If one major is good, two must be twice as good, right? Recent studies show more students are doubling up to hedge their bets in an unpredictable job market, and Badgers are right on trend. At UW–Madison, roughly 30 percent of students major in two or more areas. Campus’s reigning pairing is computer science and data science. (What’s the difference, you ask? Steve Wright, the university’s computer sciences department chair, explains it like this: “Data science tells us what techniques and computations must be performed to make effective use of data, and computer science tells us how to implement those computations efficiently and reliably.”) Computer science teams up well with math or computer engineering. Data science majors are the second-biggest fans of double majors, most often adding economics or math. Business: finance, investment, and banking majors are the third-biggest bet hedgers, pairing most often with business: real estate and urban land economics; business: risk management and insurance; and economics. Speaking of economics, it’s a favorite match with political science or business: finance, investment, and banking. And, psychology majors? They tend to double major in neurobiology, legal studies, or (surprise!) economics. They don’t call us You-Double-You for nothing.

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