Students majoring in physics are more likely to have a double major than graduates in most other disciplines. In the classes of 2017 and 2018 combined, 35% of physics bachelor’s degree recipients graduated with a double major, and 44% graduated with a minor. In looking at both a double major and a minor, we find that 9% of physics bachelor’s degree recipients earned both a double major and a minor. The proportion of physics bachelor’s degree recipients with a double major far exceeds that of the overall proportion with a double major in all disciplines (5%). We found no statistically significant difference in the proportion of physics degree recipients earning a double major by gender.
Physics bachelor’s degree recipients who graduated with a second major did so in a diverse set of both STEM and non-STEM subjects. A second major in mathematics represented the largest proportion (44%) of those with...