BS or BA in Computer Science??

<p>I am trying to decide on whether to do a BS or BA in computer science. The only difference between the two curriculum are that the BS requires 3 more CS electives, a science elective, an extra physics course with a lab, and some extra math courses (which I would take anyway). The advantage to doing a BA is that I can double major in math, which has been my favorite subject since elementary school. However, if getting a BA will hurt my opportunities of getting a job then it may not be worth it. Any suggestions?</p>

<p>First things first…</p>

<p>It is kind of annoying when someone creates a thread on a topic that has a RELATED/SIMILAR topic just a few pixels down the page.</p>

<p>Having said that, an employer cares about the CS coursework that you have taken and what skills can you bring to the company. If the 3 courses not required for the B.S. were in let’s say hardware-related topics, a primarily software company would not care.</p>

<p>Once you get work experience under your belt, all of the academics mean even less.</p>

<p>For the record, neither of my degrees (B.S. or M.S.) have the words “Computer Science” on it…and I was still hired right out of school as an associate software engineer.</p>

<p>Seconded.</p>

<p>Corporate computer programming is fundamentally a meritocracy. </p>

<p>The right degree may open a few extra doors, but your own skills and competencies convince someone to actually shut the door with you still inside the building.</p>

<ul>
<li>DSD,
6-figure programmer with an incomplete BA in English
(how’s that for meritocracy?)</li>
</ul>

<p>What do you want to get out of school?</p>

<p>On the one hand, you have a passion and want to devote time to studying it while you’re at school. That’s not only admirable, but arguably, that’s the whole point of going to college in the first place (or at any rate, it should be). On the other hand, you want your education to adequately prepare you for a career in industry; moreover, you want your credentials to be recognized.</p>

<p>Given your goals, there’s an argument to be made for either the BA or the BS. The BA will give you the flexibility to pursue your academic interests, and might better prepare you for further study which might be more focused or applied. The BS will better prepare you for work in industry; it’s likely ABET-CAC accredited and closely adheres to nationally recognized standard curriculum guidelines, and employers will recognize this. (Ignoring for the sake of argument that employers might take such things into consideration, the presence of accreditation certifies that an otherwise unknown program meets some meaningful and recognized standard of quality, and perhaps more importantly, that they have processes in place to assess quality in the first place)</p>

<p>Given the current job market for software developers, you’re probably perfectly safe going the BA route without much attention paid to course selection. The BA becomes even safer if you make sure you’re not missing out on much ACM/IEEE recommended courses, you get some experience and your program has some brand recognition.</p>

<p>Also worth bearing in mind is that you may be offered considerable freedom in choosing the courses for your CS+Math double major. If that’s the case, you might be able to improve your employment prospects even further by choosing courses wisely - for instance, rather than taking that third complex analysis course, maybe something in numerical analysis or cryptography would be more appropriate.</p>