The Private and Social Benefits of Double Majors

Rossi, Alison F. Del; Hersch, Joni

doi:10.1017/bca.2016.14

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In other words, while decisions relating to graduate education are a multifaceted product of preferences as well as earnings (e.g., earnings are low in the Humanities given the length of training), people in lower paying fields can increase earnings by becoming global interdisciplinarians. Indeed, this pattern complements prior research among undergraduates examining which double-major combinations are more likely to associated with higher returns after graduation (Del Rossi, Alison, & Hersch, 2016).…”

Section: Distantly Related Combinations Are More Valued Than Closely Related Combinations In Higher-paying Fieldssupporting

confidence: 75%

Dissertators with Distantly Related Foci Face Divergent Near-Term Outcomes

et al. 2021

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Institutional leaders have long championed interdisciplinary research; however, researchers have paid relatively little attention to the people responding to such calls and their subsequent career outcomes. With the benefit of two large datasets spanning from 1986 through 2016, we show that interdisciplinary dissertations have become consistently more common in recent years as institutional leaders have highlighted the value of boundary-spanning research for solving important and emergent problems. With the benefit of survey data from a near-complete population of all dissertators in the US starting in 2001 through 2016, we observe a consistent upward trend in interdisciplinary dissertations. Unfortunately, we show that these interdisciplinary dissertators have experienced a comparably persistent penalty when considering salaries for their first year after earning the PhD. We also show that among interdisciplinary dissertators, individuals in lower-paying fields tend to earn more when choosing distantly related topic-combinations whereas researchers in higher-paying fields tend to be most rewarded for staying within relatively narrow disciplinary silos.

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Section: Distantly Related Combinations Are More Valued Than Closely Related Combinations In Higher-paying Fieldssupporting

confidence: 75%

Dissertators with Distantly Related Foci Face Divergent Near-Term Outcomes

et al. 2021

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show abstract

“…This application of advanced credits can directly improve life outcomes given the relatively higher earnings in the STEM fields, which often require a larger number of credits to complete (Carnevale, Cheah, & Strohl, 2012; Melguizo & Wolniak, 2012). There is also evidence that students who double major earn a wage premium in the labor market (Del Rossi & Hersch, 2008, 2016). I observe whether students who completed a degree majored in STEM or earned a double major.…”

Section: Operationalizing Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How College Students Use Advanced Placement Credit

Evans

2018

American Educational Research Journal

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Millions of high school students take Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which can provide college credit. Using nationally representative data, I identify a diverse set of higher education outcomes that are related to receipt of AP college credit. Institution fixed effects regression reduces bias associated with varying AP credit policies and student sorting across higher education. Results indicate college credits earned in high school are related to reduced time to degree, double majoring, and taking more advanced coursework. Bounding exercises suggest the time to degree and double major outcomes are not likely driven by bias from unobserved student characteristics. Policies used to support earning college credits while in high school appear to enhance undergraduate education and may accelerate time to degree. ABSTRACT AUTHORS VERSION AbstractMillions of high school students take Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which can provide college credit. Using nationally representative data, I identify a diverse set of higher education outcomes that are related to receipt of AP college credit. Institution fixed effects regression reduces bias associated with varying AP credit policies and student sorting across higher education. Results indicate college credits earned in high school are related to reduced time to degree, double majoring, and taking more advanced coursework. Bounding exercises suggest the time to degree and double major outcomes are not likely driven by bias from unobserved student characteristics. Policies used to support earning college credits while in high school appear to enhance undergraduate education and may accelerate time to degree.

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“…Del Rossi and Hersch (2008) found that combining a high paying major (i.e., business, engineering, or science/math) with a less lucrative major (i.e., arts/social science or education) results in a 7 to 50 percent wage premium relative to a single low-paying major, but no significant gain compared with a single high-paying major. Del Rossi and Hersch (2016) reported similar results after applying the same strategy to recent data from the 2003 NSCG. Hemelt (2010) examined earnings differentials across major combinations and found that students with a first major in physical science, biology/life science, computer science, and mathematics can expect significant wage premiums from adding a second major.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Among college graduates, a substantial proportion pursue a double major 1 (Del Hersch 2008, 2016;Hemelt 2010). Among the nationally representative sample of participants in the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), 26.9 percent of college graduates who earned bachelor's degrees in 2010 had a double major (Del Rossi and Hersch 2016). Although scholars have extensively researched returns on college major choices, very few have investigated the effects of a double major.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a Double Major on Post-Baccalaureate Outcomes

Zhu

Zhang

2021

Education Finance and Policy

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We use data from the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/12) and propensity score weighting methods to estimate the effect of a double major on bachelor's degree recipients' earnings within 4 years after college graduation. We classify each of a student's two majors in a double major combination as either “higher- or lower-paying,” based on the rank order of the average earnings of each major among single-major students. Our analyses yield three main findings. First, within 1 year after graduation, double major graduates earn significantly less relative to their single major peers with the same higher paying major; however, by 4 years after graduation, their earnings are similar to those with the single higher paying major and significantly higher relative to those with the single lower paying major. Second, we find that double major graduates are more likely to be employed, work longer hours, and pursue graduate education than their single major peers 4 years after graduation. Finally, transcript data suggest that double major graduates take fewer classes in the higher paying major, which may explain their initial earnings penalty relative to those with the higher paying single major.

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The Private and Social Benefits of Double Majors

Cited by 17 publications

References 24 publications

Dissertators with Distantly Related Foci Face Divergent Near-Term Outcomes

Dissertators with Distantly Related Foci Face Divergent Near-Term Outcomes

How College Students Use Advanced Placement Credit

Effects of a Double Major on Post-Baccalaureate Outcomes

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