Do Double Major/Degree exist in UK universities?

Hi

I was wondering if double major/degrees exist in the UK?

My friend is applying to do Maths and Economics in University - is that a double degree?

In the US a have a friend who is majoring in both Chemistry and Biology.

The reason I ask is because I want to do Chem Eng and Economics, but I can find no university in the UK that offers it.

Reply 1

random_bloke

yes, you can do dual honours; which is basically one degree split straight down the middle

Reply 2

foxo

jhomie

Hi

I was wondering if double major/degrees exist in the UK?

My friend is applying to do Maths and Economics in University - is that a double degree?

It's called joint honours here. You do roughly half the amount of each subject.

jhomie

The reason I ask is because I want to do Chem Eng and Economics, but I can find no university in the UK that offers it.

Sheffield and Edinburgh offer Chemical Engineering with Management. That's the closest you'll get here probably.

Reply 3

hobnob

jhomie

Hi

I was wondering if double major/degrees exist in the UK?

Yes, but not in the sense that you're free to choose any subject combination you like. It has to be a combination offered by your university. (The Scottish system's a bit different, though, I believe).

My friend is applying to do Maths and Economics in University - is that a double degree?

No, it's a joint honours degree. Your friend won't be covering quite as much ground in each subject as a single honours mathematician or economics-person, but he'll probably be doing slightly more than half of each degree.

The reason I ask is because I want to do Chem Eng and Economics, but I can find no university in the UK that offers it.

If no university in the UK offers that combination, you're out of luck, I'm afraid. :frown:

If you're sure that this particular subject combination is what you want to do, and if you think you'll be able to afford it, you may want to consider going abroad for your degree.

Reply 4

Akkuz

Some universities usually say e.g. you can do Biology with 'X' and they will give you a list of subjects that you can do joint honours in. So, your best bet is to research university websites, instead of UCAS.

Reply 5

LostTryptophan

Keele specializes in dual honours degrees, but i dont think we do chemical engineering.. Id look into it tho!

Reply 6

lucho22

A double major in the U.S. is effectively completing the requisite junior and senior credits in two separate degrees. This is possible in the U.S. as the first two years are extremlely general, so if you put the work in you can finish your university career with for instance a B.A. in French and a B.Sc. in Marine Biology (or something like that). In the U.K. (even Scotland) the degree is far more focused making it extremely difficult if not impossible to do this (it did used to happen a lot around 50 or 60 years ago - but people had more time to piss about back then before getting a job as things weren't as expensive or as competetive).

EDIT: an exception is the Double Maitrise (run by unis like Ox, Cam, and UoL with French unis) where you can graduate with an LLB (or B.A. Juris Prudence) and a French Maitrise in Law in 4 years. There are also similar programs run by the UoL where you can graduate with a joint LLB and J.D. from UoL and Columbia.

Reply 7

River85

hobnob

Yes, but not in the sense that you're free to choose any subject combination you like.

More or less, yes, with the possible exception of combined honours courses (offered by unis like Durham, Newcastle and Exeter). You can study two, three or (possibly) four subjects. Then you can reduce the number to two in your second and third year. Not all subjects will be available but a broad range of arts, social sciences and sciences. These (and the Scottish system) is probably the closest you'll find to the American system.

As already mentioned, there are also joint honours degrees. These aren't quite the same. You study only two subjects (usually related eg. ancient histry and archaeology, philosophy and classics, politics and sociology) and in equal amounts (50:50 split) during the full degree.

Also, even if there are chemical engineering+ecomomics courses, it's unlikely (but not impossible) they'd be accredite by the Institue of Chemical Engineers or any other professional body.

Reply 8

mozzie

Birmingham University does a joint honours Chemical Engineering with Business Management.

Reply 9

babo_cassie

It it possible to double major in Law and Finance/Accounts

Reply 10

D_ecrivaine

Would it be that hard to study one thing and take classes in another?
For example, I applied to study Environmental Science, but would like to dabble in Internationall Studies or at least languages also