History BA versus Liberal Studies BA

[Scholar Interrupted]

Does anyone have an opinion on or experience with the difference between a history BA and a liberal studies BA in the job market? I'm a history major but am considering switching so that I can eliminate the 2 remaining UL history courses I need, and for which there are no test-out options.

I never intended to "use" the history degree. History is just my favorite subject, and I figured it would be a relatively painless way to jump through the college degree hoop.

Any liberal studies BA holders, who didn't go on to grad school, wish you had majored in something more specific?

I'm tired and ready for this to be over. Thanks for any wisdom!

[HawkGuy]

Any liberal studies BA holders, who didn't go on to grad school, wish you had majored in something more specific?

I do. I sometimes wish I had gotten a degree in something besides liberal studies so I don't have to explain my degree. It'd be easier to say I have a history degree rather than a liberal studies degree and then have people ask what I majored in.

[cookderosa]

I do. I sometimes wish I had gotten a degree in something besides liberal studies so I don't have to explain my degree. It'd be easier to say I have a history degree rather than a liberal studies degree and then have people ask what I majored in.

>>

I agree. Get the history degree. No it doesn't specifically prepare you for a job, but neither does a LA degree. It's my opinion that having a major presents you as a more focused scholar, but that's just my two cents. Oh, and because history was your favorite subject is a totally good reason to earn a degree in history.

[94steve]

When I started this thing back in June I thought that it was soo cool that I could essentially just take a bunch of gened classes and get a BA in liberal arts. My interests are all over the road so it was extremely tempting. Then I thought about what a pain in the ass it would be to explain to them what my degree is in and then what an even bigger pain in the ass it would be to not hit them after they haughtily snickered at me for not having a "real" major.

Then I saw how nicely CLEP/DANTES dovetails with TESC's history degree and my own facination with history. Now I'm 18 credits out!!!

[HawkGuy]

Then I saw how nicely CLEP/DANTES dovetails with TESC's history degree and my own facination with history. Now I'm 18 credits out!!!

I'm seriously thinking about going back for a second bachelors in history for this very reason.

[Scholar Interrupted]

Thanks so much, Jesse, Jennifer, and 94steve. I just needed to be slapped around a little to regain consciousness. :o I was already a bit concerned about how to explain a history degree, but LS might get even more frowns.

Jesse, your feedback is what I was especially looking for. I'm pretty sure I'll stick to the plan now and just tough it out. Maybe I'll tackle the psychology ECEs I have planned for my focus next and save the two more history courses for later next year, when I'm less tired. I thought about taking the American Dream ECE, which would give me the 6 credits I need. But after seeing what folks here had to say about it, I'm afraid there's no way to sufficiently prepare for it, and it would drag down my GPA.

Funny thing: I mistakenly requested approval to take the World Conflicts Since 1900 ECE, which I didn't think would apply to any of my remaining requirements, and it was actually approved. The advisor didn't say how it would apply, so I've asked for clarification. Maybe, just maybe, I can use that to eliminate one of the remaining courses.

[taylor]

At the Undergrad level I don't think a History major is going to wow a prospective employer any more than a Liberal arts major. There's a lot of Bachelor's degree that pretty much carry the same weight unless their really specialized such as engineering or nursing. I know tons of people who were Psych, Sociology, and History majors who are working in totally unrelated fields. I found out my orthopedic surgeon was a Liberal Arts major at an Ivy League university. And then he ended up graduating from the same Ivy League Med school. I asked him why he wasn't premed in undergrad. He told me it was easier on his GPA going through the Liberal Arts route and less competition. In cases like these being a Liberal Arts major is actually an advantage. BTW, I'm not just saying this because I'm a Liberal Arts major as well. I'm going to worry about being more specialized when I go to grad school.

[MaieJaie]

Does anyone have an opinion on or experience with the difference between a history BA and a liberal studies BA in the job market? I'm a history major but am considering switching so that I can eliminate the 2 remaining UL history courses I need, and for which there are no test-out options.

Why can't you test out of your history requirements? The only requirement for the History major at EC that doesn't seem to have a test-out option is the historiography requirement. For everything else, there are a lot of test options available for history. In addition to Dantes exams, there are also:

Excelsior:
World Conflicts since 1900 (3 semester credits)
American Dream (6 semester credits, can count as either history or literature)

Ohio University:
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (4 quarter hours, or 2.67 semester credits)
Ancient Greece (4 quarter hours, or 2.67 semester credits)
Ancient Rome (4 quarter hours, or 2.67 semester credits)

Good luck, whatever you decide.

[Scholar Interrupted]

In cases like these being a Liberal Arts major is actually an advantage. BTW, I'm not just saying this because I'm a Liberal Arts major as well. I'm going to worry about being more specialized when I go to grad school.

And then there is that point of view, which is also quite valid. It had also occurred to me that history might pigeonhole me too much as an egghead type who is just looking for a job while she saves money for grad school. Since I don't plan on grad school, that would be quite unfortunate.

In the end, I think not planning on grad school is a good reason to specialize now: I won't be specializing later.

[Scholar Interrupted]

Excelsior:
World Conflicts since 1900 (3 semester credits)
American Dream (6 semester credits, can count as either history or literature)

Ohio University:
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (4 quarter hours, or 2.67 semester credits)
Ancient Greece (4 quarter hours, or 2.67 semester credits)
Ancient Rome (4 quarter hours, or 2.67 semester credits)

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Thanks! I considered American Dream but nixed it for fear it would drag down my GPA. (See above.) World Conflicts won't satisfy EC's "area" requirements. What I need are 6 UL credits specializing in either American history, European history, or non-Western world history, and they have to be the same. (The advisor responded as to why she had approved my erroneous request to take WC: it would apply as an elective but not to my major.)

The Ohio U is something I hadn't thought of, though, and I will have to ruminate on that some.