The phrase “double major” brings multiple plausible combinations to mind: for instance, computer science with mathematics, or perhaps English with philosophy. These pairings, while applauded for exhibiting a student’s hard work, do not turn heads for being unique. However, academic combinations such as English with biology, economics with music and even biology with Greek and Latin — belonging to seniors Ella Johnson, Aliza Kibel and Axel Ladd respectively — do just that.
Each of the three students revealed their own unique explanations for their decision to pursue two majors. Students with such major combinations are often assumed to be passionate about one degree while simultaneously needing the practicality of a second degree, as is the case for Kibel.
“I’m going into marketing after graduation so that was also part of the motivation for wanting to do an [economics] major,” Kibel said. “I knew [music] was something that I wanted to be able to study in college as my last opportunity to pursue [my] passion, since I knew I wasn’t necessarily going to go into it as a career.”
However, that is not the case with all double major students. Ladd, while interested in pursuing biology after graduation, had different reasoning for choosing his disciplines. Ladd says his STEM major is his true passion, and his decision to pursue Greek and Latin was for the purposes of academic curiosity, something Tufts emphasizes and encourages.
“I found [Latin class to be] very fulfilling in terms of intellectual development because it’s not just a language class. It’s so many things wrapped into one, [such as] history and sociology,” Ladd said.
Ladd expressed his desire to conduct biology research as a career, not out of necessity, but because of personal desire. He will be pursuing his passion at an immunotherapy research lab at Massachusetts General Hospital as a lab technician associate, with plans to later pursue a Ph.D. in immunology.
Johnson actually gave credit to her parents for the inspiration to pursue two majors.
“I like to say that it’s half of both of my parents,” Johnson said. “My dad’s an anthropologist [so] I grew up [around] a lot of biologists, and my mom is a librarian so I’ve always been surrounded by books as well.”
With the goal of teaching in mind, Johnson began tutoring for the Tufts Literacy Corps and later landed a biology teaching position in her junior summer. She is passionate about both disciplines; however, after reflecting on both experiences, a clear favorite arose for the senior.
“I was tutoring [in] Tufts Literacy Corps, and that was a huge eye opening moment of, ‘Wow, I could teach English and really enjoy that for the rest of my life,’” Johnson said. “I ended up teaching genetics. I loved it, and genetics is my favorite part of biology, but I was still sad [that] I wasn’t teaching English.”
Johnson talked about how her switch in focus from biology to English was not necessarily a “conscious choice” but a “happy accident.” This so-called ‘accident’ paid off, as she is going to pursue a master’s in education — with the end goal of teaching English — from Harvard University.
Notably, all three of these students are pursuing careers centered around just one of their majors. This begs the question: What’s the point of their second majors? For Ladd, pursuing his second major of Greek and Latin has helped him achieve a sense of self-fulfillment.
“There’s not just fulfillment of what I need to do to make a living, but also [of wanting] to be a complete person,” Ladd said.
Furthermore, Ladd emphasized the modern-day implications of Greek and Latin studies. While it may sound surprising, Ladd has actually found use for his second major in his day-to-day experiences.
“We live in a world that has, time and time again, glorified classical antiquity and so a lot of aspects of our society are based on the Greek and Roman world, for better or for worse. … Even without using it in my career, I still use it in my daily life when I look at politics and even advertising,” Ladd said. “Rhetoric is such a basic tool that is used so viciously in our society today. Having the tools to analyze, recognize and even combat it [is] just invaluable, even if it’s not your career.”
On the other hand, for Kibel, pursuing her second major of music was a means of getting her creative ‘fix.’
“To [have] that creative component [in] my education at Tufts has been really amazing,” Kibel said. “It definitely is helpful to be using that creative muscle, whether it’s in a music class, or in certain aspects of an [economics] class where I can intellectually see overlap. Even though the topics are not the same, it is definitely helpful in being able to think a little bit more outside the box.”
When Kibel was asked her thoughts about the need for STEM majors to be exposed to more humanities, she wholeheartedly agreed.
“I have a lot of friends in theater who are doing STEM majors that are really considering doing either a music or theater major or minor in addition for exactly that reason, to get a little bit more of a well rounded experience here,” Kibel said.
Additionally, Kibel spoke about her interesting combination of majors allowing her to stand out.
“I found [a music major] makes me a little bit more interesting in a job interview setting,” Kibel said. “It’s something that adds a little extra pizzazz to a resume.”
Johnson had a slightly different opinion on the need for her biology major, since she came into college wanting to eventually pursue a STEM-based career, but ended up honing in on English. She admitted that if she realized her true passion earlier, she might not have pursued a biology major; however, that does not mean she necessarily regrets the experience.
“If I had discovered that earlier, I wouldn’t have [majored in biology], but I met a lot of great people in both majors, so I don’t know that I want to give that up,” Johnson said.
One of the only regrets she expressed with her double major was that her schedule permitted little room for exploration, as she dedicated most of her time at Tufts to fulfilling major requirements.
“I wish I hadn’t in a way limited what classes I could explore,” Johnson said.
Another consideration that double majors like Johnson, Kidel and Ladd had to consider was the ability to study abroad, as the heavy workload demanded by the two majors could potentially limit their options. Despite her rigorous schedule, Johnson was still able to study abroad at Queen Mary University of London her junior year, but not without a fight.
“I had to convince my advisers that I could do both majors and go abroad for a year,” Johnson said. “So they thought I was a little crazy, but luckily, they were pretty supportive of it.”
Johnson achieved studying two disciplines abroad through organizing and planning ahead of time alongside the team behind the Tufts in London program.
“The head of the London Tufts program knew that [I] needed more flexibility,” Johnson said. “[The Queen Mary] program was perfect for it.”
Kibel had no interest in studying abroad, as she felt her college experience was already shortened by COVID-19. Consequently, she did not want to miss any more of the on-campus experience.
Ladd studied abroad in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh during the spring semester of his junior year. While abroad, he took classes in both of his disciplines in order to complete the major requirements.
“I am a very aggressive academic, … so by the time of my junior spring, I had completed all but one class for my [Greek and Latin] major and one class for my biology major,” Ladd said.
While getting a double major in unique fields is a daunting task, all three of these students completed them successfully and are onto exceptional post-graduation paths. Furthermore, they each provided sound advice for incoming or current students wanting to pursue double majors. Kibel recommends starting this unique academic journey as early as possible.
“I was able to hit the ground running freshman year and knew those were the two majors I wanted,” Kibel said. “It’s definitely helpful to start early if you know what you want to do.”
Johnson had a more relaxed response, emphasizing the importance of exploration during her time at Tufts.
“Take whatever Tufts has to offer, and if you happen to take enough classes to add another major or minor, that works out perfectly,” Johnson said.
Ladd agreed, specifically encouraging STEM majors to pursue courses in the humanities.
“You don’t even have to necessarily fulfill the degree, but I think tracking your humanities courses along a similar pipeline … rather than sporadically picking up [the easiest classes] is so much more rewarding,” Ladd said.
