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Double your major, double your return?

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  • Del Rossi, Alison F.
  • Hersch, Joni

Abstract

We use the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates to provide the first estimates of the effect on earnings of having a double major. Overall, double majoring increases earnings by 2.3% relative to having a single major among college graduates without graduate degrees. Most of the gains from having a double major come from choosing fields across two different major categories. Graduates who combine an arts, humanities or social science major with a major in business, engineering, science or math have returns 7-50% higher than graduates with a single major in arts, humanities or social science. But such double major combinations have returns no higher than single majors in business, engineering, science or math. Majors combining business and science or math have returns more than 50% greater than the returns to having a single major in these fields.

Suggested Citation

  • Del Rossi, Alison F. & Hersch, Joni, 2008. "Double your major, double your return?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 375-386, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:27:y:2008:i:4:p:375-386
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    1. repec:ags:aaea22:336016 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Griffith, Amanda L. & Main, Joyce B., 2019. "First impressions in the classroom: How do class characteristics affect student grades and majors?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 125-137.
    3. Anna Manzoni & Jessi Streib, 2019. "The Equalizing Power of a College Degree for First-Generation College Students: Disparities Across Institutions, Majors, and Achievement Levels," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 60(5), pages 577-605, August.
    4. Richard J. Paulsen & Neil Alper & Gregory Wassall, 2021. "Arts majors as entrepreneurs and innovators," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 639-652, August.
    5. Milagros Nores, 2010. "Differences in College Major Choice by Citizenship Status," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 627(1), pages 125-141, January.
    6. Eric Bettinger, 2010. "To Be or Not to Be: Major Choices in Budding Scientists," NBER Chapters, in: American Universities in a Global Market, pages 69-98, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Qiong Zhu & Liang Zhang, 2021. "Effects of a Double Major on Post-Baccalaureate Outcomes," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 16(1), pages 146-169, Winter.
    8. Basit Zafar, 2012. "Double Majors: One For Me, One For The Parents?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 50(2), pages 287-308, April.
    9. Elzbieta Turska, 2016. "Is Double-Degree Goal Equally Good for All Students? Moderating Impact of Interval Activity Style (Czy studia na drugim kierunku sluza wszystkim studentom? Modyfikuj¹cy efekt przedzialowego stylu akty," Problemy Zarzadzania, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 14(60), pages 134-146.
    10. Steven Hemelt, 2010. "The college double major and subsequent earnings," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 167-189.
    11. Andrew S. Hanks & Kevin M. Kniffin & Xuechao Qian & Bo Wang & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2022. "First Foot Forward: A Two-Step Econometric Method for Parsing and Estimating the Impacts of Multiple Identities," NBER Working Papers 30293, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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