<p>I'm a junior currently majoring in biochemistry. I've figured out since starting the program that I am much more interested in microbiology than biochemistry. I have taken so many classes in micro that I can literally choose what degree I want: micro or biochem.</p>
<p>I can't get both degrees (double major) because I would have to have 150 hours to graduate. However, I meet the requirements for both degrees.</p>
<p>Which degree would look more impressive when applying to a phD program? I would love your opinion---I want to get the best degree possible.</p>
<p>It depends on what field in which you want to get a PhD.</p>
<p>Actually, graduate bioscience programs across a lot of different specialties are somewhat flexible as to admission requirements. They’ll focus on whether you have the science and math background to pursue the area of interest you stated and whether you’ll need to make up any gaps. Obviously, if you say you want to pursue microbiology or biochemistry, they might look askance at that if you’ve not even taken a basic course in those areas, but that’s not your situation. Majors in both of those fields usually would provide a strong background in basic supporting sciences (gen & org chem, gen physics, calculus, etc.) for a number of different bioscience fields. They’ll also look at your statement of purpose, GPA, GREs, research experience, recommendations, etc. I don’t think it’s so much a matter of a dept being more impressed with one degree designation over the other; obviously, they’ll see from your transcript that you’ve had significant coursework in both. The extra chemistry/biochem background from the biochem major might be considered a plus for an applicant to a microbiology program, but it wouldn’t necessarily outweigh a strong sequence of micro courses.</p>
<p>For a Ph. D. pick the field that most relates to what research you want to do.</p>