UCSB discontinued their psych BA degree this year. I know a lot of other students admitted as psych and brain (BS) majors got screwed over because of the change and are either changing majors completely or switching to sociology, neither of which I want to do. I asked an academic advisor why UCSB discontinued the psych BA major, and he said the university advertises they are doing psych majors a favor by getting rid of the BA, since a BS will lead to a so-called more “marketable” degree and more research opportunities in the science fields. He then went on to explain that it is his personal opinion, however, that UCSB is simply trying to accumulate a larger population of STEM majors at the expense of psych students who are not interested in going heavily into the biological aspect.
I am hoping to get a PhD in clinical psychology someday and be able to either conduct research in that particular branch of psych or maybe get licensed to practice, which is very different compared to the kind of psych research UCSB is focusing on through the BS major. I also wanted to pair psychology with comparative literature or english since I want both psychology and writing available to me when I graduate, and getting a dual degree (BA and BS) is very difficult since there is little to no overlap among courses, especially if I am also wanting to study abroad. I would take my counselors’ advice about simply majoring in something else and giving up on psych entirely since it’s not necessarily required for grad school psych, but since early high school I have known I want to study psychology in college, and not being able to do so at this university has been very disappointing. I feel as though I’m being forced to pay for a degree in a major I’m not entirely invested in and that I’m just postponing learning about what I really want to learn about for another four years of my life.
The two solutions I’ve come up with so far is to either stick it out for the next two years at UCSB completing GE’s and then try to transfer to a university that has what I’m looking for in a psych department, or transfer to my local community college and transfer to a different four-year institution.
Another note is that I am a first year and in the middle of my fall quarter. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Stay where you are. Fulfill as many GE as you can (hopefully all by spring 2019) and get Letter of Reciprocity from UCSB, which indicates you completed GE. Go to assist.org and fulfill the courses for psych at each of the UCs you wish to apply to (just choose any CCC and try and match courses). Apply next year as a UC-UC Transfer. Assuming you’re in the GPA range for that major at that UC you will get a transfer. Why do I say that? Because people without good cause transfer UC-UC all the time, even to Berkeley, and you have REALLY good cause and were left seriously in the lurch. You do not need to switch to a CCC.
posting on Halloween nite? You should have been out walking around the Halloween parties
But as to your question, its a hard call. A BA in Psych or most other liberal arts subjects is seldom a requirement for a job or grad school slot the way a more vocational one like engineering or accounting would be. However you may want to take a bunch of upper division psych classes since that is your interest and many are closed to non-majors as you can tell by looking online at the UCSB Catalog. (edit: you can also ask the Psych dept undergrad advisor and/or dean if they can give waivers to allow non-majors to enroll; these people have the power to do so if they want).
So a few options. There is a back-door into those classes; they are open to majors or to those majoring in interdisciplinary studies. Since you already have a 2nd academic interest you could explore whether interdisciplinary studies would be right for you. You could structure your program so you take many or all of the same classes the old BA required.
You could transfer but that has some downsides. UCSB is one of the few CA colleges with a real away-at-college feel, where your friends are going to live nearby. If you’re happy at UCSB then it may end up being hard to leave. Second, its easier to meet new friends when you’re a frosh and everyone is new than as a new junior on campus. But you may be very outgoing and this won’t matter as much to you.
If you decide to transfer then you have to decide on going to a CC or staying at UCSB. Those attending a CC get preference in admission to a UC or CSU, and there is even a guarantee program (TAG) for some campuses. But going to a CC may mean living back at home so your college experience won’t be quite the same. And while there are some great students at a CC, the average student at a CC is not the same as the ones around you now. According to https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/08/californias-two-year-colleges-roll-out-transfer-degrees-while-lawmakers-consider only 23% of CA CC students ever manage to transfer to any 4-year college. Some CC such as Santa Monica CC or DeAnza in affluent areas probably have a higher rate and stronger students. If you are a good student then the link @Ohm888 gave lets you estimate your chances if you xfer from UCSB.
Halloween in IV was dead this year lol. Cops everywhere. UCSB’s been trying really hard to shake that party rep the past few years. But thank you so much for taking the time to help me out @mikemac ! I appreciate the advice
@Ohm888 has some good thoughts/suggestions. Given you’re a freshman, I would not make any hasty decisions. So many freshmen tend to realize that (their) college is not what they thought/expected, but their views change as they progress. It is natural/common.
I have a different take on this. You’re essentially wasting money by staying at UCSB, let’s be honest, one quarter of the IV experience is enough! You should transfer back to a community college (you should be able to register ASAP online). I would finish up this quarter and head home to work on transferring to another school. You’ll be able to TAG anywhere other than Berkeley, LA, and SD. Don’t let things like class sizes or transfer rates freak you out because a lot of CC students are not there to transfer, so of course only a small percent actually do!
