Hello. I need some help deciding on which track to take. I have a passion for biology and research so I am planning on getting my masters in cell and molecular biology once I graduate. I am studying computer science because I think these skills would help me stand out and give me more career options in the biotech/research field. With that being said, the B.A degree only requires general calc, but required several biology and chemistry classes (I have already taken a lot of them).
The B.S requires 4 math classes and no biology and chemistry classes. I want a minor in biology and with the B.A, I only would need to take 1 extra biology class to get the minor. I do not have an interest in the tech side of computer science like software engineering. However, the biology field is largely science.
I could graduate in 3.5 years with a B.A degree and 4 years with a B.S degree. I am hung up on getting a B.S degree even though it will be more work. Is there really a difference?
A B.S. vs B.A is a typically meaningless distinction in CS, and in terms of grad schools, they will care more about what courses you took in the end, caring far more likely for more biology courses. The B.A. clearly offers you more that you’re interested in as well if you choose not to go to grad school.
This begs the question though, why not a biology major with a CS minor? There’s going to be a lot of unneeded CS for your desired career in your current route.
yes I considered the biology major with a CS minor but I was worried about not getting into grad school. I would still have good career options with a CS degree
If you don’t want to be working in software engineering after graduation, I don’t think your career options would be that good honestly - either taking a job you have no interest in or having very few opportunities you are interested in. Might as well be a bio major at that point. Plus, CS jobs are very much about skills, and CS minor will still make you hireable by a decent number of CS jobs if you are willing to do a bit of self-study in some areas.
In terms of grad school, how does a CS Major / Bio Minor fare better than a Bio Major / CS minor? I think biology is going to be far more important than CS in biotech research from my knowledge of the field (CS, worked in healthcare area before). I’m not incredibly familiar with the grad school admissions side, but it really doesn’t seem like it’s an advantage in the end.
I agree with @PengsPhils. I don’t think a CS major will help you when applying to grad school. You should major in bio if that’s what you want to do. A CS minor would be helpful in developing useful skills for your research, but a major would be total overkill for what you want to do.
Try working backwards on this. Find a graduate program that future-you would apply to and read their admissions requirements. If the requirements are unclear, contact the graduate coordinator at the program and ask what kind of educational background they look for in applicants.
Since it sounds like you want to leave your post-bachelor’s degree options open, search for a job that sounds interesting to you and read the requirements for that as well. You might be able to get a hold of a recruiter and ask them for clarification but I wouldn’t count on it. Or, talk to a recruiter at an on-campus career fair/information session for a biotech company you find interesting and ask what degree they look for in candidates.
I personally believe that you will not enjoy a computer science degree if you don’t want a computer science career. If you do end up in a computer science/software job, a BS vs a BA will not matter.