<p>I know many students do not take science majors, but I would like to major in Physics and CS and would like to know how strong each department is. Do they have adequate funding for research? Are there connections with respected laboratories/science institutions? Will an undergraduate science degree from BC be impressive?</p>
<p>I am also interested in the answers to these questions.</p>
<p>It’s all relative to ‘what’? Relative to the two colleges on whose WL you sit? Not comparable, since they are two of the tops in the world. OTOH, I would suggest that BC easily holds its own against Fordham. </p>
<p>Since BC does not have an engineering program, it’s physical sciences won’t be as strong as colleges that do. OTOH, BC has a strong chem program. The Bio dept. has recently revised its curriculum so underclassmen can become involved in research early on. Thus, the trends are all positive.</p>
<p>The Boston community has hundreds of high-tech and bio-tech companies looking for student interns and researchers.</p>
<p>btw: when looking at 3-2 programs make sure you understand the requirements to transfer; in some colleges, it ain’t easy. Most students end up staying at their first college and not transferring – do you really want to pass up senior year?</p>
<p>Well I’m not really comparing it to ivies but rather other colleges around its caliber. Since it is a religious college, I was wondering if that affected the science dept at all. Also how strong is CS at BC? </p>
<p>Sent from my ADR6400L using CC</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Absolutely not. BC is a college founded by Jesuits. It only requires two religion courses, and you can fulfill that requirement in numerous ways. </p>
<p>Life sciences are life sciences and BC uses some of the same textbooks as the Ivies. IMO, BC likely has a more conservative faculty – on average – than other secular colleges. Thus, you will find faculty that challenge the politically correct scientific theories of the day.</p>
<p>Dunno much about comp sci.</p>
<p>I’m a chemistry major, and I love all my chemistry courses at BC. The one thing about my science classes that I have not enjoyed, however, have been my physics classes. Though, I may be slightly biased because I hated physics in High School as well.</p>
<p>As for the CS program, a good friend of mine is a senior in the program and he raves about how cool and interesting his classes are. Usually I don’t understand what he’s saying, but he seems to enjoy the classes.</p>
<p>Dear kimisizer : The chemistry, biochemistry, and biology programs have done well (roughly in that order) winning grants and bids underwriting their research activities. What makes these majors exceptional at Boston College is the ability for highly motivated undergraduates to get involved in research activities along with faculty and graduate students. This can and does result in undergraduate names appearing in research papers potentially before graduation which can be a key differentiator when applying for graduate schools or medical schools. On the physics side, Boston College has been moving in the right direction here and some awards are now being garnered by the department, but to be fair, one would have to say that physics is still an “up and coming” department when compared to the other three offerings.</p>
<p>My son, now a junior, is in the honors chemistry program at BC and has been doing active research since July of 2011. He is working with one of the new hired faculty and was involved in the actual setting up of the lab, ordering the supplies, and learning how to calibrate the various equipment. They are already starting to publish papers and my son will continue to work in the lab until graduation next year. The professors in the dept have been very supportive and helpful. The courses have been extremely challenging, but he loves the chemistry. This has been an absolute wonderful experience for him and he is hoping to continue chemisty in graduate school to an eventual PHD. I cannot imagine my son getting this type of opportunity or a better experience at any other institution, including the ivies!</p>