BA, BSc, PhD, MSc, MA and other such abbreviations allow us to have an idea about the contents and titles of a student. Looking more deeply, we even see whether they are undergraduate, associate, graduate and doctoral students. BA and BSc, which are the abbreviations of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees have become more and more important as children climb up today’s ladder. No wonder these 3-4 year undergraduate programs which are especially preferred in the UK, Australia, Canada, and America hold an international validity. But before you jump to doing a Masters, you need to know the difference between Bachelor of Arts vs Bachelor of Science to apply for the right field afterall.
Bachelor of Arts vs Bachelor of Science: 5 Key Differences
A student who wants to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree by completing a BSc or BA undergraduate program must choose one of the full-time programs according to their interests and successfully complete the program in 3 or 4 years according to the education systems of the countries. Full-time undergraduate programs usually require nearly 40 courses and 120 credits. In general, 36-40 credits, which corresponds to 10-12 courses, are related to the field you will study in the department you have chosen.
But before that, you need to know the difference between BA and BSc.
5 Differences Between Bachelor of Arts vs Bachelor of Science
- In some areas of undergraduate programs, the same academic subject can be offered to you as both a BA and a BSc. In such a case, it would be best to make a decision by taking into account your academic goals and interests, by checking the education curriculum required for participation in the programs.
- In particular, BSc-oriented courses such as Economics, Computer Science, and Psychology may appear as BA in some universities. While one of the programs supports the liberal arts approach, the other focuses on science, mathematics and engineering.
- Other than the difference in the subject or fields, many BA and BSc undergraduate programs have equal academic weight in terms of degrees. But what’s different are their content and benefits.
- While Bachelor of Arts programs generally focus on improving students’ writing skills and strengthening their communication, Bachelor of Science programs aim to advance analytical skills, gain a practical perspective and specialize in a particular subject.
- Bachelor’s degree programs with science and arts content, which started to be referred to as BSc and BA in UK universities after the 19th century, were previously referred to as Bachelor of Arts, regardless of their content. The Bachelor of Science was first accepted at the University of London in 1860, long after the Bachelor of Arts programmes.
What is a Bachelor of Arts or BA degree?
BA Degree programs, which come from the Latin word Baccalaureus artium, are also known as humanities and are claimed to be the basis of academic learning, especially in the western world. BA programs based on liberal Arts (natural science and humanities, arts and social sciences) as well as interdisciplinary undergraduate programs that include elective courses and general education.
When we consider that it offers programs specific to Bachelor of Arts departments, we see that there are many departments such as Economics, Digital media, Political sciences, Business, Photography, Politics, Criminology, Product Design, Tourism Management, Marketing Communication, Visual Effects, Computer Animation, Technical Arts and so on just as some common examples.
BA undergraduate programs can take 3 or 4 years depending on the country and specific specializations. For example, university education in the UK is generally 3 years, while in the USA it is 4 years. During university education in the USA, students can also have the opportunity to complete their programs in 3 years, as they offer the opportunity to take courses in certain credits during the extra summer and winter semesters.
When you qualify for a BA degree by successfully completing BA undergraduate programs, you will be a graduate who knows how to critically approach problems, has strong interpretation, writing, and convincing skills. Thanks to all these gains, you will open the doors of a successful career based on liberal arts!
What is a Bachelor of Science or BSc degree?
Bachelor of Science, expressed as Baccalaureus Scientiae in Latin, is the name given to an interdisciplinary undergraduate program that focuses on science, mathematics and computation, which greatly expands your career options, and aims to provide you with both technical and practical expertise with research-based courses and laboratory applications.
With the Bachelor of Science (BSc) undergraduate programs, you have the opportunity to improve yourself with the practical work you do in the laboratory, and you will have the advantage of gaining experience in your field while you are still a student with the opportunities to do internship or work placement (Work Placement) during your educational years.
The work placement process, which you can come across in many departments in the UK, can be arranged by the school for up to 1 year, helping you specialize in well-known industries and your department. In this process, you can gain important work experience and strengthen your resume, and you can direct your career faster by networking in the industry. When it comes to the best universities in the world, England, which is one of the important countries that comes to mind, has many advantages that the government offers to you students after university education.
When we look at which departments the Bachelor of Science offers programs, we can see not only see courses like Cyberpsychology, Game Design, Data Science and Analytics, Data Science and Environmental Science, Economy, Sports Management, IT Management, Cyber Security Management, Business Management, but also other very different courses which don’t sound so technical like Psychology, Marketing, and even Architecture.
The duration of Bachelor of Science degree programs varies between 3 and 5 years according to the education system of the countries and the content of the programs.
Now that you have learned what Bachelor of science means after the BA Degree programs, these abbreviations placed right in front of the departments on the undergraduate program pages of universities will now make much more sense to you and you will be able to research with the awareness of whether the program content is suitable for you while you are studying the departments.
Is Engineering also Bsc?
Bachelor of Engineering (BEng), which can be compared with Bachelor of Science degree programs and which you can find in universities in Australia, China, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, America and England, offers an education aimed at providing practice only in the field of engineering, while BSc programs are based on research, application and experimentational analysis which focuses on providing information on theory with practical application.
BSc graduates are prepared for the corporate world, which includes more areas of specialization besides engineering. For example, you can do BSc in Software Engineering, Design Engineering, and so on.
This is a common mistake because BSc Degree programs also have a wide range of research areas that are suitable for students with an interest in the sciences who want to pursue an academic career and specialize in technical fields.
Why is a bachelor’s degree important?
In conclusion, gone are the times when the bachelor’s degree was accepted as an indicator of success. There are many people who see that it is not possible to specialize academically without completing undergraduate programs, which we can call the first step of higher education. In addition, today’s undergraduate programs are mostly seen as a step toward studying for a master’s degree, specializing in a special field, and making a career.