What is a Bachelor’s Degree and what is the difference between a B.A. and a B.S.?

While working with my students during their junior year of high school I always make it a point to define what is a Bachelor’s Degree and what is the difference bewteen a B.A. and B.S. degree so they understand just what the undergraduate degree is all about. Most students do not know the defnition so it’s very helpful to start there.

So let’s define the basics of the Bachelor’s Degree:

A Bachelor’s Degree is the degree you earn from matriculating at a 4-year instiution. This college or university grants this degree when you typcially accure 120 credits.

The term bachelor stems from the Latin word baccalarius, referring to people of low rank in the feudal hierarchy, but it was later used to refer to students who had passed the baccalaureate exam and were thus in the second stage of their studies. During the Middle Ages, the bachelor’s degree was merely a stage in the education process, rather than a qualification such as master and doctor, which were already common at the time. This phase entailed the study of grammar, rhetoric, and logic during a period of three to four years, which ended with examinations.

What’s the difference between a B.A. and a B.S.?

A Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) is a four year degree that emphasizes coursework in a major such as literature, history, social sciences or world languages. While a B.A. is not devoid of math and science (depending on general education course requirements, too), it most likely has less required courses in this area.

A Bachelor of Science (B.S,) is a four year degree that focuses on coursework in more STEM related fields such as engineering, nursing, science, math and technology. Many B.S. courses require lab work as well so their courses require more class and lab/field time. Some B.S. programs have a more lock-step curriculum so you need to enter the program at the beginning of your first year to complete it.

Some universisties offer a B.A. and B.S. in the same field. For exmaple, the Univesrity of Colorado-Boulder offers both tracks in computer science. If a student wants to become an engineer, the B.S. would be the better option but the B.A. is better for students interested in web design and writing for websitses, etc.

There are many options out there so make sure to read what are the differences at each school and what are the course offeriengs per degree.