Many students choose to study a dual program to expand their career opportunities and complete two degrees in a much shorter time than if you had completed one degree and then studied for the second degree. Once you fulfill the requirements of both degrees, you graduate with both.
What is a Dual Degree?
A Dual Degree Program is a simultaneous degree program for students who wish to pursue two degrees at a time, broaden their networks, or learn something different that they don’t know. Students opting for such a program have a variety of options to choose from. An MBA Program can be paired with any other graduate program like in law, engineering, technology, international studies, health care administration and public policy. It helps to earn two degrees faster.
Why a Dual Degree?
A Dual Degree Program is advantageous in many ways.
If you are doing a business and engineering degree then it would also strengthen your credibility and knowledge in engineering, in areas of interest to you. An MBA helps you learn the business side of that field. Together, it will give you credibility for a technology-focussed position for MBAs, and an edge over your classmates.
If you want to be a lawyer or a doctor, get those degrees. Get the MBA if you want to excel in your field. Great lawyers with great business sense are hard to find. With an post graduation you would get picked firms or rise a lot faster.
Saves Time
After an MBA, you’re unlikely to go back to school. If you always wanted to major in another field, this might be your last chance to do it. Separately, it may take 2-3 years to complete one degree but in Dual Degree Program it could be completed in the same amount of time, or sometimes, a year less than it would have taken otherwise. Done together, you save a year on your MBA, because you take some extra courses along the way, or load up on more than the usual coursework, saving a year.
Helps to change career in future
If you are looking for a career change Dual Degree Program may help you advance your basic degree and also help you explore areas in the other degree. Another major advantage of such a course is that you may also gain versatility and add an additional degree to your professional portfolio. Such programs are also less costly in comparison to doing two degrees separately. Further, Dual Degree Program offer more than traditional MBA Degree Programs.
A dual degree isn’t for everyone. You should really want to do something related to the field. Don’t do it simply because you’re curious about it. Do it because you want to accelerate your specialization in that field.
Is the dual degree useful for all ?
Dual degrees may not be for everyone, and require a lot of planning, co-ordination and of course hard work, to pull it off. But if you are up to the challenge, they can help you diversify and open up new career opportunities. Pursuing two degrees at the same time does not automatically imply that students have to manage double course load. Most joint degree programmes offered by colleges are structured to enable students to focus and balance between the two degrees, and in most cases the student is not expected to shoulder much more than the normal full-time course.
Difference between dual degree and single degree
Basis | Dual degree | Single degree |
Time | Complete 2 degrees in a shorter time. | Takes more time to complete degrees one by one. |
Money | Saves cost as compared to taking a programme one at a time. | Comparatively expensive to take one by one |
Hard work | Have to take up two programmes at a time so it’s comparatively tougher but the programmes are designed to reduce the workload. | Easy to pursue as you have to concentrate on one programme. |
Dual benefit | You get to learn double in a specified period of time. | The scope of learning remains limited. |