College, Engineering to offer double major

Students with interdisciplinary interests can now pursue majors in both the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science without enrolling in a dual-degree program.

Last December, College and SEAS faculty passed a policy that allows College students to pursue a second major in SEAS and vice versa without having to contend with a second set of core requirements.

College students who pursue a double major in SEAS will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts, while Engineering students will graduate with a Bachelor of Science.

Pursuing a dual degree can often be a “tough act,” College Dean Dennis DeTurck said. Fulfilling requirements from both schools demands careful planning and advising.

For example, the College’s foreign language requirement — one that can take up to four semesters to fulfill — can be challenging for Engineering students without a prior background.

The new policy will reduce this burden and might “allow students to achieve academic goals within time and financial constraints,” Engineering School Associate Dean for Education John Keenan said.

While DeTurck expects students will pair complementary subjects such as health and societies with bioengineering and math with computer sciences, he also expects creative combinations from students looking to diversify their undergraduate education.

College freshman Charles Burke is looking to augment his architecture major with a background in civil or structural engineering. He said the new policy could offer an alternative for students who did not or could not enroll in dual-degree programs such as the Management and Technology program.

College freshman Dan Zhang is a prospective English major who also plans to study computer science.

“Like my Latin teacher used to say, studying across disciplines makes one truly a Renaissance man,” Zhang said. “It teaches one to think from multiple critical approaches.”

Being able to disentangle the majors from the College and the Engineering School requirements was a key consideration in creating the policy, according to DeTurck.

When asked if the College plans to allow students to double major with the Wharton School or the School of Nursing in the future, DeTurck explained that this is less feasible since Wharton and Nursing have concentrations, rather than traditional majors.

College and Engineering School majors, on the other hand, can be isolated from the school’s general requirements.

Requirements can create “superficial” boundaries, DeTurck said.

“We shouldn’t prevent students from pursuing their academic goals just because of how we’ve drawn [them],” he added.

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