Stats/Poli Sci double major?

[yu7w]

I never thought that I would be good at math entering college, but somehow I've fallen in love with it and am doing pretty good in calculus. I also have a strong interest in poli sci and hope to attend law school, or if I get accepted into a really good grad school, graduate studies in poli sci.

I feel like stats/poli sci is a good combo because statistics is being more widely used in campaigns, to the point Fareed Zakaria said we can expect "political drone warfare" due to campaigns focusing solely on statistics. I assume it would also look good when applying to law school to have a major that's quantitative.

However, I'm afraid that if I ever need to work solely off my bachelor's degrees, I would basically only have my stats degree because the poli sci one would be rendered basically useless (I could get work in a campaign, I suppose, but pay would likely be quite low). I could always major in Economics or Finance instead of poli sci and do all right in them, but I feel like I would be able to truly excel in poli sci. In addition, I have a perspective on how stats/poli sci could come together.

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Some schools now offer a statistics major. So I mean either that or if the school doesn't offer it, a concentration in statistics.

[Rustic B]

There's no such thing as an undergraduate degree in statistics. It would be an emphasis area within mathematics.

[Goose63095]

I would double major in Economics and Stats if I were you, personally. Or Double Major in Mathematics and Finance.

[Sugar Rush]

I personally think that would be a fine combo. The stats part of your combination would allow you to work more broadly in social sciences research (e.g., as research assistant or data analyst). People with quantitative skills are usually in demand not only in political campaigns but also in a number of other settings (social science labs, think tanks, intervention/prevention research, educational research, marketing, etc.).

Quantitative methods are always useful in grad school -- there are even graduate programs in political methodology/methods, many of them at top universities for the field.

Now -- keep in mind that statistics is a bit different from mathematics, so you'd want to take a bunch of applied stats courses and see if they are still interesting enough for you.

Good luck!