Both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science are the most common undergraduate degrees. Most of the colleges offer both degree programs. Let’s take a deeper look at what are the key differences in between both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science types of degree programs and which one is best for you?
1 What is Bachelor of Arts?
Bachelor of Arts most often abbreviated as BA. It is an undergraduate degree program in arts stream. There are several other disciplines in which you can pursue your BA like Hindi, English, History, Psychology and Journalism. In India, these courses can be pursued right after passing class 12th. Normally, Bachelor of Arts is a three year course degree programme is provided by colleges under several streams like Mass Communication, Design, Humanities and Hospitality. Bachelor of Arts can be pursued in part-time, full-time or through distance education mode.
1.1 What are the major key requirements for BA degree?
Each candidate who has completed higher secondary education in Arts, Medical, Non-Medical and Commerce are eligible to apply for BA degree program. For completing a BA degree you will require at least 120 credit hours. In Bachelor of Arts program, more than half of courses will be general education requirements and other liberal art courses. You’re likely to have only 10 to 12 courses of major work by the end of your completion of degree.
2 What is Bachelor of Science?
Bachelor of Science most often abbreviated as BSc. It is an undergraduate degree program in science and math stream that takes almost three years to complete. Most of the BSc programs require students to take between 120 and 133 semester hours or between 40 and 42 classes. You can persue your BSc degree in different fields like Nursing, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Engineering, Computer science and Mathematics.
In the United States and Canada, degree is awarded to those students who have completed undergraduate studies in engineering, economics, physical sciences, computer science, mathematics and related fields.
2.1 What are the major key requirements for B.Sc degree?
Each candidate who has completed higher secondary education in medical stream are eligible to apply for B.Sc degree program. For completing a B.Sc degree you will require at least a total of 120 to 128 credit hours. It includes courses which consist of general education courses, major courses and elective courses as well. Few B.Sc degree programs in the field of engineering and technology may requires internships as well as clinical trainings as a part of graduation requirements.
3 Difference between Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
Let’s see major differences in between Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree.
| Bachelor of Arts | Bachelor of Science degree | |
| Definition | It is an undergraduate degree program which is awarded to a student by college or university who has completed academic program in arts stream. | It is an undergraduate degree program which is awarded to a student by college or university who has completed academic program in science stream. |
| Knowledge | BA degree focuses more on theoretical knowledge on concerned subject. | Whereas BSc degree focuses more on practical applications on concerned subject. |
| Minimum Qualification | 12th pass | 12th pass |
| Time duration | Last for three years | Last for three years |
| Popular degree | Most popular BA degrees in India are in the fields of law, literature and mass communication etc. | Whereas most popular BSc degrees in India are in the field of biochemistry, physics, microbiology, biotechnology, forensic science and mathematics etc. |
| Scope | The huge scope of BA is in civil services, financial services, defence, banking and BPO sector. | Whereas scope of BSc is in nursing, lab assistant, researcher, Information Technology and even technical writer as well etc and many more. |
| Salary | The average salary of BA degree holder is 4 lakhs per year. | The average salary of BSc degree holder is around 6 lakhs per year. |
To summarize the above work, we can conclude that BA degree will concentrate more on developing communication; analytical and writing skills whereas BSc degree will focus more on assisting you see things according to practical point of view. Before you select any one of the bachelor degree programme, just ask yourself first do you prefer to read books more in a day and become a master or you would shape your practical skills and get more involved in research and lab work?
