7  Joint and Double Majors

In the joint major a student completes all the requirements for each of Psychology and the other program, including two Moderations (or a single joint moderation), but completes a single senior project that contains sufficient work in both disciplines to be considered a senior project in each. For example, a student might jointly major in Psychology and Human Rights. If at the end of a joint senior project the board decides that the project involves substantial work in only one of the disciplines, then the student will graduate as a single major in that program. At any time before the final board meeting, during the writing of the joint senior project, the student may elect to continue as a single major in either program with the consent of the advisors.

Joint majors are reserved for very strong students who have identified advisors in each of Psychology and the other program who are willing to supervise the project jointly, and who have been approved to do a joint major by both the Psychology Program and the Faculty Executive Committee. This decision must be approved at the time of the moderation board, and again before the first semester of senior project begins (specialized documentation at each timepoint). Additionally, an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher is required for approval by the Psychology Program. Simply moderating into Psychology and another program does not automatically make a student eligible for a joint major.

A moderated student who wishes to do a joint senior project combining Psychology and another program must do the following. First, the student must have a meeting with representatives of the two prospective programs to formulate a plan for a joint senior project. Second, the student must submit a proposal to do a joint senior project to the director of the Psychology Program by November 15 for senior projects to begin the following Spring, and by April 15 for senior projects to begin the following Fall; the proposal should include the names of possible advisors, a description of the proposed topic, and a discussion of how the topic relates to both psychology and the other program, and a summary of relevant conversations with the other program. If the Psychology Program approves the proposal, the proposal must then be sent to the Faculty Executive Committee for final approval.

Students who intend to double major (or who are considering double majoring) should discuss their plans for the double major in depth at moderation (in their short papers and during the board meeting). They should have a clear plan for carrying out the charge of completing two senior projects. Double majors must have a minimum 3.0 overall GPA before beginning their Psychology senior project. In cases where the GPA at the start of senior project is less than 3.0, students will choose to major in either Psychology or their other planned major.