Difference of B.S. and B.A.?

Question

What is the difference between a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degree? Is the course work less liberal for B.S. ? Will future employers care if 2 people who majored in the same thing but have different degrees have a preference for one or the other? Does having a B.S. mean you were more dedicated to your major? Thanks.

Answer 1

Some partly true and some very wrong answers above.

I have a Bachelor of Science in Performing Arts. That's an art and it's a BS. I also have a Bachelor of Arts in Music. I have a good friend with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology. Much depends upon the school but here's how it works in the true tradition of what these are:

First understand that there are the liberal arts and humanities (which includes the sciences) and there are applied professional fields (such as business, computer science, education, nursing)

In the purest traditional sense, the degrees would separate thusly:

The Bachelor of Arts would require 75% liberal arts core and and no more than 25% applied study. Very often, the core requirement of the degree exceeds 50% of the total degree and the major is less than 50% of the total degree. So, in history for example, you might have 90 hours of general studies and foundation and 30 hours of history courses and have a BA in History. Since many BA degrees are issued in fields that are the liberal arts and humanities, it appears that this is based on major - reality is simply that those majors don't require very many courses, if any, in the applied professional fields so 100% of the degree is in the liberal arts.

The Bachelor of Science would require 50% liberal arts core and no more than 50% applied professional studies. If you were a history major in a BS you'd have 60 hours of core requirements and 60 hours of history -- but, history is a liberal art so you'd really have 120 hours of liberal arts; a BA. If you were a history education major though -- you'd have 60 hours of liberal arts core and 30 hours of history and 30 hours of education. That's bordering on a BS and really a BS (or BEd) in History Education might likely be the degree. The BS student typically would spend more time in the major courses or more time in applied professional courses.

The BS doesn't mean you were more dedicated to your major but instead that your program had more direct major courses in it than the BA.

There is also the Bachelor of [your subject] such as the Bachelor of Business Administration or Bachelor of Education. This program would have even less liberal arts core and more applied professional or direct major courses. Often as much as 3/4 or more of the degree would be in the major. These are sometimes called Bachelor of Applied Science.

So, you can look at them as based upon how much time is spent in the major versus in the liberal arts core. The BA has more liberal arts, the BS is about evenly split, and the B[subject] is more major courses.

This is the traditional approach though and not all schools follow this pattern any longer. That means you really have to look at the course requirements and see what's required. If you want a strong liberal arts foundation then you need the BA type, if you want an even divide then you want the BS type. Some professions (such as engineering or nursing) will require the applied science type just to be able to meet all of the licensing requirements.

In some schools it's as simple as whether you have to take a foreign language or 2 maths instead of 1 or if your science has to have a lab... It just varies from place-to-place.

As for employment - most won't care whether you have a BA or a BS or a BAS or a BBA or.... as long as you meet their requirements. Grad schools really don't care because they look at the transcripts.

It's really not about major as much as it's about the nature of the degree. Just like a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) isn't always about the study of philosophy.

Answer 2

None of the above. A B.S. is a bachelor of science; a B.A. is a bachelor of arts. In almost all cases, the degree you get is determined by your major, so you would never get a B.S. in history or a B.A. in physics. In a few cases where the individual school decides whether to give a B.S. or a B.A., it really isn't viewed any differently by informed employers.

Answer 3

Well they are equal, but it looks better if you have a Bachelor of Arts, even if you are a Biology major and would get a Bachelor of Science....all you have to do at most colleges is just take like 2 foreign language classes or something...but also your requirements....check with your advisor or guidance councilor too about your particular school

Answer 4

given which you state which you certainly want to be a publicist then significant in mass communications! that's what communications is all approximately!! and since the 1st answerer suggested they don't supply Liberal Arts stages as a Bachelors of technological know-how. you're able to desire to not situation approximately having a BA fairly than a BS because of the fact the only difference extremely is the style of math and technological know-how classes, which you will not want as a publicist. btw, many faculties require pupils to have atleast 2nd 12 months skillability in a distant places language to graduate regardless of their degree, be it BS or a BA.