Hi everyone, new here, and I need some advice. I have to decide (rather soon) between double majoring in History and Political Science at TESC or just getting a history degree. If I just go with History, I'll use Fema for free electives and save even more time and money than I'm already saving. Do employers even care about the double major? Will poli sci even help me with just a BA? It typically requires a PhD to be worth anything, right? I'm sort of desperate for answers and it kind of feels like there aren't any, so anything anybody can say will help.
Ouch. I wrote a thoughtful reply and it disappeared. From an employer perspective a double major might separate you from the pack a little by indicating you can & will work hard and like to achieve. It will be something to be proud of in a way FEMAs kinda aren't, sorry IMHO. Neither major is a big-demand field so experience and any graduate work you do will be more important. If you are excited about the subject matter that makes a difference as well, it's not all about jobs & money. Phillip
My goal is to get into the foreign service (like diplomacy, sort of). It's something I would love doing, as are the two degree options.
My advice if that is your goal: 1. Read http://careers.state.gov/uploads/f2/ee/f2eeebd2a4761d80e54ee9d81d0b2863/3.0.0_FSO_13_dimensions.pdf 2. Learn a foreign language, or two. 3. Take the money saved from just doing the history major, and put that towards a masters. It is very hard to get into Federal Government now. A masters would be better than a doubling and undergraduate major. It will also qualify you for a higher pay grade. 4. Do a government internship program, like SCEP, or Peace Corp.
That idea, right there: Probably the best suggestion you'll get, short of marrying an Undersecretary's niece. If the latter is a possibility, I'd still recommend the internship, just for the sake of appearances.
I have friend of mine who graduated from UC Davis with a BA double major in Political Science/ International Relations and he hasn't found a way to use it. He currently works a low end job and told me if he had to do it all over again he would have majored in Buisiness or something closely related . . .
I'm corresponding with a recent grad of my program of choice who works for UNESCO. I was curious. A professional career at UNESCO | Employment and internships| UNESCO.ORG May not be exactly what you're about, but I see some interesting pointers here. Social Science degree might be OK Program management (i.e. project management) desirable Speak a foreign language Phillip
I'd like Matt Brent to chime in. The OP is looking at WNMU for a masters in history/poli sci instead of a second BA lol- he may not be looking, but I'm suggesting- and frankly I'm wondering what's with all the double major love? It adds 6 months and $1500 to his degree plan, he'd be well into a WMNU masters by then.
Okay, wow. Lots of posts To catch up: 1) I do plan on joining some sort of internship. I am currently learning Chinese and then want to learn Russian. 2) the undersecretary idea is brilliant. I'll let you know if that works out. 3) Oh! The UN sounds like a good opportunity. Thank you, Philip, for posting that. 4) Thanks for the help, Cookderosa.
I can't speak for KyleH but testing out made me feel like I can do anything and a double major/two BS crossed my mind more than once. But then I started looking at grad certificates, and....and.... Phillip
Sort of similar story. I decided I would never spend what I figured would be a ton of money on a masters program so I chose to do the most I could with a bachelors. Then I started doubting if it was worth the money to double major, then I found out about Masters programs and now I'm just....recalculating.
Here I am! (Someone's inbox was full :biglaugh:, so he didn't get a message about this and had to get it via Facebook...) Let me preface by saying my BA is in History. I only took a couple of political science courses as an undergrad, but being related, I got quite a bit of polysci via my history courses. I am currently doing an MA at WNMU in History & Political Science. I love the program! If all goes well, which it should, I'll be done in May. When I was in undergrad, we could double major, but most advisors practically shunned it. While it was noted on our transcript, it's not like we got an extra degree or anything. The way it was explain to me, you still need 120 credits, so after the major it really doesn't matter what those credits are. I minored in Communication Studies because I was originally a Comm major. I could've double majored, but I just didn't see the appeal. If you have to still take 30+ credits, go ahead and do the double major, but if you'd have to take additional credits above the 120 minimum, I'd say scrap the idea and go for a masters. WNMU is a nice, affordable program. Our of staters, like myself, can do 2 classes per semester at the in state price. That's about $1200 for two classes. You CAN'T beat that. If you get ambitious, during the summer you can take as many classes as you want at in state tuition prices. The key with WNMU is taking courses that are applicable for you. I did the program for the sole purpose of scoring 18 hours in each discipline so I could teach community college courses. It has clearly served my purpose. If you tailor the courses right, you might be able to get a good combination that might help you with your goals. I'd highly recommend it. -Matt
Okay wow, the more I hear about this plan the more appealing it becomes. I can indeed double major only using 120 credits without losing any of the ones I already have but I'd have to take a bunch of classes instead of the (almost) free fema credits. WNMU really does sound great, especially if I can study in two areas that I'm extremely interested in. Thanks for all the info!
Im currently doing a dual degree at Arizona State University: BA in Political Science and BS in Sociology. I also can do the double major within my 120 credits. So that's why Im doing it. If I had to go over the 120, I wouldnt bother.
