete? The options are in the poll answer options.

Edited March 14, 2011 by Unicorn_Prince

[DrRocket]

I have a poll already set up here http://www.yourfreep...gducyruzsp.html Feel free to to explain your thoughts as to why you believe this as well. Is there is any way to quantify this? Also, I'm not knocking anyone's choice of major fyi. If all other things are equal (student's intelligence, quality of professors, the college/university, etc) which academic major would be the most difficult for someone to complete? The options are in the poll answer options.

 

At the undergraduate level none of the scientific or engineering disciplines are particularly difficult. They are logical and tests are objective.

 

For a truly difficult major, look towards those that are more subjective, with test evaluation being perhaps capricious and/or that require a high level of physical talent which is also evaluated subjectively. I would think that modern dance in the College of Fine Arts might qualify.

 

Graduate research degrees requiring not only knowledge, but also creativity, are an entirely different matter.

[ecoli]

It obviously depends on the school and the person's talents.

[Unicorn_Prince]

@ DrRocket, even if you do not believe any of the scientific disciplines are particularly difficult, that is not what I asked. So thanks for the reply but that is not helpful in answering the question asked.

@ ecoli, if you read the entire post you would know I accounted for those things so again not very helpful but thanks anyway.

[drbobec]

@Dr Rocket you must be in the wrong place....?

 

 

I graduated with an EE in 86 and it was tough. Back then us EE's had to take statics, dynamics and thermodynamics and I found them an bit easier than electromagnetic wave theory, transmission and radiation, micro electronics, etc. I did have to take modern physics (relativity, E=MC**2, pi-ions, etc) which I found very difficult (almost kissed the Profs a$ when he gave me a d+, I graduated 3.0+) and I took a math level linear algebra as a tech elective and found doing proofs very difficult as well. I always thought ChemE was even more difficult than EE.

Edited August 12, 2011 by drbobec

[DrRocket]

@Dr Rocket you must be in the wrong place....?

 

Nope

 

 

 

I graduated with an EE in 86 and it was tough. Back then us EE's had to take statics, dynamics and thermodynamics and I found them an bit easier than electromagnetic wave theory, transmission and radiation, micro electronics, etc. I did have to take modern physics (relativity, E=MC**2, pi-ions, etc) which I found very difficult (almost kissed the Profs a$$ when he gave me a d+, I graduated 3.0+) and I took a math level linear algebra as a tech elective and found doing proofs very difficult as well. I always thought ChemE was even more difficult than EE.

 

 

I have advanced degrees in both EE and mathematics. Neither was overly difficult, largely because both are logical with objective critreria. That is not to sat that either did not require study and diligence.

[CharonY]

The most difficult study is usually the one you are not particular interested in.

[questionposter]

I think the better question is not "which one is harder", but which one do you need to spend more time with before it becomes easy? Because anything your new to will be hard, and anything you've worked with a long time will be easy, but just how long does it normally take to get use to each subject so that you can do it as naturally as breathing? For that, my vote is for physics. I mean, you could be incredibly good at math, but you still need to spend a lot of time working with equations before you can write them down without even thinking about them.

 

 

There's two types of sciences: Physics and stamp collecting.

Edited August 14, 2011 by questionposter

[John Cuthber]

I studied chemistry so I know roughly how much effort I put into that . I didn't study physics or engineering so I have no idea how much effort they would take.

How can I judge the relative difficulties of a collection of subjects I didn't do?

To me the whole poll seems to be based on guesswork.

[ajb]

How can I judge the relative difficulties of a collection of subjects I didn't do?

To me the whole poll seems to be based on guesswork.

 

Based on my limited experience of biology and chemistry, I think I would have found these subjects very difficult at degree level. But this is guess work.

[mississippichem]

I'm not arguing that chemistry is the hardest (really I would argue physics is "harder"), but I think chemistry may require a strange skill set.

 

Chemistry is strange because it requires a student to have some of those "physics type skills" as well as some of those "biology type skills". The physics type skills I'm referring to include math competence, problem solving, and abstract visualization. The biology type skills are understanding large and complex systems, statistical fluency, being okay with synergistic effects (more than the sum of parts...), and learning a large set of obscure vocabulary.

 

There is also a lot of variation within chemistry. I'm sure this is true for other fields but I'll not speculate out of my league.

 

For example, a synthetic organic chemist can probably get by without much formal math skill but they must be able to predict or hypothesize multitudes of reaction outcomes, have a mental library of hundreds of reagents, and also have some artisan-like skill with their hands.

 

A physical chemists are prone to be more like one third physicist and two thirds chemist. Advanced mathematics is par for the course, computer skills are highly valued, and experimental design is a must.

 

Usually people don't specialize that much during undergrad (in the USA anyway). But, I've had friends that made C's or D's in organic chemistry while making A's in physical chemistry and the other way around.

 

I never took a college-level biology course but I had friends struggle through genetics which looked quite difficult to me . I did well in my physics courses though.

[TigerRage]

I agree that it does depend on a lot of factors, depending on the person's characteristics, the program, school, degree requirements (not all schools are the same) and even the situations and place one is in their life. I have frequently asked myself this question for the past half decade or so when considering my major and those of others, while also considering the general lifestyles of those undergoing various undergraduate degrees.

 

I recently completed a BS in Biological Chemistry with a minor in Chemistry at a state university in the US. The path I took was literally a complete combination of Chemistry and Biological Science (Biology), minus a few free subject electives.--In my college, Biochemistry is well known for being an extremely difficult program where 90% of students who declare Biochemistry as their major end up changing it to Biology.

 

I wish I could pretend like it was easy for me, but it was very very difficult at times. I regrettably graduated an entire year early having done multiple summer semesters and winter intersessions. I can say with certainty that the more time you have, the easier it is, and it doesn't matter what field you're going into. It also depends on the teachers you have and whether or not their teaching style reflects upon your learning style. I had many professors who spoke very little English and did nothing but read power point presentations. I had some who were very hands on and made learning a lot of fun.

 

In my experience, my all-time favorite course was Molecular Genetics (+ lab) which is normally a pretty rough topic. But the professor was just so enthusiastic and turned learning into entertainment. If you can turn genetic engineering experiments into something as fun as mud riding in a big 4x4 truck, it will be fun and easy.

[John Cuthber]

Based on my limited experience of biology and chemistry, I think I would have found these subjects very difficult at degree level. But this is guess work.

And I, in much the same way, would have struggled with physics or maths and probably failed; but I found chemistry relatively easy (apart from bits of it).

 

That's my point. It's utterly subjective (if you pardon the pun).

I think CharonY's answer was probably as accurate as any can be.

[Guest Emma Jacob]

The highest SAT scorers go into physics, then engineering subjects. The lowest SAT scorers go into elementary education, then business. In my own experience, that's just about right for hardest and easiest majors - most people who drop out of physics majors go into engineering for the slightly easier classes and better job prospects.