# Psychology BS or BA?



## INSANiTY (Dec 16, 2011)

I want to go to College for Cognitive Psychology, but I want to continue into Cognitive Neuroscience after I get a Bachelor's Degree. Which route would be a better fit for that BS or BA? I thought I would ask you guys since you would know better than most.


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## Soul Eater (Jun 6, 2010)

If you want to study cognition, do research, and eventually go into neuroscience, I'd say a BS. From the few universities that I've seen offer BS degrees vs BA degrees, the BS degrees are often more rigorous and research intensive. I don't think it's always the case, but at my university, the BS degrees require more math and research classes generally. The BA degrees are more general. Honestly, I'm in my final semester for my BA in psych and it was a joke. It was ridiculously easy. I don't want to do research, but had I wanted to do research, I don't think i'd be prepared with just my BA. Take a look at the degree plans at your school and base it off of there.


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## Hurricane Matthew (Nov 9, 2012)

With as competitive as the job market is, you'll want the BS, hands down. Employers always pick someone with a BS over a BA, especially if your specialty is in neuroscience. Yeah, BS is more difficult and has more math, but it'll pay off better in the long run, too. For a comparison, I used to know someone who got a BA in geology, but she couldn't get a job in the real geology fields. Instead, the best she could get hired for was receptionist at a geology department wing at a college. So yeah, if you really want to do anything in the field, take the BS.


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## fihe (Aug 30, 2012)

I always thought a BS sounded more prestigious than a BA.


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## INSANiTY (Dec 16, 2011)

Alright well I have another question. Usually when I say I want to major in psychology, people seem to think that I mean Clinical Psychology and I can't do much with a bachelor's degree. I would like an Undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science with a concentration in both Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, but most schools don't seem to offer it at an undergraduate level and it's expensive for me to go out of state to school that does offer it right now.

So should I just attempt to get an undergraduate degree in Psychology and then continue into Cognitive Science? OR should I transfer after a couple of semesters to obtain an undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science?

I'm worried that I may not be able to continue school because I won't have a decent job to pay for it if I pick a wrong major so I'm torn on what I should do.


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## Soul Eater (Jun 6, 2010)

Not an expert on graduate school by any means, so take my advice with a grain of salt...

As long as your school has a good selection of classes on cognitive psychology, I don't see a problem with getting your BA/BS in psychology. If your school has no cognitive psych classes, then I might be concerned. If your university has any professors whose interests include cognitive psych or neuroscience, I'd try to get experience and see if they'd let you work in their lab/help them with research. At my university, if you take an Independent Study course with a professor, that will usually entail helping them with their research in some way or doing your own research. Not only that but just taking classes on experimental design, cognitive psych, and neuroscience should make you an attractive candidate for graduate school. 

Do you know which graduate schools you're interested in attending? You could try getting in contact with them and asking them to see if they prefer a psychology BA/BS or a cognitive science degree.


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## INSANiTY (Dec 16, 2011)

Carnegie Mellon or the University of Pittsburgh is where I would like to go. More so CMU because they have a Cognitive Science major but it wouldn't be so bad if I would go to Pitt for Neuroscience since they have a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience. And they're both next to each other and share a couple of facilities I believe.


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## Stelmaria (Sep 30, 2011)

The most valuable thing you could do as an undergraduate is actually take part in the research at your university, often as a summer thing, perhaps helping out one or more of the PhDs with their projects etc. Getting your name on a decent paper is a big deal as far as getting your choice of PhD/Masters scholarship.

It is worth looking at the pages of the professors at each university and look at their list of key publications, or alternatively, search their names in Google scholar. Try to have a read of their papers (you can often contact the first or last authors for copies of papers if you don't have access yourself). Contact those professors who are doing stuff that interests you and ask whether they have any opportunities for undergraduates to collaborate on any research projects.


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