<p>So my end goal is to become a cognitive neuroscientist, but I know that I can get my bachelor’s degree in psychology and then study neuroscience when I go to grad school. In terms of finding a job after getting my bachelor’s degree, would it be wisest to major in psychology first or does it not make much of a difference? </p>
<p>Is it also better to get a B.S. instead of a B.A?</p>
<p>“…but I know that I can get my bachelor’s degree in psychology and then study neuroscience when I go to grad school.”
Yes, you can enter a graduate neuroscience program with an undergrad psychology degree. However, in order to be competitive for admission and to prepare adequately for graduate studies, your undergrad psychology degree should include some solid coursework in neuropsychology and in supporting sciences (e.g., gen bio, gen & org chem, gen physics, calculus).</p>
<p>In terms of getting a job after a bachelor’s degree, it might depend on what types of jobs you are seeking. If you are looking for jobs more directly related to psychology, the majority of these jobs will be relatively low-paying entry-level direct service positions in the developmental disabilities field. It probably won’t make much difference whether your major was psychology or neuroscience. There will be many fewer positions for entry-level direct service positions in mental health settings, but there also would be much difference between psychology and neuroscience. There would probably be an advantage for a neuroscience major for entry-level direct service positions in brain-injury programs or as a lab tech, but these types of jobs are much fewer. For jobs in the general areas of business, government, social services, or other areas that are not directly related to a psychology or neuroscience, the psychology major might be perceived as more relevant (e.g., focused on “people skills” or whatever other stereotypes of psychology majors are out there, whereas neuroscience might be perceived as more of a bioscience degree). Both majors are liberal arts degrees, however, which prepare you for the range of fields typically open to liberal arts majors.</p>
<p>If you decide to pursue another field in graduate school, neuroscience might open up some possibilities that psychology might not (e.g., certain health related professions or bioscience fields, especially if you have coursework in supporting sciences). </p>
<p>Whether it’s better to get a BS or BA depends on the differences in requirements between those two degrees. There is no consistent pattern across schools, however, in whether their degrees are designated as BA or BS. Some schools only give a BA, even for science-oriented fields. No one will care whether your degree is BA or BS. It will only matter for certain graduate programs if the BS requires more coursework in supporting sciences or more research experience. For a job, it probably won’t matter at all. Depending on the particular school, a BA major (vs. a BS major) often gives more flexibility to take coursework outside the major or a broader range of coursework within the major.</p>
<p>I recommend you to purse a degree in psychology bachelors of “science”. It’s a prequiste for the field of neuroscience. Keep that in mind you must have 3.0 gpa inorder to be accepted for grad school…so try your best my friend</p>
<p>Depending on the school’s program requirements, a psych degree can have a good variety of cognitive courses. You can also minor in biology. You would really have to look at the curriculum for each at whatever schools you’re considering and see which one fits your career goals. </p>
<p>I have a degree in psychology and the best I could do job-wise was a lower management position in a clothing department, and now I’m a human resources manager. I am applying to grad school next year, but it is quite difficult finding good paying jobs with just a bachelor’s degree. Also, a job in behavioral sciences is easier to move into if you have internships and start building up a little experience.</p>