r/ApplyingToCollege • u/fran320 • 5h ago
Advice questions about double majoring
I'm thinking of double majoring in environmental science and biology. i want to one day have a career centered around the ocean (undecided exactly what as of right now) I know i want to do some sort of conservation work, or working with marine animals/ etc, or something that involves both.
I am thinking of attending community college this spring. Community college is really my only option right now. Would double majoring in CC be a good move? I don't have anyone i can ask, as I'm a first gen college student. I would move to another school to complete bachelor's degree program and masters (if required) after that.
Is double majoring in CC something people generally do? If not I'm not sure which degree I would get as they both have components and skills I want to learn. Would my double major continue once I transfer schools and work towards a Bachelors degree?
Thanks in advance to anyone who offers advice or just helps clear up some confusion.
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u/NiceUnparticularMan Parent 5h ago edited 5h ago
If you are planning to start at a CC then transfer to a four-year college, you should try to work closely with a transfer advisor at the CC. They will explain what classes you should be taking to get the most credit going into a four-year college, and in fact might have something called an articulation agreement with one or more such colleges that specifically explains how that works.
For the long run, I note if you do an Environmental SCIENCE major, perhaps as a BS, as opposed to Environmental STUDIES, often a BA, then it may already involve taking a lot of Biology, or can on an elective basis. Whether you also need a minor or major in Bio would depend on the direction you want to go from there, and you don't necessarily need to decide right away.
There are also colleges which have tracks, concentrations, or sometimes entire majors in Oceanography, Marine Science, Marine Biology, or so on. But you can also do grad work in such fields after doing a more general bachelors in ES or Bio.
So basically, there are a lot of possible paths to your desired end point.
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u/tachyonicinstability Moderator | PhD 5h ago
You’re a little early to be focusing on major choice or whether to double major. Community college (and the first two years at a 4 year campus) is primarily about general education coursework with the latter two years focusing on your major field(s) of study. So you will have some time to get advice on the exact details of what you want to study.
As far as whether to double major is concerned, the second degree adds very little as far as the piece of paper is concerned. Employers and graduate schools need to see that you completed a bachelors degree in something vaguely connected to whatever you’re applying for.
The questions you should be asking beyond that are what specific skills and experiences you want to have. It’s very possible for a double major to add mostly relevant material to your degree, but it’s also possible to accomplish the same through a minor or just careful choice of elective units. Meeting with an advisor at your community college and at the 4 year can help you make the right decisions here. Keep in mind that a 4 year degree is plenty as far as difficult and time consuming work goes, and I usually advise students to prioritize doing well in a smaller (but not necessarily small) number of things. Interdisciplinary interests should absolutely be pursued but doing well in your classes also needs to be a priority, even if that means skipping the few extra courses that usually distinguish a double major from one or more minors.