Student Perspectives: A Day in the Life of a Double Major (One Year at a Time)
Hi! My name is Namratha Kasalanati (she/her) and I’m pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition and a Bachelor of Science in Economics/Mathematics. I entered USC as a first-year and am now a senior in the class of 2026!
Four years ago, as a senior in high school, I knew I wanted to major in something related to economics, law, or public policy. At the same time, I’d been composing music since middle school and wanted to see how far I could go with that. I was overjoyed when I was accepted as Composition major in March 2022, but knew I didn’t want to give up my passion for creating change through policy and economic research. Therefore, when I came to USC, I immediately spoke to my academic advisor about adding a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, and was able to add the major by the middle of my first semester. I later switched my economics degree to a Bachelor of Science in Economics/Mathematics, because I wanted to explore the quantitative aspects of economics more deeply. Technically, because these two programs are two different degree types (Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Music) in two different academic schools, I will receive two separate diplomas when I graduate.
So what is it like to be pursuing two different bachelors degrees at the same time? Let me walk you through an average day in my life from my first year to my senior year.
FIRST YEAR:
An average Tuesday in my freshman year started at about seven in the morning, as I woke up and got ready for my 8am music theory class. I lived in the Parkside Arts and Humanities residential college, so Parkside Dining Hall was my go-to stop for breakfast. After music theory, I’d dash across campus in less than 10 minutes to make my 10am lecture for Intermediate Microeconomic Theory. Then I’d rush back to the music side of campus for my 12pm Composition class. Composition is one of my majors, so this was one of my favorite classes, and was set up in a small cohort-style seminar. There are only five composition majors in my year, so we got very close and collaborated frequently, and they are still among my closest friends to this day. During my freshman year, I had two fantastic instructors for this course, Dr. Veronika Krausas and Brian Head, and they really helped me develop my musical voice and make the transition to a college level. Composition class finished up my day in terms of coursework, but I typically spent evenings working on homework or rehearsing music with my peers.
SOPHOMORE YEAR:
As a sophomore, Wednesdays were my most busy day. I now lived in the Cardinal Gardens Apartments, which were much closer to my music classes. I’d make breakfast at home, and then dash off to my 9am Aural Skills course. Aural Skills is a fundamental music class, designed to help students build abilities to identify pitches, intervals, chords, and ultimately whole musical works by ear. It is probably one of the most challenging classes I have taken at USC. After Aural Skills, all of us music majors in the classical division went to Careers in Music, a really fun professional development class. Then I would rush off to my noon Biology course, which fulfilled one of my general education (GE) requirements. I have really enjoyed taking GE’s because they give me a chance to discover subjects besides Economics and Music. After a brief lunch break, I had Behavioral Economics at 4pm, which fulfilled one of my upper division Economics electives. Behavioral Economics is such a cool subject, and I was lucky to have a professor, Dr. Yilmaz Kocer, who is so passionate about it. In the evenings, I would work on projects for my student organization, the Residential Housing Association (RHA). RHA is akin to student government for students in university housing, advocating for their needs to administration while also planning events to support the USC Housing experience.
JUNIOR YEAR:
Junior year was pretty intense, but also one of the most exhilarating and successful years of my time at USC. I switched to the Economics/Mathematics degree at the beginning of the year, so I started taking more mathematics coursework to catch up. An average Tuesday started at 10am, with my Western Art Music History course, a requirement for classical music majors. This has probably been one of my favorite classes at USC, because of the breadth of content we covered, as well as our amazing professor, Dr. Leah Morrison, who would always share fun anecdotes bringing history to life. At noon, I would rush off to Data Analytics, followed by Probability Theory at 2pm. Because I was pretty much in class from 10am to 3pm, I’d have to plan my meals strategically, but I also often used the dining halls to grab a quick bite. For reference, typically students move off campus in their junior year, but I was selected as an RA so I lived at Parkside Arts and Humanities (again!) and had an on-campus dining plan. At four in the afternoon, I had my last class of the day, Music Production, where I learned the various elements of producing a pop music track. This is another one of my all-time favorite classes, because it transformed the way I could write music, and taught me how to use cutting edge digital tools. Since I was an RA, some evenings I was on call, responsible for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the students within the building, and other evenings would mostly be filled with studying or working on music projects.
SENIOR YEAR:
This year, I’m taking two long-term capstone classes, so my schedule is a bit lighter in terms of hours I need to be in class. That said, there’s a lot of work I have been doing outside of class to ensure my Economics Honors Thesis and Music Capstone get done. Thursdays are often the most busy days, where I start at 9:30am with my Linguistics general education class. Then I have a one hour lunch break at eleven before attending my Mathematical Statistics class at noon. At 3:15pm, I have my composition lesson with Ted Hearne, who is not only a Pulitzer Finalist and Grammy nominee, but also such an amazing teacher. It’s been so great to study with such accomplished faculty, both in the Thornton School of Music and the Economics department. And finally, at 5:30pm, I attend my last class of the day, which is my General Education Gender Studies class. It’s a great way to end the day on a positive and thought-provoking note. Since it’s my last year, I’ve prioritized spending time with friends and peers, getting together for study sessions, housewarming parties, and holiday events. After college, people go all over the world for their next steps, so I want to make the most of the time I have left.
If you’re interested in double majoring, I would recommend reaching out to your advisor early in your academic journey to learn more about your options. Double majoring can be hard at times, and requires a lot of dedication and focus, but can also be very rewarding. Studying both the arts and social sciences has allowed me to bring cross-disciplinary perspectives to class discussions and projects, while also setting me apart from other candidates when applying for professional opportunities. honors thesis project for my Economics/Mathematics major studies the impacts of music education on student success outcomes, allowing me to bridge music and economics, and advocate for the arts using econometric analysis tools. Without a doubt, I would say that pursuing this double major has been one of the best decisions I have made at USC.