What It’s Like to Double Major in College

In the span of a year, I went from “Undecided” to having two majors and two minors. I declared a double major in Legal Studies and Communication/Media with double minors in History and Political Science.

Support and Guidance

While this may seem like a lot, Nazareth University has made the experience of Double Majoring seemingly effortless. Each semester I would work individually with my Academic Advisor for each major and minor to determine classes that would best fulfill the requirements for each program. My advisors are aware of my course requirements and, before registration takes place, they’ve taken the time to meet with me to plan out what courses will count in multiple areas to ensure that I graduate on time. 

I have learned through the support of my advisors to be strategic in the courses I take and when I take them to be as efficient as possible with my time. Courses like “LGBTQ+ Activism & Law,” for instance, are both a Legal Studies elective and a course that is allowed for my History minor. Likewise, courses like “Media Ethics & Law” cover both Communications and Legal Studies.

Many Perspectives

Through my combination of majors and minors, I have had the opportunity to explore a diverse array of areas of study and see connections across all areas in which I study. What I have learned most through my educational experiences is how deeply connected all of my studies can be. In classes for my Legal Studies major, I am often the only student with a background in Communication, and in Communication, I am often the only Legal Studies major. 

This unique program pairing has culminated with my Senior Seminar Topic for Legal Studies. This year, the topic is on examining law and society through the lens of the film, focusing on the intersectionality of race, gender, and ethnicity from a cultural and social standpoint. Only through my combination of majors have I been able to add a new perspective to the discussion. 

Naz’s Core Milestone Experience

I have gone on to use these overlapping courses when I worked on my Core Milestone Experience (CME) to explore “How do Nazareth Students perceive the presentation of stereotypes by the media?” I explored how different topics that those surveyed identified as “frequently discussed” and to what extent they noticed the ways in which people and situations were presented and concluded by analyzing what this means for how we subconsciously think about types of people we identify to be similar to those presented in the media. 

As a double major, I am now beginning to see how truly interdisciplinary my fields of study are, and needless to say I am left intrigued to learn more in post-graduate studies.