EC - The BA/BS Difference

[SuZQ2]

Hi All,

Just thought I'd add a little info I learned from EC...

Background...

As the bulk of my accumulated credits are in what is considered arts & sciences, I have been working towards a BA in Liberal Arts. Part of my plan included eventually taking UExcel's Literacy Instruction in the Elementary School exam for 6 Upper Level credits.

However, upon consultation with my EC Advisor, I found out EC considers this a "professional" course, not arts & sciences - thus, not accepted (for my purposes - UL credits) in the BA program...I immediately switched to a BS, which still accepts all my arts & sciences credits, plus allows me the flexibility to gain Upper Level credits in a broader selection of subjects...A Win/Win situation for me...

Again, to reiterate, for the Bachelor's Degree with the most flexibility (even for those in the arts & sciences) it's the BS not the BA Degree...

eeya:

[JTP]

I'm not sure that is always the case between BS/BA, but I'm glad the switch was very beneficial for you!

[summ1]

Hi All,

Just thought I'd add a little info I learned from EC...

Background...

As the bulk of my accumulated credits are in what is considered arts & sciences, I have been working towards a BA in Liberal Arts. Part of my plan included eventually taking UExcel's Literacy Instruction in the Elementary School exam for 6 Upper Level credits.

However, upon consultation with my EC Advisor, I found out EC considers this a "professional" course, not arts & sciences - thus, not accepted (for my purposes - UL credits) in the BA program...I immediately switched to a BS, which still accepts all my arts & sciences credits, plus allows me the flexibility to gain Upper Level credits in a broader selection of subjects...A Win/Win situation for me...

Again, to reiterate, for the Bachelor's Degree with the most flexibility (even for those in the arts & sciences) it's the BS not the BA Degree...

eeya:

I'm currently enrolled at Excelsior in the BS in Liberal Arts program, my question is, do they decide upon enrollment if you're studying to earn your BA or BS or is it your decision? I definitely don't recall them asking?

[Prloko]

I'm not sure that is always the case between BS/BA, but I'm glad the switch was very beneficial for you!

I agree, for some schools, the only difference I saw was a language requirement, while others emphasized mathematics and sciences for the BS.

[UptonSinclair]

I'm currently enrolled at Excelsior in the BS in Liberal Arts program, my question is, do they decide upon enrollment if you're studying to earn your BA or BS or is it your decision? I definitely don't recall them asking?

The choice of degrees is up to the student. I chose which degree I was signing up for when I completed the enrollment form online.

[JohnnyHeck]

This is all funny to me. I'm a dinosaur BSCE Northwestern '70 and all these years +30 married to by wife with a BA Chemistry CUA, I thought a Science degree was superior to Arts. It's only through this forum in the last years that I have come to realize that the specific requirements for a BA can be just as stringent as a BS. It all depends on the degree program selected. When you have a choice between a BS and BA you will always find the BS more flexible simply because you only have to have 50% of your credits specifically designated LA vs. typically 75% for the BA. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to us ordinary people, but within the pedantic academic community there is still some 400 year old history that LA is superior. It's like cats and dogs. We STEMs are the dogs, and LAs are the cats. Go figure! I'll take the money!

[Exfactor]

This is all funny to me. I'm a dinosaur BSCE Northwestern '70 and all these years +30 married to by wife with a BA Chemistry CUA, I thought a Science degree was superior to Arts. It's only through this forum in the last years that I have come to realize that the specific requirements for a BA can be just as stringent as a BS. It all depends on the degree program selected. When you have a choice between a BS and BA you will always find the BS more flexible simply because you only have to have 50% of your credits specifically designated LA vs. typically 75% for the BA. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to us ordinary people, but within the pedantic academic community there is still some 400 year old history that LA is superior. It's like cats and dogs. We STEMs are the dogs, and LAs are the cats. Go figure! I'll take the money!

When I attended a private brick and mortar school a couple of years ago, BA degrees where frowned and look down upon. Most projected it as the easy way out (even by professors and the deans). I know particularly as a psychology major students in the department would spend their entire college career trying to attain a BS, yet when they were short of degree requirements come graduation time, they would switch to a BA just to graduate. On forums like studentdoctor the BA vs BS debate is strikingly huge, where BA degrees are frowned upon as being inferior.

[JohnnyHeck]

When I attended a private brick and mortar school a couple of years ago, BA degrees where frowned and look down upon. Most projected it as the easy way out (even by professors and the deans). I know particularly as a psychology major students in the department would spend their entire college career trying to attain a BS, yet when they were short of degree requirements come graduation time, they would switch to a BA just to graduate. On forums like studentdoctor the BA vs BS debate is strikingly huge, where BA degrees are frowned upon as being inferior.

I think it all hinges on which degree program is the most stringent in it's requirements at any particular school that determines whether a BS or BA carries greater bragging rights. In a field like Psychology where a school's BS program would likely be more stringent because of clinical studies included, it would carry greater esteem. But if you take say a BA in Physics where the school requires a 20hr related minor such as math or another science, and then you add in the 2-3 years foreign language requirement, I think this program would carry greater respect among the professors in the College of Liberal Arts and perhaps even the professors in the College of Engineering which can only grant BS degrees. Given that at the Big 3 you can fill up your BS degree with credits like FEMA, the BA has the more stringent requirement in specifics. But since none of the Big 3 have very stringent reqs for any degree, I don't think it matters within their community. Outside of the academic community, I guess you would find that the general public credited greater esteem to a "science" degree. LoL: This could be the reason the professors in the College of LA never come down from their ivory towers.

[cookderosa]

It's always up to the school. Sometimes it's the difference between having a foreign language or college math instead of college algebra. There are no standards, so if you're picking a school that offers both options for the same field (I've seen it several times with psychology), it's worth checking which path makes the most sense for you. In most cases, however, the major you pick will be part of a BA/BS that the school has constructed, and you won't have the option. There is no difference in terms of better, harder, more prestige, etc.

[sanantone]

Some schools only offer a BA in the liberal arts. The liberal arts are science, social science, humanities, and mathematics. TESC is like this. I believe Harvard is like this. They both consider computer science a liberal art, so only offer a BA in it.