Combined Majors

Combined majors are unique, hybrid degree programs that encourage students to explore multiple academic fields, all while staying on track for graduation.

Unlike the typical double major program, where students must complete all the required courses of both majors, Northeastern’s combined majors are designed to complement each other. Required coursework is selected specifically for the combined major with a bridge class between the two disciplines.

Students can conduct research and have experiential learning experiences related to each subject, while making connections with faculty, experts, and peers in both fields. There are 120+ combined majors university-wide. College of Science students can elect one of these combined majors.

Science professor teaching to college students in classroom

Behavioral Neuroscience

  • This combined major engages students in an interdisciplinary study across biology, psychology, Art + Design fundamentals, design core, and a strong foundation in the physiological brain mechanisms that give rise to behavioral functions with the practice of understanding humans, their surrounding contexts and systems, and designing alternative futures. 

  • This combined major engages students in the interdisciplinary study across biology, psychology, and philosophy—providing rigorous training in both disciplines with a specific focus on understanding seminal questions concerning human nature and the mind.

  • This program underscores how research in neuroscience has become a computational field of study and is designed for students who are interested in applying mathematical and computational methodologies toward understanding human behavior, artificial intelligence, and the human-machine interface.

  • In this program, students have an opportunity to develop skills in large-scale data manipulation and storage, machine learning, data mining, and information visualization necessary to execute big brain-mapping initiatives including human neuroconnectivity maps.

  • In this combined major, students are introduced to the anatomical and functional specializations of the brain and neural mechanisms and have the opportunity to apply these concepts to the domains of speech, language, and hearing.   

Biochemistry

  • This combined major from the College of Engineering and College of Science serves students who wish to develop both a scientific and an engineering mindset to solve problems in bioengineering and biochemistry.

  • This combined major serves students who would like to explore their interest in biochemistry while earning the benefit of a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering.

Biology

  • In this combined major, the fields of biology and English are bridged with course work in different forms of science writing, as well as psychology and sociology courses exploring the acquisition of language and reading, the sociology of health and illness, and the environment, technology, and society.

  • In the combined biology and mathematics degree program, the two fields are integrated in a range of course offerings including bioinformatics, applied statistics, advanced genomics, and biological imaging.

  • In the combined biology and political science degree program, an appreciation of the intersection of the two fields is provided through advanced courses in science, technology and public policy, and in environmental politics and policy.

  • The computer science and biology combined major reflects how research in biology, especially genetics, has become a computational science.

  • The data science and biology major provides a strong foundation in biology, chemistry, and mathematics, as well as software development and algorithms.

Chemistry

  • The data science and chemistry major combines chemistry, information science, and mathematics to give students both breadth and depth in the fundamentals of both fields. Students will study the collection, manipulation, storage, retrieval, and computational analysis of chemical and other scientific data in its various forms, including numeric, textual, image, and video data from small to large volumes.

  • This combined major provides students with a strong scientific foundation and practical training for careers or advanced study in fields like toxicology, pollution, bioremediation, environmental protection, education, law, and others related to the chemical basis of the environment and global environmental change.

Linguistics

  • In this combined major, students receive extensive training in writing and speaking, both for a technical audience and more generally; and they explore the role of language and communication in society.

  • This program focuses on the relationship of culture to the institutions, interpersonal relations, and practices that make up their social structure while emphasizing the structure of human language and its involvement in social interaction and culture. 

  • In this combined major, students study the structures and analysis of human languages across multiple levels and apply this knowledge to understanding how the English language works, its rhetorical forms, how it has changed over time, and its cultural context.

  • This combined major educate students in psychology, linguistics, and the interface between the two disciplines, which are core areas within the field of cognitive science.

  • In this program, students receive an extensive background in the formal structures of human language, the methods and applications of linguistic analyses of language data, the biology, neurology, and physics of the human vocal tract, and the nature of both normal and disordered human speech communication and language development. 

  • In this combined major, students emerge with the transcultural skills and linguistic competence to communicate in and analyze one of the world’s major languages and with a deep understanding of how this system has flourished across space and time.

Marine and Environmental Sciences

  • The computer science and environmental and sustainability sciences combined major focuses on geological processes that greatly impact the earth, atmosphere, and water in oceans, lakes, and rivers.

  • The data science and environmental and sustainability sciences combined major focuses on geological processes that greatly impact the earth, atmosphere, and water in oceans, lakes, and rivers.

  • The combined major in data science and ecology and evolutionary biology provides a strong foundation in the fundamentals of ecology and evolutionary biology.

  • This combined major provides students with a strong scientific foundation and practical training for careers or advanced study in fields like toxicology, pollution, bioremediation, environmental protection, education, law, and others related to the chemical basis of the environment and global environmental change.

  • Through this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the scientific, cultural, political, and economic aspects of the world’s environmental and sustainability problems and potential solutions.

  • This combined major is designed to provide training that merges the basic and applied science underlying environmental change with the best principles and journalistic practices to enable students to pursue careers across a wide range of science communication fields. 

  • The Departments of Marine and Environmental Sciences and Landscape Architecture provide an education in basic environmental and sustainability sciences and landscape architecture-related disciplines.

  • Through this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the scientific, cultural, and political aspects of the world’s environmental problems through historical perspectives and backgrounds.

  • Through this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the international issues that influence the scientific, cultural, societal, political, and economic aspects of the world’s environmental problems and the ways in which such environmental challenges can be ameliorated and/or solved.

  • Through this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the scientific, cultural, and political aspects of the world’s environmental problems while considering the philosophical, moral, and ethical impacts that such decisions have on human-environment interactions.

  • In this combined major, successful undergraduates will develop an awareness of the scientific, cultural, societal, and political aspects of the world’s environmental problems through the lens of geopolitical decisions, public policy, and environmental regulations.

  • This combined major will lead to undergraduates that have a broad awareness of the sociological and scientific foundations of environmental problem solving. They will have the opportunity to develop concrete skills in GIS and scientific communication that will facilitate student success. Due to overlap in course content, students majoring in environmental studies or any environmental studies combined majors may not complete a minor in environmental and sustainability sciences.

Mathematics

  • In the combined biology and mathematics degree program, science courses lay the groundwork for strong basic training in mathematics, chemistry, and physics that are relevant to biology.  The fields of biology and mathematics are integrated in a range of course offerings including bioinformatics, applied statistics, advanced genomics, and biological imaging.

  • This combined major emphasizes the strong ties between computer science and mathematics that date back to the origins of machine computation in the 1930s and 1940s—and persist to this day.

  • The data science and mathematics combined major combines computer science, data science, and mathematics into an integrated curriculum. The program provides the rigorous theoretical background necessary for success in the data science field.

  • Given the mathematical and graphical models used extensively in economics, economics and mathematics are natural partners. This combined major is strongly recommended for students with an interest in pursuing graduate studies in economics.

  • In this combined major, business and mathematics courses lay the groundwork for strong basic training in finance.

  • This major explores the philosophical foundations of mathematics, while also applying key tools from mathematics to philosophical problems such as those that arise in evolutionary game theory, philosophy of economics, and philosophy of science.

  • Mathematics and physics have been linked since antiquity. By combining physics and mathematics you can take closely related courses in each discipline, such as statistical mechanics and stochastic processes, mechanics and dynamical systems, thermodynamics and Fourier Series, and quantum mechanics and partial differential equations.

  • The program brings together socioeconomic policies, international relations, identity, culture, and securities with the problem solving and reasoning to prepare students for careers in finance, government, policy, and law.

  • In this combined major, psychology and mathematics courses help lay the groundwork for strong basic training that seeks to prepare the student toward developing psychological models using mathematics.

  • In this program, sociology and mathematics courses help lay the groundwork for strong basic training that seeks to prepare students toward developing sociological models using mathematics.

Physics

  • This combined major brings together computer science, mathematics, and physics. From hands-on experience with sophisticated physics instruments, to mathematical theory, to the latest computational innovations, our interdisciplinary approach will prepare students for the myriad challenges in today’s rapidly changing world.

  • This combined major brings together data science, mathematics, and physics. From hands-on experience with sophisticated physics instruments, to mathematical theory, to the latest computational innovations, our interdisciplinary approach will prepare students for the myriad challenges in today’s rapidly changing world.

  • Mathematics and physics have been linked since antiquity. By combining physics and mathematics students can take closely related courses in each discipline, such as statistical mechanics and stochastic processes, mechanics and dynamical systems, thermodynamics and Fourier series, and quantum mechanics and partial differential equations.

  • This combined major provides a strong foundation in classical and modern physics, along with the physics of acoustic and digital audio-related phenomena, and studies of the various physical phenomena including electromagnetism, dynamics, building blocks of matter, energy, and radiation.

  • Physics and philosophy majors will be able to describe the method by which physical “law” is made manifest in the sciences, how this knowledge compares with other epistemological models studied in other contexts, and philosophical views on the status and source of physical “law.”

  • Students in this cross-college program will understand the fundamental physics behind many chemical-based processes, resulting in the ability to design and practice in the field of engineering that deals with the movement of mass, heat transfer, and reactions involved in the processing of various materials.

  • This cross-college combined major serves students who would like to explore their interest in physics while earning the benefit of an accredited Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering degree.

  • This cross-college program is a particularly appropriate course of study for students who wish to pursue a career in solid-state devices, microelectromechanical systems, or nanotechnology.

  • This cross-college program takes advantage of the physical similarities between mechanical engineering and physics, providing students the opportunity to study both topics. The program culminates with a mechanical engineering capstone design.

Psychology

  • This combined major educates students in cognition psychology, psycholinguistics, and the structures of human languages in general and American Sign Language.

  • This combined major educates students in both business and psychology, focusing on their intersection. Graduates will understand how these fields relate to explaining and addressing human behavior and business practices.

  • The computer science and cognitive psychology combined major provides a foundation in general psychology, psychology of language, cognition, and statistics and is geared toward students are interested in human psychology or artificial intelligence or human-computer interaction.

  • In this combined major students learn how these fields relate to understanding and addressing criminal behavior. Psychology courses provide a foundation in the biological and psychosocial bases of behavior, learning, personality, and cognition, while criminal justice courses cover criminology and justice systems.

  • This program offers an integrative curriculum in the study of psychology and the  collection, manipulation, storage, retrieval, and computational analysis of data in its various forms. Students have an opportunity to augment such knowledge with skills in big data analysis, data science, and data analytics

  • This combined major integrates economics and psychology, focusing on their intersection. Graduates will understand how both fields jointly explain the complexity of human behavior in an economic context.

  • This program provides students with the opportunity to develop knowledge in health promotion and illness prevention by way of understanding people’s behaviors, perceptions, and emotions within the contexts of relationships and culture.

  • This combined major focuses on clinical and policy interventions promoting wellness at both individual and community levels. Grounded in social justice, it emphasizes the impact of structural forces on psychological well-being, treatment barriers, and mental health inequities.

  • This combined major educate students in psychology, linguistics, and the interface between the two disciplines, which are core areas within the field of cognitive science.

  • In this program, courses from both fields help lay the groundwork for strong basic training that seeks to prepare the student toward developing psychological models using mathematics.

  • The psychology and design combined major provides students with a foundation in psychology—focusing on sensation, perception, cognition, and social psychology—that enhances their understanding and application of design principles.

  • This combined major educates students in psychology and music and the interface between the two disciplines, specifically how they jointly contribute to explaining human behavior in the domain of music.

  • This combined major educates students in psychology and theatre and the interface between the two disciplines, specifically how they jointly contribute to explaining human behavior in the domain of theatre.

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