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Liberal Arts School with a B.S. in Psych?
sourpatchkid13
3 replies2 threads New Member
I've been searching for months and months but I can't seem to find any liberal arts colleges that offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. Does anyone know of any colleges that I should look into? Every college I've looked at only seems to offer a B.A. in Psychology.
I'm starting to wonder if that's the only type of Psychology degree offered at liberal arts schools? I know that there are options for other B.S. degrees such as neuroscience, but Psych is usually unspecified or simply a B.A.
27 replies I'm starting to wonder if that's the only type of Psychology degree offered at liberal arts schools? I know that there are options for other B.S. degrees such as neuroscience, but Psych is usually unspecified or simply a B.A.
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Replies to: Liberal Arts School with a B.S. in Psych?
Regarding your search in general, you might seek to study in a department that offers instruction, either through full courses or course elements, across major areas of modern psychology -- particularly biological/physiological, clinical, cognitive, developmental, social, personality, educational and sensory. Opportunities for research and fieldwork also should be considered.
Some of the small universities in eastern Canada (the closest thing that Canada has to a liberal arts college) seem to offer a choice of a BA or a BSc in psychology. However, I have no idea what the difference between the two would be.
From the Boston College website
“The Psychology B.S. and Neuroscience B.S. are designed for students who desire a more research-focused approach to psychological science. The Neuroscience B.S. is designed for those students who are interested in how the brain gives rise to thought and behavior; those who are interested in the many other facets of psychology—including a research-based approach to developmental, social, or abnormal psychology—are encouraged to pursue the Psychology B.S.”
@privatebanker i liked boston college, but i've heard it's has mandatory theology courses, which i'm not really interested in taking. and it's not a liberal arts school
@merc81 thanks for the info! i've seen b.s. degrees offered at some liberal arts colleges for other science fields though, i'm just not sure if psychology is also an option? but i'm definitely looking into those types of research programs so i'll keep that all in mind! one of the reasons why i'm leaning towards liberal arts is bc of the focus on undergrad and more opportunities for first-year research, but i also really want a b.s.
it's difficult to find a way to compromise
You can take a competitive religion which is more like a history course. Also there’s a why god type course that is a total non religious based class. Unless you’re in the seminary on the Brighton campus it’s secular.
It makes you a better scientist knowingness how the brain’s of the billions of people out there think.
You also learn to be a great writer. Which will come in handy when you write your peer reviewed journal article or best selling book on brain science.
Don’t overlook liberal arts colleges within bigger schools. They have access to other research areas. Not to sell you on bc anymore but the last thing is their new Schiller integrated sciences building and majors. It’s going to be a state of the art cross disciplinary approach to science that’s a game changer.
This is what I was thinking also. Look at 5 or 10 schools, including some LACs and some slightly larger schools that offer a BSc in psychology. Look at what specific courses they require for a bachelor's in psychology. Then decide.
That's what LAC offer, a liberal arts education, including humanities.
What do you think an LAC would offer to you that would make it better than a university? If you want the BS, you'll have to go to a university that offers it. You can find smaller universities if that's what you are looking for.
At many large universities, the psychology degree is a BA because the department is in the school of arts and sciences and all those pesky humanities courses are required. You can still take the psych classes, but just have the core requirements too. At my school, all the sciences like chem, bio, psych, physics were in A&S.
Actually, if the OP were to pursue a psychology major at a liberal arts college with a notably flexible curriculum -- e.g., Smith, Hamilton, Amherst -- few, if any, humanities classes would be required. Though they would be widely available, of course.
You need to look up the degree requirements for the major at each school, rather than use the degree title of BA or BS to generalize in this way. Also, if the degree requirements are a bit light in your subareas of interest, you can take additional in-major or related electives.
Humanities general education requirements would also depend on the school. For example, you can do a BS degree in brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, but you will have more humanities requirements there than if you do a BA degree in psychology at Amherst.