<p>What is the difference between a b.a and a b.s for a biology major ?</p>
<p>It depends on the school.</p>
<p>I was wondering the same thing! Some LAC only offer a BA in science while other universities a BS. What really is the difference in terms of getting into grad school/professional school. I assumed its semantics pointing to the college requirements around the core degree requirements. Am I incorrect. If someone could clarify.</p>
<p>Not just LACs. At Berkeley, undergraduates majoring in the following majors graduate with Bachelor of Arts degrees:</p>
<p>Applied Mathematics
Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Integrative Biology
Mathematics
Molecular and Cell Biology
Physics
Statistics</p>
<p>Berkeley undergraduates in the following majors may be in either Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree programs:</p>
<p>Chemistry
Computer Science
Operations Research</p>
<p>The difference is that majors in the College of Letters and Science result in Bachelor of Arts degrees, while majors in the College of Chemistry or College of Engineering result in Bachelor of Science degrees (the three majors in the second list can be done in more than one of the divisions).</p>
<p>Don’t worry about the title of your bachelor’s degree (Bachelor of Arts versus Bachelor of Science). Look at its content.</p>
<p>My advisor had said that the “B.S. is a better thing to have” although “better” is obviously a relative term here. The B.S. required more science courses, while the B.A. seemed to be the default.</p>
<p>To the original poster in this thread: Why biology?</p>
<p>I would like to major in biology so that i can be a marine biologist
So if i want to be a marine biologist, would a B.S or B.A ?</p>
<p>Probably depends on the school</p>
<p>At my school, BA requires fewer core classes and not as hard math. I think BS is like 44 bio credits with 7 labs and BA is 32 credits and 5 labs. The only difference in the math is one requires just algebra and BS requires calc 1(for nonscience majors tho)</p>
<p>@Twiggy22:</p>
<p>BS or BA for marine biology? Put a “B” in front of “BA” and work very hard for that. Then after a few years in the work force, take some SCUBA lessons. Once you become proficient at that, take a two-week vacation to the Caribbean and look at more little fishies in those two weeks than some biologists get to look at in years.</p>
<p>The BS would probably be looked upon more favorably for admission to biology grad school though.</p>
<p>My two cents.</p>