<p>If you are trying to go to graduate school, you should not graduate early at all. You should spend the last 2 years researching intensely with a professor. You can’t make those kinds of connections in just 1 year to research the 2nd year; even if you miraculously did, you will be a very strong applicant with 2 years of research instead of one, especially in CS which is such a competitive field with applicants here and abroad; finally, if you are researching your 2nd year and applying your 2nd year your research does not go on your app then… That’s less than ideal, as an understatement.</p>
<p>With that said, it doesn’t really matter which one you do as long as you take all of the upper level courses you are allowed. Look into the requirements for grad school at various prestigious CS depts and make sure you are going to take every single one of the recommended and optional classes for admittance. You can also spend time studying for the CS GRE which is notoriously hard but will give you a huge boost in admissions. Finally you can qualify for outstanding fellowships with 4 years worth of CS experience over 3.</p>
<p>Again, that’s just not true. You cannot make any generalizations about someone’s degree program based on whether they earned a BA or BS, because every university has completely different policies as to what is different between the two degrees.</p>
<p>I’ll trot out my example again. I had a choice between a BA or BS - to earn the BA I would have had to complete four semesters in a single foreign language, to earn the BS I had to complete a minor. Which of those is “more rigorous?” There’s no answer to that question.</p>
<p>Hazelorb, if you do not mind, I’m going to ask you to expand a little more on your statements regarding research. How much research do students typically pursue during their undergraduate years? I was under the impression undergraduate work consists solely of coursework while graduate school is where all the researching commences. Please explain, this is new to me.</p>
<p>Pursuing research at the undergraduate level demonstrates your interest and preparation for research as a graduate student.</p>
<p>Graduate school admission is extraordinarily competitive - acceptance rates of 5-10 percent are the norm, not the exception, in doctoral programs. Applicants who have successful undergraduate experience in research settings are considered to be better prepared for graduate-level research and thus have a significant advantage in the admissions process.</p>
<p>You should look into REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) programs at your university, and talk to your professors about exploring undergraduate research opportunities.</p>
I think it would have been better if the title of the thread was BSCS vs BACS rather than the general BS vs BA and at some universities it can be more difficult to be accepted to the program. When it comes to CS I think generally one can generalize (not to be general or anything) that the BS usually requires more technical/science/math courses than the BA. To confirm it one needs to check with the particular college. If one gets a BA but plans to take all the same technical requirements as the BS then they should consider just doing the BS to begin with. But this is easy enough to check usually on a particular college’s website. I haven’t checked for the colleges the OP is interested in so the research s/b done by the OP.</p>
<p>It looks like the whole reason the OP is considering it is because of the abover reason -
</p>
<p>At the end of the day the person should do what they want and what they have the most interest in.</p>
<p>The advantage of undergraduate research applies to master’s programs as well, at least if you’re applying for a research-based master’s - and if you want funding, you will need to pursue a research-based program.</p>
<p>You are not going to be able to do a BS/MS program if you want to cram all your undergraduate courses into two years.</p>
<p>From the UNC Web site you linked: “To give us the ability to assess your work and for you to be comfortable that you want a master’s degree, you must have completed at least SEVEN Computer Science courses at the 400-level or higher by the end of your junior year. This can include both required and distribution courses for your major.”</p>
<p>Which means you’d have to do seven senior-level CS classes in your first year as a full-time undergraduate student, with at least a B+ average. There’s virtually no way you can do that and have enough time to complete your required general ed/non-CS courses.</p>
<p>@GeekMom63, I find scientific computing far easier to deal with than business computing… Unless Herren Runge & Kutta came up with new stuff posthumously, if you wrote the stuff in college 20 years ago in Fortran 77 (eek), the algorithm will still work fine today in C++ or what-have-you. </p>
<p>In contrast, the good ole K&R ANSI C we learned 20 years ago is now roadkill in favor of business computing specials like ‘Ruby on Rails’, ‘Springs’ and other assorted obscurities… </p>
<p>I do application level work for embedded devices using QNX, Linux, or Windows CE (eek) and we change technologies once every few years… All in C++. In contrast, Mrs. Turbo, a high flying business IT coder, juggles more technologies in a year than I see in a decade. </p>
<p>(the beauty of being 51 or 52 and still coding 8 hours a day :-))</p>
<p>Lots, as part of senior level independent study, senior seminars, undergrad thesis, and the like. It is about as good an opportunity to meet profs, excel in their classes, and learn what it takes to do research work (instead of being handed yet another “Write a yada yada scheduler that implements the such and such policy” assignment)</p>
<p>Everything polar said is correct. I always assume people who think they can graduate in under 4 years and go to a prestigious graduate school are unaware of what things are required for graduate admissions. Prestigious programs are looking for the best scholars - this is not characterized by how fast you graduate, but rather how well you can research. You can now see how graduating early is actually going to be the antithesis of what a graduate school is looking for? Being smart is a subcharacteristic of being able to be a good researcher, if that makes sense. They would rather you spend another year maturing and learning how to research than graduate early.</p>
<p>Masters programs are great, especially if they are 4 year combined bachelor-masters programs and you have the ability to do such a program. However the main benefit is research, and just be aware that even with a 4 year bachelors/masters you will be coming in to the eventual goal, your PhD, on the same level as bachelors students probably (you might be exempt from some courses and you might not; typically it is the 2 year masters students who can jump right into research). However know masters students are not given the kind of funding PhD students are, or even undergrads.</p>
<p>I still hold that the best course is to take 4 years in undergrad. I say this as someone who could have graduated in 2 years myself, and definitely finished by fall of third year even fitting in tons of electives (not trying to finish then). I did a 5 year masters program (split between math and education), so basically the last 2 years all I did was my masters and some random electives (computer science, some graduate electives, an independent research project), and working 10-12 hours per week plus another 4-5 hours tutoring (so much easy money ) and clubs, socializing, volunteering, field work experience, etc. It was fantastic and I do not regret the program (that specific program is why I went to UVa in the first place). Now I never planned on doing a PhD and still don’t but college is fantastic. I love the real world, but I feel so old (haha). Take your time and enjoy college, because grad school is NOT the same and you will still feel old if you go back later, so you really do only get to experience college to its fullest once. You can use your free time to take lighter loads, research, and enjoy all of the opportunities you can imagine.</p>
<p>My D has a BA in CS. She is now in a PhD program in CS, and feels her courses equipped her well. Could she have gotten into an even higher ranked program with a BS? I doubt that the BS in and of itself would have done that – but perhaps the courses taken, additional experience, research, etc., might have strengthened her profile, or her essays, or her GRE score. But I doubt the degree in and of itself would have made the difference. </p>
<p>Her husband got a BCS from the same institution, and was hired upon graduation in an excellent job (computer software). The interview process was extremely rigorous. I’m not sure it was the BCS in and of itself, so much as his own natural smarts, that landed him the position.</p>
<p>If he is really looking to save money he will get the best dang BS he can get and then let his future employer pay for grad school. Who gets a PhD in Computer Science without any work experience? I don’t believe I know a single computer science person who went on for a masters in Comp Sci. MBA sure. Most of the engineers I know with masters have MBA’s. In my day Comp Sci paid to well not to take the job offers that were pouring in.</p>
<p>Graduate study in CS is usually funded, so cost is less of an issue compared to MBA school. Still, it does make sense for someone who may have student loans to deal with to work for a few years after bachelor’s degree to pay off the loans, then do graduate school if desired.</p>
<p>And yes, people with master’s or doctoral degrees in CS do get hired by computer companies.</p>
<p>Seriously, I found this to be the case as well. Very few of my classmates from BSCS continued for MSCS right away. </p>
<p>In this day and age, however, it’s quite difficult to find an employer willing and able to finance grad school, along with a good grad school to attend to part time while working full time.</p>
<p>Back in the 80’s and 90’s I was able to do it twice but not today - the combination of easy work assignments, proximity to a good school, availability of late in the day classes or super flex schedule at work, and tuition reimbursement is not an easy combination.</p>
<p>final list was Georgia Tech, Emory and UT-Austin (McCombs) however he is a freshman at a school that was seriously not on his radar until we visited, UA. Why?</p>
<ol>
<li> Incredible campus visit/Honors Dorms</li>
<li> Generous AP credit allowance - He will have junior standing next semester as a freshman</li>
<li> Generous Academic Scholarship for OOS - Presidential Scholarship (8 free semesters)</li>
<li> Highly Developed, Very Organized Honors College</li>
<li> Admitted to University Scholars Program - will have Masters of Finance degree in tandem with Undergraduate degree (within 4 years). Many other programs offered, including Computer Science </li>
<li> Admitted to Emerging Scholars Program- unique program which establishes research partnership between freshman students and faculty. No need for a freshman to find the the mentorship, it is an established path!
7.Computer Based Honors Program (CBHP)- The Nation’s First University-Wide Undergraduate Research Program. Very competitive. </li>
<li> S will graduate not only debt free but will have banked his college fund for more prestigious graduate school should he choose. He felt a high GPA for his major was most important and he can achieve that at UA (he is) combined with leadership roles leading to strong internships.</li>
<li> UA is climbing in USNews Rankings for public institutions</li>
<li>Very aggressive for NMSF scholarships<br></li>
</ol>
<p>You’re thinking way too far. You might not even major in computer science.</p>
<p>You could be like a friend who started out in MIT as a CS major but then in the summer of her first year ended up getting hired by a hedge fund as an intern to work on high-frequency trading models but then get discontented with the malaise of the culture of the finance workplace and then decide to create a startup in California with a bunch of your classmates…</p>
<p>If you’re just starting out undergrad, who knows where life may take you? Just saying.</p>
<p>I started out majoring in linguistics but now have majors in physics, biology and biochemistry.</p>
) and clubs, socializing, volunteering, field work experience, etc. It was fantastic and I do not regret the program (that specific program is why I went to UVa in the first place). Now I never planned on doing a PhD and still don’t but college is fantastic. I love the real world, but I feel so old (haha). Take your time and enjoy college, because grad school is NOT the same and you will still feel old if you go back later, so you really do only get to experience college to its fullest once. You can use your free time to take lighter loads, research, and enjoy all of the opportunities you can imagine.</p>
but not today - the combination of easy work assignments, proximity to a good school, availability of late in the day classes or super flex schedule at work, and tuition reimbursement is not an easy combination.</p>