BSNS w/ Concentration in Biology vs BA in Biology...?

[Silly_Me]

Hey, guys! I'm curious to know what you think is the better degree & why... I'm looking to work with animals after college (in a zoo setting perhaps), and I need a biology degree - at a minimum - to pursue this goal. Until now, I've been looking at the BA in Biology from TESU since it's the only "real" biology program available at a non-traditional school. However, it looks like Excelsior offers a Bachelor of Science in Natural Sciences w/ a concentration in biology. So, now I'm torn. I would prefer a Bachelor of Science in Biology, but no one offers this type of degree in a distance/ non-traditional program.

Just how important is that "science" designation in the degree type & would it be better to go for the BA in Biology *or* the BSNS w/ a concentration in biology? What's the real difference between these two degrees & how might an employer look at them differently? Thanks for any input!

[dfrecore]

Hey, guys! I'm curious to know what you think is the better degree & why... I'm looking to work with animals after college (in a zoo setting perhaps), and I need a biology degree - at a minimum - to pursue this goal. Until now, I've been looking at the BA in Biology from TESU since it's the only "real" biology program available at a non-traditional school. However, it looks like Excelsior offers a Bachelor of Science in Natural Sciences w/ a concentration in biology. So, now I'm torn. I would prefer a Bachelor of Science in Biology, but no one offers this type of degree in a distance/ non-traditional program.

Just how important is that "science" designation in the degree type & would it be better to go for the BA in Biology *or* the BSNS w/ a concentration in biology? What's the real difference between these two degrees & how might an employer look at them differently? Thanks for any input!

My advice would be to see what is required by the jobs you want, and then work backwards from there.

No matter what, I would think that you need to take your lab sciences classes in a non-online setting.

Also, I'm going to guess that whatever BA/BS you get isn't going to be as important as the Master's degree that you'll probably be required to get.

[davewill]

I would worry less about which degree and more about the content of your coursework. In particular, do the science courses, especially the bio ones, in a traditional setting, and take math through at least Calc II. Otherwise you won't have the foundation you need, either for your career or for grad school.

[sanantone]

This is like asking if you should get a BA in Computer Science or a BS in Generic Computer Studies because the BS somehow makes the degree sound better. It's still a general degree that doesn't even come close to comparing to computer science. If an employer prefers or requires computer science, then that is what they prefer or require. A computer studies degree is not going to win out over computer science. No employer in his or her right mind would think that the generic degree was better preparation.

No one cares about BA vs BS. The biggest problem is that Excelsior's degree is not a biology degree. If you wanted to become a patent agent, it wouldn't automatically meet the requirements. If you wanted to meet course-by-course requirements, you would have to take additional courses since they're not required for Excelsior's program. A serious grad program would definitely question your preparation if you didn't take the courses required of a biology major.

You can fill up gen ed and electives with the typical science courses that are not required by Excelsior, but why do that when you can just get an actual degree in biology? Missing courses like organic chemistry is a big deal if you want to work in this field and want to not fail out of graduate school.

The differences between the two programs are huge. Did you look at Excelsior's requirements? They hardly require any foundational courses or lab courses. You only need one LL and one UL lab. The LL lab can be in any intro science course.

And, I don't understand how you JUST found out when we already told you about the options at Excelsior and COSC.