<p>I posted this in "College Life" but got no replies, so I figured I should try my luck here...</p>
<p>I am now facing a dilemma that must be solved before school starts.
Should I get a BS in Microbiology or a BA in Biology and minor in Chemistry?</p>
<p>Microbiology BS:
Pro: It's a Bachelor of SCIENCE degree not stupid Arts
Con: I have to take all junior and senior core microbiology courses in one year to graduate in time.</p>
<p>Biology BA & Chem Minor:
Pro: I have the freedom to pick any upper-level biology courses that interest me.
Con: It's a BA not a BS</p>
<p>I am planning to go to grad school anyways, so does it really matter?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the degree title (Bachelor of Arts/Science), as long as you choose courses of your interest that will prepare you for the desired graduate or professional school.</p>
<p>You might ask grad school profs. Some may think ability to write/communicate (BA) trumps technical knowledge (BS). You will likely find that they don’t consider much of a difference between the degrees. Most grad students work for the department, either teaching or research and the ability to do those jobs may be a factor in both acceptance and success for grad school.</p>
<p>I doubt it makes much difference. That said, professors in your department will know best. My dh reads applications for grad students and MD/PhD students at a med school - he looks at what courses you’ve taken, what grades you got scores, and is very, very interested in letters of recommendation. I don’t think he cares whatsoever if it’s a BS or a BA unless it means you haven’t taken courses he thinks you should have taken.</p>
<p>Sounds like you are an entering college freshman. You will learn a lot more about which majors most appeal to you once you have a few of the college’s courses under your belt. Your current view is still rather immature. </p>
<p>Eons ago I got my Honors (ie thesis and courses required, not just gpa) degree in Chemistry at a top ten grad school in that field. I chose to get the BA since I met requirements for both (had met the BA foreign language reqs with my HS courses but also had more in another language as suggested by the dept) and liked the white tassel for graduation better. I showed that not only could I do the science, but that I chose to be more well rounded. I also chose medical over graduate school. I am glad I took so many “stupid” arts courses when I had the chance as an undergrad.</p>
<p>btw- my undergrad school was U of Wisconsin-Madison. Decisions as to the specific degree need to be made the semester one proposes to graduate. One often enters with a declared major but it is known that students often change their minds between starting and finishing college. There students most often chose zoology or botany instead of the less focused biology major. Or they chose another biological field. Currently some students wonder which school/college to get some biology related degrees in as the degree requirements vary somewhat.</p>
<p>Your choices are all over the (science) map. What are your final intentions? Figure out which field most interests you and chose that major. If you are playing the premed game rethink your logic. Most premed students (an intention, not a major) either change their minds or do not get into medical school. You need a major you can put your heart into and use for a future career. You need to be invested in it not just be using it as a stepping stone to something else. The hard core science professors and physicians I have met over the course of my life have many fascinating interests in the liberal arts as well as their chosen career field. You would not have liked my Honors/rigorous freshman Chemistry sequence- we were required to read Silent Spring one semester and The Double Helix the next and write a one page paper on each (these were timely books in the very early 1970’s, I later did some Honors lab work where physical chemists were figuring out the properties of DNA- also had to type without use of any computer technology).</p>
<p>Just reread your post. Still will keep premed comments- benefit any others reading this. Remembered that I have also read the personal websites of many TAs and profs in sciences. Amazing what college academics do in their spare time. One of the purposes of an undergrad education is to be well rounded before zooming in on one specific study. </p>
<p>Discuss your options with your college advisor. Your future grad school field should dictate you current focus.</p>
<p>D just graduated with a BA in Biology from a small liberal arts school. She had planned to get the BS degree, but was unable to finish all of the requirements (a couple more science courses were required for the BS. The course selection was not great at a small school, and some required courses were not offered every semester or didn’t fit in with her schedule). D also finished a minor in French, studied abroad, and took painting and sculpture classes (her true love is art, not Biology). Her school also has a required core curriculum–lots of literature, philosophy, history, etc., which allowed even less time to fit in more science courses. Still, at graduation, D felt like a lightweight because there were so few BA science majors, and all of her friends from her dept. had the BS, which seemed to be more prestigious, harder work, and a point of pride. I doubt this is the perception just at D’s school–even the OP said “Stupid Arts. . .” </p>
<p>To answer the original question, I doubt it will make much difference, but if you feel that the BA is a lesser degree, then you should go for the BS.</p>
<p>Example of why the degree title does not really matter: Berkeley bachelor’s degree graduates in subjects like applied mathematics, astronomy, earth and planetary science, integrative biology, mathematics, molecular & cell biology, physics, and statistics all graduate with Bachelor of Arts degrees, yet people do not look down on them because the degree title is Bachelor of Arts.</p>
<p>If your college offers BA and BS programs in the same major, with the BS program having a stronger science focus, then there is a meaningful choice. In such situations, students who intend to pursue a career field closely related to the major usually choose the more intensive BS program, while those with other plans or double majors may choose the BA.</p>
<p>If your college offers only one type of bachelor’s degree in a particular major, it does not matter what the degree is called.</p>
<p>When my daughter was looking at colleges, she like one that only offered a BA in marine science. She spoke with a professor at the college who asked her how she planned to use her degree. When she told him that she wanted to go to grad school from undergrad and go into research, he advised her to go to the college that offered the BS in marine science with the biology concentration.</p>
<p>Lol, I was leaning towards BA until the last 2 comments swayed me towards the BS.</p>
<p>BTW, for our school, I don’t necessarily have to take more liberal arts courses if I decided to pursue the BA. The only difference between Biology BA and Microbiology BS is that for BS, I have to take 6 specific upper-level microbiology courses (I have no choice in which classes to take) whereas for BA, I have the freedom to choose any 6 upper-level biology courses that interest me.</p>
<p>IMHO, microbiology is a very important course. </p>
<p>Look for cell biology, biochemistry (w labs), molecular biology (w labs), organic chemistry (w labs), statistics, genetics, physiology (w labs), immunology, some physics, and some math. </p>
<p>IMHO, you really need these classes to become a successful Ph.D.</p>
<p>DD went for Biology as a pre-med option to a school that only offered a BA. There was such a large requirement of non-science courses that she spent a lot of time taking courses that were of no interest to her and completely irrelevant to her career plans. It would help for you to check what the course requirements are with your two options.</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree with Mom2. If you look at the courses in med school, you will see microbio., histology, immunology, pharmacology, embryology, statistics, etc. The breadth of courses offered to a student persuing a BS will be much better preparation. The courses required for a BA will prepare a student for the MCAT, but what will distinguish them from all of the other med. school applicants? What preparation may make life a little easier in med school or grad school?</p>
<p>BA and BS just designate what the college has been authorized to award in a particular field. It doesn’t necessarily mean writing/communicating vs. technical knowledge.</p>
<p>Remember here, commenters, that selecting the BA course DOES NOT MEAN that the OP can’t take the microbiology courses. She or he could select the BA and still decide to take all 6 of the microbiology courses. She or he could also take just as rigorous courses in other areas of biology. Nor does it mean that she or he will take fewer science courses - it actually appears that she or he will take the exact same amount of science courses. It only means that she or he has more flexibility in the exact courses that she or he takes to fulfill degree requirements.</p>
<p>So it doesn’t sound like you will actually take fewer science courses, just that you have more choice. Even if microbiology is your area of focus, that still means that theoretically you could take 4 microbiology classes and then 2 classes in an interdisciplinary area of biology that might bolster your grad school application (maybe you’re interested in microbiology of the brain and you spend your other 2 classes in neuroscience classes. Or maybe you take cognate courses in computer science or physics because you’re interested in the intersection of those fields and biology).</p>
<p>My husband had to make a similar choice - mathematics or applied mathematics? Applied sounded fancy since he wanted to possibly take it into business, but upon closer examination the two majors were mostly identical except for upper-level electives. The applied math major had 5 or 6 specific ones you had to choose from, whereas the math major allowed you to take your electives in ANY math class above a certain level (2000 or something). He was like “This is a no brainer - why would I choose more constraints?”</p>
<p>The name of your degree matters a lot less than what you actually take.</p>
<p>As a side note, don’t fall into the trap of assuming that English, communication, and history courses are “irrelevant” just because you’re a science major. Scientists spend a LOT of time writing and communicating with other people. If you can’t write well, you won’t get published - you won’t even make it past the statement of purpose. Scientists also almost always collaborate with other scientists. And you’d be surprised at how important the history of your field is to the current study and atmosphere of the field. I complained about taking a history of public health course in my PhD program (I’m a psychologist!) but it ended up being genuinely useful. I understand the state of my particular area of study much better than I did before I took the class.</p>
<p>Plus you’re not a drone and the point of a liberal arts education is to educate you in several fields.</p>
<p>The Symphony course, the Art History course, History of Science course and Fantasy and Science Fiction courses were all strictly for me, after the literature, economics, psychology and comm arts courses that fulfilled breadth reqs. Be sure to take courses for the fun of it that won’t “help” your career at all. Likewise it would have been nice to have room for more totally unrelated to my major science courses that liberal arts majors choose to meet their science requirements. </p>
<p>Think of the undergraduate college experience as your only chance in life to be free to study all sorts of things you won’t have time for later. It is not just preparation for a future career. The precise degree you obtain will be irrelevant later. Knowing something about art, music and literature will enhance your enjoyment of these and make it easier for you in future social settings.</p>
<p>Only stupid people consider the arts to be stupid. Intelligent people know one field very well and are not ignorant about the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Even though Microbiology is my favored focus, I’m still very interested in other fields of biology. Can I study biology broadly and get a BA or do I have to pick a focus during undergrad. in order to get into the grad. school of that focus?</p>
<p>If you mean PhD programs when you write “grad. school”, try going to the graduate admissions web pages of biology departments at various schools to see what they recommend you do as an undergraduate to prepare for PhD study in your focus area.</p>
<p>What matters for grad school will be the specific courses that you have taken, the grades in those courses, your statement of purpose, your letters of recommendation, and your research/work/internship/publications related to the field of graduate studies. Whether your diploma reads BA, BS, AB, SB, BAS, or any other of the umpteen possible bachelor degree titles out there won’t matter one bit. Truly. Do not worry about this. Choose the program that will allow you to take the courses that best suit your own goals.</p>