Within a wide range of interdisciplinary studies at UC Irvine, every major has different expectations, demands, workloads and stress. Students face challenges — such as making good judgements, adjusting to college life or studying for exams — that may cause a majority of their stress.
Many students value internships, connections and practical experience in order for their major to yield them a high-paying job after graduation. Students on a pre-med or a pre-law track, for instance, may face challenges applying to certain internships in their field.
Some consider the most difficult majors to be the ones in STEM fields — such as medicine, engineering, chemistry or physics. In one study, up to 84% of respondents studying these fields reported them as stressful and difficult, whereas students studying the arts and humanities reported lower stress levels. A similar pattern is present among students at UCI.
“I would say that my major is moderately stressful due to the large amounts of material in courses needed to graduate, including biology, chemistry and physics courses,” first-year pharmaceutical sciences student Jesson Saad told New University.
Interdisciplinary majors in the STEM field, such as medicine or pharmaceutical science, generally require students to expand their knowledge on almost all topics in science. For example, UCI students pursuing a degree in pharmaceutical sciences are required to take a wide variety of courses in chemistry, biology, mathematics and physics.
Another major that has a reputation for being demanding is engineering.
“I would say that my major is fairly stressful. All of my classes are project-based and require a significant amount of time and effort to not only get done, but to do well,” first-year computer science and engineering student Chiara Rose-Hormann told New University. “I feel like I see other students out with friends almost all the time, while I feel like I don’t have that same time availability. It can be disheartening, but I know my work matters and I wouldn’t change my focus.”
At the Henry Samueli School of Engineering, students are required to take 48 units of science and math courses on top of an additional 72 units of engineering courses and general education requirements. Students end up taking more units per quarter if they plan on graduating in four years.
Second-year criminology, law and society student Carla Rodriguez said that her field often demands a majority of her time.
“I would say that my major is not stressful because the material is easy to understand and I am very passionate about it,” Rodriguez told New University. “I’d say my workload is much less than other majors like STEM majors, but crim majors need to do a lot of research and writing, which can be very time consuming.”
Fourth-year criminology, law and society student Amani Cooper shared a similar sentiment about their major’s workload as Rodriguez.
“My workload is about the same as most of my peers. I find most people take anywhere from 12 to 18 units, and I’m right at 16,” Cooper told New University. “I’ve noticed a significant uptick in the amount of work that I’ve been doing. I would say about probably eight to nine hours of my day — not including classes — I spend studying and working on homework.”
Stress levels and demand aren’t exclusively limited to STEM students. At the School of Humanities, students are required to take a deep dive into their humanities studies. One of the main requirements for humanities students is the Humanities Core series , which is an eight-unit commitment per quarter.
Fifth-year English student with a minor in Humanities and Law, Mjhohana Bacaro De Dios described some of the stress that comes with being a humanities major.
“I guess it’s pretty stressful, just because of the workload. I actually like the content in my class, but I notice, like, because I’m taking a lot of upper divisions, a lot of the ideas and themes in my English class, they’re pretty hard to grasp and explain,” Bacaro De Dios told New University.
For students interested in adding a minor, double-majoring, changing their major or anything else major-requirement related should visit the UCI Office of Undergraduate Admissions page to learn more.
Konstantin Diatlov is a Features Intern for the fall 2025 quarter. He can be reached at kdiatlov@uci.edu.
Edited by Alyssa Villagonzalo and Mia Noergaard
