<p>I've heard that it is preferable for grad school admissions to get a BS in Psychology rather than a BA. Looking at the degree requirements, we discovered that the BS requires 27 hours of science in addition to the gen ed requirements, and Son is just not a science-y kid. Would it be the kiss of death to get a BA?</p>
<p>Missypie,
Depends on what kind of grad school he wants. Law school? Probably won’t matter.</p>
<p>Probably a masters program in educational psych.</p>
<p>I think the most important thing for most grad school psych programs is to do research as an undergrad. I don’t think it matters whether the degree is called a B.A. or a B.S.</p>
<p>Depends on what kind of Psych. If he isn’t a science-y kid, he probably won’t want to go into the more science-y side of Psych (physiological/neuropsychology, pharmaceutical research, etc.), so it probably won’t be as much of a factor. But it depends on his goals.</p>
<p>There is a lot more science in psychology today. He should check on grad school suggested background courses to be sure he gets those as an undergrad as well as the prerequisites for a psych major- he may be surprised at how much science he’ll be taking. I know I chose the BA in Chemistry because I met both BA/BS reqs and liked the white tassel better than the yellow for graduation- made no difference for medical school. It is the coursework done, not the letters in the degree, that matter when a person applies to grad/professional school. As a science person I think everyone should have science knowledge- in college there are usually myriads of science courses intended for the nonscience major to choose from, as well- not just the standard HS style courses.</p>
<p>Can he take some stats? Psych grad seems to like people with stats, at least my Dds school has been heavy on stats.</p>
<p>Yeah, he’ll take stats wherever he goes but that’s not scary to him. He’s doing ok in AP Stats right now. He probably won’t get a 4 or 5 on the exam, but the retake i college should not be too painful.</p>
<p>A little science is fine with him…but 8 hours of bio, 8 of chem, 8 of physics, plus one elective, seems pretty extreme.</p>
<p>My DD actually has a BA in psych, but a BS in a science with all the aforementioned premed type sciences. It has worked well for her as she is in neuroscience, but even so she has been amazed at the amount of stats she is taking in grad school (masters)</p>
<p>I will ask her your question</p>
<p>My son is interested in School Psych and was told by students in grad school (and the APA grad book) that statistics is very important and certain Psych classes, depending on you want to concentrate on. Research is important but more so for the students that are going into clinical psych or want to be professors. It seemed to be the same whether for MA or PhD but I think overall Masters programs were a little more forgiving than the PhD depending on the school.</p>
<p>To do school testing- which is a significant source of income- most states require the tester to have a doctorate. This was an important factor in my step-D’s decision. PhD programs in psych were too heavily research oriented for her, so she is going into a PsyD program next year. These are much more clinically oriented programs, although they come at a signficant cost.</p>
<p>Has she found any funded or partially funded programs? I heard Rutgers is good, but don’t know how much they fund. How a professor explained it to some students is, if you aren’t helping someone in research, (normally 20 hours a week) you aren’t going to get the money for just going to the school. Even though my son would prefer less research, he can’t pay for 4-5 years on his own or by just working.
Masters in School Psych do mostly testing and assessment. Our state of Ct has 2 programs, one at UConn and one at Southern Ct although Southern is just a specialist Masters degree. I read of some funding at both, but not a lot.</p>
<p>I sure hope not – I have one! A BA should not hold him back.</p>
<p>My undergrad didn’t offer a BS is Psychology- only a BA. Didn’t cause any problem at all–</p>
<p>I teach at a small liberal arts college where the only option is to get the BA in Psych. I believe that this is fairly typical for non-research institutions. I don’t think it matters much for graduate school prospects, unless the student is interested in neuroscience or something of that sort. And even then, it may not be a huge factor. For example, many of our students participate in a faculty member’s neuroscience research program, which would make them very competitive. When we advise our students we make it very clear that they should shape their programs to help them move toward their professional goals. That includes course work (in the major and outside the major), research experience, work experience, internships, volunteer experiences, etc. For the more competitive programs, it is especially critical that the student put together a dossier of experiences that distinguishes them from the pack.</p>
<p>I don’t think the issue is really BA vs. BS. As others have said, some schools don’t even offer both. However, in this case, the coursework required is substantially different. I have a strong personal bias here, so take that for what you will, but I would say that psych students really should take substantial science coursework. A BA is one thing, but a lack of science coursework? <em>I</em> would consider that a huge negative if I were choosing whether to admit him to a grad program or hire him for a job.</p>
<p>Also, doing well in AP Stats does not translate to having an easy time in a psych stats class. In a psych program worth its salt, the stats class should be somewhat more difficult than AP Stats.</p>
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<p>I didn’t say he thought stats would be easy. He just doesn’t think of it with the degree of dread as 8 hours of chem and physics. I’d much rather see him take more relevant science electives (e.g. neuroscience) than 8 hours of required physics.</p>
<p>Answer, from a current psych major:</p>
<p>YES, unless you are lucky enough to get into psych grad school (which is extremely hard!). I’m applying to School Psych PhD programs next year and know it’s a real possibility that I may not get in anywhere, even though school psych programs are somewhat less competitive, in general, than Clinical and Counseling programs, and I have a decent resume (2 years of clinical experience at one site, 1 year at another, multiple independent honors theses, lots of involvement in research labs). My best advice would be to get involved in research ASAP if he has any desire to go to graduate school at all and determine his research interests, as “research match” is perhaps the most aspect of applying to Psych PhD programs.</p>
<p>If he is just interested in doing counseling or therapy, an MSW might be a better option (shorter and admissions are easier). If he is interested in working in the school system ONLY, then he might do okay with an EdD/EdS degree (shorter but generallly not easier admissions than a PhD).</p>
<p>There are many fine, APA accredited, schools of professional psychology that offer both the Ph.D. and Psy.D (as well as MA) degrees that will not require a great deal of science. Statistics, observation & measurement, etc. will be necessary. A recent APA president was a Psy.D. See for example: [TheChicagoSchool:</a> Graduate Psychology Degrees: Business, Clinical, Counseling & Forensic Psychology](<a href=“http://www.thechicagoschool.edu/]TheChicagoSchool:”>http://www.thechicagoschool.edu/) for a very well respected professional school.</p>
<p>Yes, but at the professional schools, you’re looking at an INSANE debt load for a career that doesn’t pay well and a lower chance at matching at an APA accredited internship site, both of which can be career nightmares…</p>