In high school, I was always interested in English and Psychology, but now I was starting college, and it was time to choose. Did I want to be a writer? Did I want to be a scientist? To make a long story short, I can’t say I actually ever made that decision, instead, I chose to double major!
Integration
One piece of advice for a future double major is to find some courses that integrate the two.
For example, I have taken an English course entitled, “Psychological Investigation of Literature,” as well as a “Psychology and Art.” Or if you don’t specifically have courses that merge your interests, then do it yourself.
Again an example, in my adolescent literature course I connected Alfred Adler’s psychological theory to one of the main characters. Likewise, I did an experiment involving memory/language perception in one of my psychology classes.
Clearly, if you’re a double major, you choose both majors for a reason, so why not connect them in as many ways as you can!
Some advice for each major
As I entered my junior year of college and began thinking about what I wanted to say in my, “statement of purpose,” and untimely what (in the vast world of “English”) I wanted to specialize in. I soon realized that I had taken a bunch of English courses, but wasn’t really specialized in anyone of them.
So my advice would be, if you find an area that you like, (medieval literature, creative writing, gender studies etc) take a class or two, and spend some time on your own studying the major writers in the field. This way you’ll be confident in what you’ll want to pursue in the future.
The same goes for Psychology majors as well. It’s never to early to start gearing for graduate school since most careers in the Psychology field need at least a Masters degree.
Another important aspect of being a Psychology major is the experience. Experience in a research lab, in a clinical lab, as a teaching assistant, something that will allow you to work hands in your area of study.
A good way to find these positions, is to foster good relationships with your professors/advisors, and pay attention to bulletin boards/emails, they may be actively looking for people.