I am currently pursuing a Psychology major and a Cognitive Science major. Cog Sci is a BS, and Psych is offered as a BS or a BA. If everything goes according to plan, I will actually fulfill the requirements for the Psych BS and BA; that is, I should be able to graduate with either, depending on how I choose to count it.
My initial thought was to count it as a BS, since I’ve done all of these hard science courses and independent research and want to pursue a career in research. However, I’ve realized that if I counted it as a BA I would earn two degrees, not just a degree with two majors, and that I’ve taken enough credits in honors to earn two honors degrees. That is, rather than an Honors BS, I would graduate with an Honors BS and an Honors BA.
If you were reviewing an application for grad school, would you be more impressed with two honors bachelor’s degrees or with the BS in Psych regardless? Or would you just be looking at the transcript and research experience anyway, i.e. it doesn’t make a difference either way?
I do graduate admissions for the physics department at my university and I don’t really care how many degrees the applicant has but whether or not the physics courses we expect to see are present. Frankly the degree could be in philosophy but if the student has all the classical mechanics, E&M and quantum mechanics that we require, then I am willing to consider them.
What impresses me are solid GPA, good GRE scores and strong letters of reference with a significant research experience.
I’m in psychology and yes, I couldn’t care less whether someone had earned two bachelor’s degrees or whether they had two majors in one degree. Besides, you forget that professors don’t just look at the superficial facts - they look at your transcript. You’ll have taken no more classes than the usual double major, so it doesn’t make a difference. (Honestly, most don’t even care about BS vs BA either. What matters are the classes you took - plenty of people coming from programs that only have a BA have taken the science and math that could’ve earned them a BS elsewhere, and then some schools only offer a BS in psychology so it doesn’t matter.)
What’s important is your research experience and how you’ve performed in the classes you took, along with the other components of your application.