Double majors and dual degree students have a hard knock life
Wyatt Smith Features Editor
Students who double major have the option of completing two separate Independent Studies during their senior year. While some decide to do so for their own reasons, most with a music or studio art major have no choice; they are unable to combine their two fields into one study. However, both Sarah Mitchell ’13, a music and psychology double major, and Emily Koelmel ’13, a studio art and psychology double major, are unfazed by having to complete two I.S.’s.
Mitchell believes she isn’t working much more than seniors with one I.S., although she has to budget her time carefully.
“Sometimes I slack on one [I.S.] to try to focus on the other and vice versa, week to week,” Mitchell said. “What helps me is just keeping to a really tight schedule of what I need to get done and when.”
Koelmel holds that adding an additional I.S. to her course load is not much more challenging than the class it replaces.
“The work that you do in lab courses is comparable to what I would do in I.S.,” said Koelmel. “It’s just the independent focus that you have to be more honed in on.”
Studio art and music are difficult to combine with other majors in an I.S. because they both require some sort of performance or exhibition that is hard to mesh with a written thesis. For example, Mitchell will sing an hour-long solo recital while Koelmel will display altered photographs. This is, of course, in addition to the empirical study and report they must complete for psychology.
No one is more experienced with the discrepancy between degree requirements than Jordan Key ’13. Like Koelmel and Mitchell, Key is working on two separate I.S.’s, but he is not technically a double major. Rather, he is a dual degree student; seeking a Bachelor of Music in music composition and a Bachelor of the Arts in religious studies. This rare combination means Key had to take a wider array of general education credits than most students, since his two degrees have different requirements.
Key, Mitchell and Koelmel all have long since altered their course loads to accommodate their disparate interests.
Mitchell overloaded every semester of her sophomore and junior years and even went on the Wooster Summer in Tuscany trip to fulfill some general education requirements. She also scheduled both her Junior I.S.’s in the same semester so she could get a taste of working on two I.S.’s before senior year.
“I planned ahead,” said Mitchell. “[My double major] would’ve affected me more had I not done that.”
Key’s dual degree has been even more demanding. He has overloaded every semester since arriving at Wooster and he has used many AP classes from high school to fulfill various requirements.
“It is very difficult to juggle all these commitments and obligations and keep some time for myself,” said Key. “Sometimes I simply cannot do it all.”
Alternatively, Koelmel was able to fit her double major and two I.S.’s, along with a semester abroad, into her time at Wooster without overloading once. She attributed this feat to an early start in both her majors and avoiding unnecessary courses.
Koelmel often audits classes as a way to add breadth to her studies. Some classes, such as digital photography, she audits to pick up skills relevant to her for-credit coursework, while others, such as philosophy of the mind, she audits just because she finds them interesting.
None of the students who were interviewed expressed any regrets about the academic path they took.
“Sure it’s stressful,” said Mitchell, “but we’re also working towards something that we’re all excited about.”