<p>looking at the catalogue website, the only difference i can see are -</p>
<p>BS has to take a elementary stats</p>
<p>BA has more free elective credits</p>
<p>whats the practical difference between the two?</p>
<p>I don't know, but everyone around me has said that I should get a BS rather than a BA.</p>
<p>BS has more requirements, but it's for those who plan to continue in the science field after college, I guess.</p>
<p>After all, it is a "Bachelor of Science."</p>
<p>Well, for example, for Physics:
[quote]
Bachelor of Science in Physics
This program is intended primarily for students who are interested in a career in physics.</p>
<p>Bachelor of Arts in Physics
This program is intended for students with an interest in physics who may not intend to pursue a career in physics.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And I imagine similar to apply to biology.</p>
<p>However, I think it really depends on who you ask. Some people will say that the BS is important if you want to go on to a professional career in that area, others will say it doesn't matter. </p>
<p>For example - my physics professor told me that when he was in college, he was upset because they would only give him a BA in Physics and Math, instead of a BS in Physics and Math, because of a technicality. But he went on to grad school where he wanted anyways and it ended up that the BA/BS difference meant absolutely nothing.</p>
<p>In general, a person will go for a BA in Biology if the are pre-health/pre-med. If they intend to worl as a research scientist/professpr etc., they will get a BS. Anpther technical difference between the two is that for the BS, you have to take three more biology elective courses.</p>
<p>It's not really important for now anyway. You can probably switch between the two very easily, and by the time it does become important (perhaps even as late as senior year) your advisor will help you determine which is appropriate for your path, and I'm sure if you're pre-med, they probably have a very comprehensive explanation on which to choose.</p>
<p>But I would imagine freshman courses to be exactly the same.</p>
<p>EDIT: One very important matter though, is if you want to double major, they MUST be the same ultimate degree (i.e., BA or BS) and it is difficult to mix the two. So if you intend to double major in, say, English and Biology, they must be both the BA</p>
<p>this was at UC Santa Cruz, but i suppose it's still relevant...my sister entered the BA Marine Biology program in 1996 and the school only started the BS program by her senior year...she'd taken classes that fulfilled the BS requirements, but because of some technicality relating to the newness of the program, they could only award her the BA. she was understandably a little irritated, but she took it in stride. and about 3 or 4 months after graduation she got a job doing research at Stanford's Human Genome Project, where she was credited with sequencing several human chromosomes once the project was finished. and she still works there with regular raises. so in the end, the BA/BS distinction didn't have too great an effect in terms of career options.</p>
<p>
[quote]
EDIT: One very important matter though, is if you want to double major, they MUST be the same ultimate degree (i.e., BA or BS) and it is difficult to mix the two. So if you intend to double major in, say, English and Biology, they must be both the BA
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Really? Am I doing something wrong by pursuing a BS in Biochem and a BA in PoliSci? My advisor said I would be entering a dual degree program that requires 160 units to graduate, but since I have 32 units prior to entering college, I should be able to graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>You're fine, it just won't be a double major - you'll get two bachelor's degrees. It's just the ridiculous number of units they make you take.</p>
<p>thank you, that actually is relevant to me since i DO want to double major in a non-science related field</p>
<p>The advantage of a "true" double major is that basically you just satisfy all the requirements of both degrees, and you're allowed to count some courses for both majors.</p>
<p>But if the degrees are different (BA/BS) or if one is by a professional school (i.e., viterbi) then it can be complicated because they make you take <em>minimum</em> 32 more units as well as satisfying all the requirements, and in practice, that can be harder.</p>
<p>oo ok. </p>
<p>well thats cool - it looks like ill go for the bio BA as i want to go to med school</p>