Hardest and Easiest College Majors, by Grade Data and Study Hours

College difficulty is hard to pin down. A major can be objectively challenging (advanced prerequisites, math-heavy coursework) and still award high grades. Conversely, students might earn modest GPAs in a major because of rigorous grading standards, not because the material is harder to learn. Here's how we separate signal from noise:

Source 1: Grade Distributions from University Registrars

Several large public universities publish department-level grade averages: Indiana University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UCLA, and others. When engineering students average a 2.8 GPA while business students average a 3.4, it suggests that either the curriculum is more rigorous, the grading is stricter, or both. Public registrar data avoids the bias of self-reported difficulty: it's actual grades, not opinions.

What it reveals: Objective grading standards and course rigor.

What it doesn't: How well students learned; whether low GPAs reflect hard work or weak preparation; attrition rates or course difficulty before a student switches majors.

Source 2: Self-Reported Study Hours (NSSE)

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) surveys 180,000+ seniors at 600+ institutions annually, including questions on time spent preparing for class. Engineering seniors report 19 hours per week; business and social science majors average 15–16 hours. This reflects a widely shared perception of workload across many campuses and institutional types.

What it reveals: Perceived workload and course intensity across diverse institutions.

What it doesn't: Absolute difficulty; it's skewed by self-selection (motivated students study more); it includes reading, homework, and projects, not just "hard" work.

Why They Differ

A major can have high average GPAs (A− or A) even if it's genuinely difficult. This happens in:

• Humanities and arts: Subjective grading and rubrics often favor effort and argumentation, not just accuracy. A poorly written philosophy paper might earn a B if the thinking is novel.
• Social sciences and business: Curves and participation points pad GPAs; exams may be graded more leniently than STEM equivalents.
• Most departments at selective schools: Grade inflation is widespread. Average GPAs nationwide rose from 2.93 (1983) to 3.30 (2010) without students studying more.

"Hardest major" is a trick question because difficulty is not universal. The data above describe aggregate patterns, but individual students experience majors very differently.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Demands

Engineering, physics, and chemistry place a premium on objective problem-solving: set up the equation, solve it, check the answer. Mistakes are obvious and costly. Students with strong spatial reasoning and algebra skills may find these majors flow naturally; those who think more verbally or conceptually may struggle despite strong overall intelligence.

Conversely, humanities majors emphasize argumentation, synthesis, and interpretation. A student who excels at ambiguity, textual analysis, and rhetoric might ace philosophy or literature while finding calculus overwhelming.

Workload vs. Interest

Study hours vary partly by volume (engineering labs are time-sinks) and partly by engagement. A music major composing original work might spend 20 hours per week and experience it as play; an unmotivated business student spending 15 hours on mandatory group projects might find it grueling.

Grading Norms as Gatekeeping

Low GPAs in engineering aren't random. Departments use grading as a filter: the hardest courses (organic chemistry, thermodynamics, signals & systems) have intentionally low grade distributions. This serves two functions: it signals rigor to employers and graduate programs, and it screens out students who may struggle with advanced coursework later.

A 2.8 GPA in engineering often signals competence; a 2.8 in business signals struggle. Employers and graduate programs know this and adjust their expectations accordingly.

Attrition and Self-Selection

Some majors appear "harder" because weaker students leave. About 40–50% of students who enter engineering switch to other majors within two years. Those who remain are self-selected for persistence with quantitative reasoning. The majors that report lower study hours may attract students who can complete the work efficiently, or who do less extra studying because the coursework is more straightforward.