Why so many US students are taking two degrees at once: How it happens and why it matters for careers

College students in the US are increasingly choosing to earn two degrees simultaneously, a trend that is spreading across public and private universities. Nearly one in three undergraduates now pursue a second major to strengthen their prospects in an unpredictable job market, according to the Hechinger Report. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the number of students double-majoring has grown by 25 percent over the past decade. Nearly six in ten computer science students who pick a second major choose data science, a field projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to grow 34 percent over the next ten years, with salaries nearly twice the national average, the Hechinger Report notes. Rising demand for diverse skills Students are responding to economic uncertainty and rapid c