ABachelor of Arts(abbreviatedB.A.,BA,A.B.orAB;from theLatinbaccalaureus artium,baccalaureus in artibus,orartium baccalaureus) is abachelor's degreeawarded for anundergraduateprogram in theliberal arts,[1]or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years, depending on the country and institution.
- Degree attainment typically takes five or more years inArgentina, Brazil, and Chile.
- Degree attainment typically takes four years in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada (except Quebec), China, Egypt, Finland, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia,Scotland,Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United States, and Zambia.[2]
- Degree attainment typically takes three years in Albania, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, theCaribbean,Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Israel,[3]Italy, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, theCanadian provinceofQuebec,South Africa (certain degrees), Switzerland, the United Kingdom (except Scotland), and most of theEuropean Union.In Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Russia, three-year BA (associates) courses are also available.[4]A three-year bachelor's degree usually does not qualify the holder for admission to graduate programs in other countries where four-year bachelor's degrees are the standard prerequisite.[5]
 A Bachelor of Arts degree fromNorthwestern University | |
| Acronym | BA AB |
|---|---|
| Type | Bachelor's degree |
| Duration | Three or four years in most countries |
Definition
editThe Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree is an undergraduate postsecondary degree that puts a focus onliberal artsand studies.[6]In comparison, a Bachelor of Science (BS) has a greater focus on science, math, and engineering. The Bachelor of Arts degree is a type ofbaccalaureate degree.[7][8]A Bachelor of Arts degree is usually completed in four years: that is, it requires four years of full-time coursework during term time. However, just as with other degrees, some may require a longer time period. This is due to factors such as the student's ability, motivation, and access to financial assistance to earn the degree. Just like other baccalaureate degrees, a Bachelor of Arts is historically offered only at public and private universities and colleges.[6][9][10]A Bachelor of Arts, just like other bachelor's degrees, is an admission requirement for graduate and professional school. Beginning in the 1990s, junior colleges started to confer their own baccalaureate degrees. In addition to the standard BA degrees, there are career-specific Bachelor of Arts degrees, includingBachelor of Arts in Functional English,Bachelor of Arts in Administration,Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies,andRegents Bachelor of Arts.[8]
History
editThe Bachelor of Arts degree has been prominent in academics for centuries. It influenceduniversitiesto begin focusing on broad topics such asalgebra,psychology,biology,art,history,andphilosophy.
This aspect of the BA degree has been consistent in its history. The Bachelor of Arts degree was formed out of the study ofliberal arts.[6][7]Liberal artis a term that was applied to the study of many branches of learning such asgrammar,logic,rhetoric,arithmetic,geometry,astronomy,andmusic.[7]The study of liberal arts started during theMiddle Ages.During theRenaissance,the termliberalartwas meant to describe general studies more broadly.[6][7]This definition of liberal studies remains to this day.
In Japan and the United States, Bachelor of Arts degrees were historically given only by public or private institutions and colleges.[6][10]
Degrees in Europe
editGermany
editIn Germany, university-level education usually happens in either aUniversität(plural:Universitäten) or aFachhochschule(plural:Fachhochschulen); both can be referred to as aHochschule,which is the generic term in Germany for all institutions awarding academic degrees.Fachhochschuleis often translated as "University of Applied Sciences".Universitätenplace greater emphasis on fundamental science and background in theory, whileFachhochschulenare generally designed with a focus on teaching professional skills. Degrees earned atUniversitätenandFachhochschulenare legally equivalent.
In Germany, the BA course normally lasts between three and three and a half years—six or seven semesters—and the degree is awarded after the student earns between 180 and 210ECTS.
Netherlands
editIn the Netherlands, the BA and Master of Arts (MA) degrees were introduced in 2002. Until then, a single program led to thedoctorandusdegree (abbreviated drs.), which comprised the same course load as the bachelor's and master's programs combined. The titledoctoranduswas used in almost all fields of study; other titles were used for legal studies (meester,Dutch for master, abbreviatedMr.) and engineering (ingenieur,abbreviated ir. for academic masters level or ing. for higher vocational bachelors level). Those who had already started thedoctorandusprogram could, on completing it, opt for thedoctorandusdegree (entitling them to use "drs." in front of their name) or could use the master's degree (postnominal letters) in accordance with the new standard. When attaining a master level/graduate degree, it is still customary to use either drs. pre-nominally or MA/MSc post-nominally at the discretion of the holder.
United Kingdom and Ireland
editIn the United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) and Ireland, the first degree course normally lasts three years, but nomenclature varies: 19th-century and later universities usually distinguish between arts and sciences subjects by awarding either a BA or BSc degree. However, some older orancient universities,such asOxford,Cambridge,[citation needed]andTrinity College Dublintraditionally award BAs to undergraduates having completed the final examinations, e.g., Part IITripos(Cambridge), Final Honour Schools (Oxford), Moderatorship (Dublin), in most subjects including the sciences. Some newplate glass universitiesestablished in the 1960s, such asYorkandLancaster,originally followed the practice of Oxford and Cambridge by awarding BAs in all subjects, but have since changed to awarding BSc degrees in science subjects. At Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin the degree ofMAcan be claimed, usually twenty-one terms aftermatriculation,without any further study. For many centuries, the bachelor's degree was an intermediate step and was awarded for much of the work carried out in later times at secondary schools. The names of the final secondary school exams in France and Spain (and increasingly in the UK—theInternational Baccalaureate) come from this:leBaccalauréatandel Bachillerato,respectively.
Theancient universities of Scotlandaward aMaster of Artsdegree to humanities or arts graduates, but a BSc to science graduates. This course takes four years for an honours degree and three for an ordinary. In Scotland, one can opt to take an ordinary degree, which ranks below a third class honours degree (for example, BA with distinction, merit or pass).
A Bachelor of Arts is entitled to thepost-nominal lettersBA for an ordinary or pass degree and BA (Hons) for an honours degree. Students who completed an honours BA sometimes style themselves by '(Hon)' or '(Hons)' after the degree abbreviation in parentheses. An honours degree is always awarded in one of four classes, depending upon the marks gained in the final assessments and examinations.The top students are awarded a first-class degree, followed by an upper second-class degree (usually referred to as a 2:1), a lower second-class degree (usually referred to as a 2:2), and those with the lowest marks gain a third-class degree. An ordinary or unclassified degree (which does not give the graduate the right to add '(Hons)') may be awarded if a student has completed the full honours degree course but has not reached the overall standard sufficient to merit a third-class honours degree.
Degrees in North America
editCanada
editEducation in Canada is controlled by theprovincesand can be very different depending on the province. While all Canadian universities offer four-year degrees, it is not uncommon, depending on the province and the university for a three-year general degree to also be offered as an option. In many universities and colleges, Bachelor of Arts degrees are differentiated either as BA or as honours BA degrees. Honours programs require more education than non-honours programs, typically a specialization beyond the requirements of a BA, and can often be used as a gateway to a Ph.D. program, bypassing a master's degree.[citation needed]
United States
editAlong with theBachelor of Science(B.S.), the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) is the most commonly granted degree in the US. A B.A.[6]degree is earned after the completion of four years ofundergraduatecollege level study. The Bachelor of Science is abbreviated with periods i.e., B.S., and the Bachelor of Arts is abbreviated as B.A.[11][12]Most US colleges and universities offer undergraduate programs.[citation needed]
Degrees in other countries
editAustralia, Nepal, New Zealand, and South Africa
edit
In colleges and universities in Australia, Nepal, New Zealand, and South Africa, the BA degree can be taken over three years of full-time study.[13]Students must pursue at least onemajorarea of study and units from that subject are usually studied in each year, though sometimes students may choose to complete upper-level classes in the same year and as a result, can leave space for elective subjects from a different field. At some universities, students may choose to pursue a second major; alternatively, the remainder of the degree is taken up with a minor area of study (in the first two years) and other individual or stream-based subjects. Honours is an additional year of study after the BA degree, that combines aspects of undergraduate study with those of postgraduate research. Entry to the honours program is usually highly selective.[citation needed]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^"Understand the Difference Between a BA and BS Degree".US News and World Report.23 October 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 23 July 2021.Retrieved19 August2023.
- ^"FAST-US-5 United States Education Reference File".Archivedfrom the original on 22 December 2008.Retrieved19 August2008.
- ^"BA Business Administration – RRIS – IDC Herzliya".www.idc.ac.il.Archivedfrom the original on 22 November 2021.Retrieved4 June2021.
- ^"Degree (Pass) prospectus"(PDF).National University, Bangladesh(in Bengali).Archived(PDF)from the original on 22 November 2018.
- ^See for examplehttps://grad.ucla.edu/admissions/research-requirements/
- ^abcdef"Degree, Academic."Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia,Jan. 2018.EBSCOhost Database.Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^abcd"Liberal arts."The Columbia Encyclopedia.Credo Reference Database. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^abFloyd, Deborah L.; Ramdin, Gianna; Salinas, Cristobal (2020),"Baccalaureate",The SAGE Encyclopedia of Higher Education,Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., pp. 153–156,doi:10.4135/9781529714395,ISBN9781473942912,S2CID219813700,archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2022,retrieved2 April2022
- ^Bachelor of Arts. (2014). In Collins Dictionaries (Ed.),Collins English Dictionary(12th ed.). Collins. Credo Reference Database
- ^abEby, Gulsun; Danver, Steven L. (2016), "Bachelor's Degree Programs",The SAGE Encyclopedia of Online Education,Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., pp. 131–133,doi:10.4135/9781483318332,ISBN9781483318356
- ^"University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Communication and Marketing: Grammar: Degrees and Dates: Academic degrees".www.ualr.edu.Archivedfrom the original on 21 June 2023.Retrieved21 June2023.
- ^"Western Michigan University, Writing Style, Academic Degrees".www.wmich.edu.9 November 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 21 June 2023.Retrieved21 June2023.
- ^"Bachelor of Arts degrees".Australian National University.Archived fromthe originalon 1 April 2010.