05-07-2011, 11:24 PM
The reason that most colleges do not list your major on your diploma is simply because it is technically incorrect to do so. Colleges are accredited to award generic bachleors degrees (B.A. or B.S.) only. That is as far as the regional accreditation body's concern goes. In traditional, liberal arts disciplines like history, biology, psychology, etc., the content of the area of study within that degree is entirely up to the individual college. There is usually no separate accreditation for specific subjects unless they are professional subjects that are regulated by the government and are bound by law to meet additional requirements above and beyond what the regional accrediting agency requires (for example, engineering programs have to answer to ABET, nursing programs answer to NLNAC or CCNE, etc.) In that case, the degree will be a NAMED DEGREE signifying that it meets the standards imposed by the special professional accreditation body in addition to the ones imposed by the regional accreditation body.
So, if you go to XYZ accredited state university, regardless of whether or not they call their main area of study within a degree program a major or a concentration, the major or concentration is NOT part of the degree title and really shouldn't be listed as such. That may come as a shock to most people, but it's true.
If you go to the University of Georgia and major in Political Science, you do not have a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. You have a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Political Science. So, your diploma will say Bachelor of Arts, because that is the degree that the school has the authority to confer. Your major is not part of your degree title and so is not included. There is no such thing as a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree at UGA, so they're not going to put a wrong degree name on their certificate that announces to the world that you earned a degree from them.
Contrast this with a B.S.N. If a nurse earns her B.S.N. from an accredited school of nursing, the diploma will say "Bachelor of Science in Nursing." This signifies the extra level of accreditation that the nursing program enjoys. This is not the equivalent of putting a major on a diploma. The nurse does not have a Bachelor of Science with a major in Nursing in the same way that a biologist has a Bachelor of Science with a major in Biology. Rather, the nurse actually has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. That is the formal name of the degree.
When colleges do list majors and concentrations (some even go so far as to list minors, which is quite tacky, if you ask me) on the diploma, they generally do not do so by using "IN" to join the formal degree title with the major. For example, Penn State puts majors on diplomas, but if you major in, say, Russian, your diploma will not say "Bachelor of Arts in Russian" it will say "Bachelor of Arts awarded with the completion of a major in Russian on this whatever day of year of our lord whenever"). If you major in a traditional liberal arts discipline vs a professional discipline like nursing, engineering, or accounting, your major is almost never a formal part of the title of your degree.
So, if you go to XYZ accredited state university, regardless of whether or not they call their main area of study within a degree program a major or a concentration, the major or concentration is NOT part of the degree title and really shouldn't be listed as such. That may come as a shock to most people, but it's true.
If you go to the University of Georgia and major in Political Science, you do not have a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. You have a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Political Science. So, your diploma will say Bachelor of Arts, because that is the degree that the school has the authority to confer. Your major is not part of your degree title and so is not included. There is no such thing as a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree at UGA, so they're not going to put a wrong degree name on their certificate that announces to the world that you earned a degree from them.
Contrast this with a B.S.N. If a nurse earns her B.S.N. from an accredited school of nursing, the diploma will say "Bachelor of Science in Nursing." This signifies the extra level of accreditation that the nursing program enjoys. This is not the equivalent of putting a major on a diploma. The nurse does not have a Bachelor of Science with a major in Nursing in the same way that a biologist has a Bachelor of Science with a major in Biology. Rather, the nurse actually has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. That is the formal name of the degree.
When colleges do list majors and concentrations (some even go so far as to list minors, which is quite tacky, if you ask me) on the diploma, they generally do not do so by using "IN" to join the formal degree title with the major. For example, Penn State puts majors on diplomas, but if you major in, say, Russian, your diploma will not say "Bachelor of Arts in Russian" it will say "Bachelor of Arts awarded with the completion of a major in Russian on this whatever day of year of our lord whenever"). If you major in a traditional liberal arts discipline vs a professional discipline like nursing, engineering, or accounting, your major is almost never a formal part of the title of your degree.
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