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With more than 100 majors and minors available at SMU, there are immeasurable educational opportunities for students. The vast variety of degree programs allows students to build their perfect college plan, which can involve enrolling in more than one major or minor. This is especially true of Meadows students.

This academic year, over approximately 75% of Meadows students are enrolled in more than one major. Many Meadows students not only have two majors, but even have a third major or additional minor. In fact, students enrolled in the Divisions of Advertising, CCPA and Journalism are required to enroll in an additional major or minor, and for journalism students that additional program must be outside the division. Participating in more than one degree program allows students to expand their knowledge and skills to increase their opportuni­ties after graduation.

“Enrolling in multiple majors is not about hedging your bets in case you don’t ‘make it’ in the arts,” says Timmie Hathorn, Assistant Dean for Alumni and Career Success at Meadows. “Pursuing multiple degrees is about designing your own career by incorporating other disciplines into the arts - and vice versa - to build an even more marketable and versatile skillset.”

Among the many resources Meadows offers its students, one of the most helpful in embarking on a multi-major education is the Meadows Academic Services office. The advisors in this office help our students make a customized plan that will allow them to fulfill their educational and professional goals. They work with students not only on balancing their majors and minors, but also navigating the curriculum assignments and complex needs that come with enrolling in multiple degree programs.

“I find that Meadows students have a huge curiosity about the world and a sense of wanting to open themselves up to the ways that different majors can go together,” explains Associate Dean for Students, Gretchen Smith. “Our students have established skills that they really have to incorporate into how they approach their work and their craft, and they can utilize and translate those skills into additional majors and minors outside of the arts.”

In disciplines like theatre, dance, art, music, and even advertising and journalism, there is the presence of performances and other events external to the classroom that students have to prepare and show up for, often making preparations months in advance. Opening night of a play, for example, cannot be pushed and there are many people depending on each other to be ready by the appropriate date. The collaboration and time management skills involved in many areas of the arts are potentially what help Meadows students excel in more than one degree program. 

From students double-majoring in music and finance, whose goals may be to work for a record label in the music industry, to students majoring in theatre, business analytics, and data science, whose career aspirations may be to run a production house, it’s clear Meadows students are curious, creative and engaged when it comes to their futures.