The students must choose a better college degree course. It also becomes vital for candidates who are fresh out o high school.
The initial college degree sets the tone for a candidate’s career path. Choosing the right one from thousands of degree courses requires thoughtful support and guidance.
There are many primarily undergraduate degree courses. The most common and prominent degrees available in the colleges are Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Key Takeaways
- BA (Bachelor of Arts) degrees are focused on humanities, social sciences, and liberal arts subjects, emphasizing critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills.
- BS (Bachelor of Science) degrees concentrate on scientific, technical, and mathematical disciplines, providing in-depth knowledge and practical skills in these fields.
- The main difference between BA and BS degrees is the subject matter and educational approach, with BA degrees offering a broad education in arts and humanities. In contrast, BS degrees provide specialized training in sciences and technical disciplines.
B.A. vs B.S.
B.A. stands for Bachelor of Arts and is awarded for completing a program in the liberal arts or social sciences. B.S. stands for Bachelor of Science and is awarded for completing a program in a scientific or technical field. While B.A. predominantly focuses on humanities and arts as the course study while B.S. has mathematics and science in the course structure.

Choosing a B.A. or B.S. entirely depends on the type of career path a student chooses to take. Both have separate career tracks that the students will be set in.
Comparison Table
Parameter of Comparison | B.A | B.S. |
---|---|---|
Focus | Bachelor of Arts focuses predominantly on Humanities and Arts. | Bachelor of Science focuses predominantly on technical subjects. |
Course duration | The bachelor of Arts can be completed within 3 to 4 years, depending on the country of choice. There are countries where you can do the course for 3 years, while there are 4 years courses in certain other countries. | Bachelor of Science is a 3 to 5-year course worldwide, though called by different terminologies. |
Focus on Subjects | The students will take many liberal arts subjects there and have a chance to mold their interest in studies. | The students have to undergo high-level mathematics and science to complete their courses. |
Nature of Course Work | B.A. is quite flexible as the students can choose from the broad array of subjects available to fulfil the credits for the course. They can also choose based on their interest patterns. | B.S. is rigid. The coursework is curtailed for any outside options of choosing any other subjects. It is required of the student to study all the subjects that are involved in the course curriculum to come out victorious. |
Learning Pattern | Mostly theoretical, based on the subject chosen as a major. | B.S. involves theory and practical application of the subjects learned in the laboratories in the college. |
What is B.A.?
B.A. is a bachelor’s degree offered to a student through an undergraduate program in the field of arts and sciences. Bachelor of Arts degree courses can take up to 3 to 4 years.
The courses offered under B.A. are Philosophy, Economics, Political Science, History, Psychology, Anthropology, Library Science, Archaeology, and Education. The students also have a few elective subjects along with the chosen specialization in the degree course. The students have the flexibility to choose their subjects to earn their credits. The students require fewer credits that are linked to their primary subject.
B.A. offers every student a choice to select their subjects apart from the major to earn these credits. This can be based on interest and, at times, on the context of completing the course with good scores.
The students can customize their education pattern by selecting the subjects of their choice. This builds a wide area of opportunities for them to build their career.
A Bachelor of Arts is a degree designed to offer very broad-based skills to students. B.A. requires less hard work to earn a degree. The evaluation pattern in B.A. is thorough examination and evaluation.
The students are expected to get minimum passing marks to get the degree.

What is B.S.?
B.S. is a bachelor’s degree offered to a student through an undergraduate program in Science and Technology. Bachelor of Science degree courses can take up to 3 to 5 years.
Courses offered under B.S. contain technical subjects, with mathematics and science as the course’s central parts. The students must study all subjects equally to get good credits during the course.
The students have the flexibility to choose their specialization in B.S. However, the subjects allied with the chosen branch cannot be customized.
The course curriculum of B.S. is rigid, and the students do not have the option to choose subjects from outside. B.S. builds a solid foundation to act and be an engineer.
Bachelor of Science is designed to offer students thorough technical knowledge in their chosen field of interest. B.S. requires higher credits to earn a degree at the college.
Students who pursue B.S. have many options to step into the technical research field. The career path will be on the technical side.
B.S. involves theoretical and practical subjects to understand the chosen field better. The evaluation pattern as examination also happens theoretical as well as practical implementation.

Main Differences Between B.A. and B.S.
- The significant difference between B.A. and B.S. is. A Bachelor of Arts is an undergraduate degree program in the field of arts and sciences. At the same time, a Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate degree program in technology.
- The duration to complete B.A. is between three to four years, whereas B.S. is between three to five years.
- The students have the maximum flexibility in earning the degree as they have choices open to select the subjects of their liberal art to earn their credits. A student doing the B.S. has no option to choose any subject of choice apart from the specialized area of study which would be chosen while joining college.
- B.A. involves more of a theoretical study, while B.S. involves the study’s theoretical and practical application.
- B.A. requires one to show consistent, balanced performance in all the subjects chosen; however, B.S. requires a student to master every subject that comes his way.

- https://www.bachelorsportal.com/countries/degrees/538214413/bachelor-of-science-in-united-states.html
- https://www.bachelorstudies.com/Bachelor/Arts/USA/

Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.