What exactly is an AA, a BA, and a BS degree???

Answer 1

An AA as an associates degree and is a two year program.
BA= Bachelor of Arts. 4 year program usually in humanities/ social science fields.
BS= Bachelor of Science. 4 year in a more science or math related field. Some majors like Psychology offer either a BA or BS, with a BS usually requiring more sci oriented classes

Answer 2

You get an Associates Degree in two years and a Bachelors Degree takes four. A BA is better than an AA. If you have a BS degree, that is the same amount of schooling as a BA, but it is in a different area. BA stands for Bachelor of Arts and a BS is Bachelor of Science.

Answer 3

WOW, that last answer was RIDICULOUSLY LONG!!! lol

AA: Associates of Arts. This is probably the least profitable degree. You could get this from a community college by completing a two year program. By all means, it's better than just a HS diploma but... if you're gonna go to college for two years, you might as well finish out with the four.

BA: Bachelors of Arts. You can get this from a four year, accredited institution. This looks better on a resume/application than an associates (AA) This means that you completed the coursework in a concentration related to the Humanities, Social Science, Literature, and the arts.

BS: Same as above except the focus is in Science and Math.

I hope this helps...

Answer 4

First, let's clarify that there are academic degrees and there are vocational/professional degrees. An academic degree is designed to teach you "why" of some field, a vocational or professional degree teaches you the "how" of some field. Almost all fields have people who study the "why" and people who actually "do".

These types of degrees transcend over all levels of degree study. There are academic and vocational/professional degrees at the associates, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.

Levels next:

Community Colleges and Junior Colleges award an associates degree. It generally takes about 2 years to complete full time. They also issue vocational certificates and diplomas that take less than two years and are not a degree.

Senior colleges and universities award bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees. The bachelor's degree requires about 4 years of full time study after high school. The master's requires 1.5-3 years after the bachelor's. The doctorate requires 3-7 years after the master's (some don't require a master's first).

Now the differences:

A degree in arts or science is an academic degree. It is about learning "why" things are and not so much "how to do". This includes the Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS), Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS), Doctor of Arts (DA), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD - which doesn't have to be in philosophy).

The "of Arts" or "of Science" doesn't tell us what the subject is - it tells us the nature of the degree study. "of Arts" will be almost entirely interested in the "why" of a field (or fields) whereas the "of Science" will include some "how" but is mostly about "why". The "of Science" may also include study of fields that are primarily professional (Education, Business, Engineering) whereas the "of Arts" will concentrate on subjects that are primarily of the Liberal Arts. Psychology is one example that can be both. A typical "of Arts" degree will include about 90% of the coursework in the Liberal Arts whereas a typical "of Science" degree might include more than 30% in the applied professional study. The PhD is an academic research degree interested in the "why" and is considered by most to be the highest doctorate.

There is also the vocational/professional degree. These are often called the "... of Applied Science" or "... of Subject" (insert your field for "subject") and are very interested in the "how" over the "why". An Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in automotive service technology learned to fix cars. He wasn't very interested in the history of cars or why people buy certain cars (psych and soc) or much else. The Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) learned all about business and closely related areas, not so much about biology or history or early English literature. These are "how" degrees. A Master of Fine Arts in creative writing learned to write and wrote a lot. The EdD (Doctor of Education) learns to teach or to run a school. The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) learns to solve business problems.

The first professional degrees are similar to the applied professional degrees. These are those you know as MD (physician), JD (lawyer), DDS (dentist) and are highly specialized. These don't usually require a master's degree for admission - they only require a bachelor's degree.

So, your question about AA, BA, BS

The AA is a two-year academic degree intended to be used as a stepping stone to the BA and BS and usually represents the first two years (general education core) of the BA or BS program. It has very little utility as a stand-alone job credential but makes getting the BA or BS much less costly.

The BA and BS are academic degrees. The BA will be almost entirely Liberal Arts based and interested in the "why" of your field. The BS will be heavily Liberal Arts based but will also include a significant portion of "how" (applied professional) courses. Almost universally, with some few exceptions, the BA and BS are considered equal in most employment situations.

It is possible to get a BA in Biology and a BS in Liberal Arts (I have one). This isn't about the subject, it's about the degree content and what percentage of the degree program was general education and liberal arts.

Know too that much depends on the college. There are no sets of rules that say a BA must include XYZ courses but the BS has ABC courses, it's up to the college. The model I've presented is the traditional but it varies widely. At some schools, the only difference between a BA in Psych and a BS in Psych is foreign language vs statistics.

hope this helps some...

add: it never ceases to amaze me the number of people who insist that a BA is in arts and a BS in in science. One has to wonder if they've ever looked at a college catalog.

For those who think the length is too long: this is why you get Cs on papers. The question asked "exactly" not "quick summary". "Exactly" means in detail.

Some very important clarification of the wrong answer below. An associates degree can be much more valuable than a bachelor's degree. If you do a poling of waitresses at your favorite eatery; you'll find that many have a bachelor's degree in some esoteric field like psychology, sociology, or art history (which are good fields to study but need a master's); none will have an associates degree (AA/AS) in computer science or network administration or nursing. Why do we suppose that is? Can it be that the associates in these cases has more value in the market? The GenEd AA is not one of those degrees though.