<p>I am currently an transferred undergraduate psychology major at UCLA, and I would really like to go grad school but I am wondering if the fact I will be getting a B.A. will stop me from perusing a more scientific major in grad school. </p>
<p>I am extremely interested in the biological portions of psychology (bio/neuropsych), and UCLA has a lot of classes I can take in my major to slake that interest... but when it comes to applying for grad school in 2 years will I be limited by my degree?</p>
<p>and as a more general question: is there any rule of thumb for knowing how "outside my major" the program I apply to can be? Would it vary by school, and if so: how would it vary?</p>
<p>Would using my elective units to pursue science/math courses, and choosing the more biological classes within my major help a great deal? Or would it merely make it harder to maintain a high GPA with little benefit? </p>
<p>Any general advice on how I can make the best of my time at UCLA to make myself a good applicant?</p>
<p>I do not think the BA/BS difference is particularly huge, especially if you can take classes/do research in Neurosciences. Also, Psychology and Neurosciences are quite close fields. You’re not a Film Studies Major that wants to do Quantum Physics. </p>
<p>In my cohort, there are several “outside major” students, so it definitely can be done, it all comes down that you can persuade at least one professor that you’re going to be the best student that year, and worth his time and effort. </p>
<p>And yes, Math, especially stats, and, for the matter, knowledge of one or more programming languages, is definitely helpful in most sciences.</p>
<p>Neuroscience programs take students with a broad range of majors, and psychology is one of the more common ones, especially for those interested in cognitive neuroscience. In many cases, neuroscience faculty have joint appointments with other departments, including psychology. </p>
<p>GPA, while important when applying to PhD programs, is not as critical as it is when applying to medical school. What’s important is your preparation. You should indeed take biology (intro and probably cell) and chemistry (general and organic) as well as math (statistics and calculus). You should also get some experience working in a lab, whether that lab researches psychology (with a leaning toward cognitive neuro) or neuroscience or biology. As jixani points out, adding computer science to your courses will also make you stand out. Even if you were accepted to a graduate program without the requisite sciences, you would be quickly buried because the courses assume some background knowledge. </p>
<p>Check out some program websites to learn their admissions requirements and courses of study. Your other option is to apply to psychology departments that specialize in more neuro-based research.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most important thing of all is getting some lab experience. You want to be able to show that you understand what is involved in lab work and research, and that you can understand why and what you have done in the lab, and that you were not just have doing what have been told to do. You also want a good rec presumably from the PI of the lab. Ideally you have some sort of authorship, at least on an abstract.</p>
<p>Classes in grad school will give you a lot of the background you need (although you should definitely at least have general biology already), just at a faster pace, and grades aren’t typically that important in grad school, although you sometimes have to list them when applying for grants. Check a couple of grad programs that you might be interested in and make sure you have any required courses in your pocket.</p>
<p>Out of Mom’s list, I say the most useful classes would be cell biology and statistics. Organic chem and/or biochem would be good too. Physics if electrophysiology interests you. In general, computer programing is nice, but unnecessary. The others are more important. Again, make sure you satisfy any requirements prereqs for applying.</p>