I have noticed that some universities offer a BA degree for economics while others offer a BS. Could someone explain the pros and cons of choosing one over the other? What will be the consequences in opting for a BA or a BS in terms of future employment prospects? Do American companies have a preference between BA or BS in Economics?
Some universities only give a BA (or an A.B), that’s how their Bachelor’s degree is called. At some universities, you ge either a BA or a BS, with the BA containing more foreign language classes and more free electives in case you want to add a minor (which could be in statistics, business, international studies, or anything of interest) and a BS contains more math. Sometimes you don’t have a choice, for instance International Business is a BA (because you must have extensive foreign language knowledge and study/intern abroad) and Finance is a BS (because it requires a lot of math).
It doesn’t make a difference whether you got a BA or a BS, what matters is grades, senior classes chosen, internships, leadership…
@MYOS1634: Great post. Very informative.
If I may, I would like to place additional emphasis on the word “internships” in your last line.
@MYOS1634: Great post. Very informative.
If I may, I would like to place additional emphasis on the word “internships” in your last line.
If the BA and BS are at different schools, the degree title is not relevant; specific differences in degree requirements can be relevant.
If the BA and BS are within the same school, the differences in degree requirements depend on the school. In some schools, they may be general education differences only; in others, there may be different major requirements for the BA and BS version of the major. Occasionally, they may not really be the same major; at UPenn, the BS is really a business major, while the BA is a more traditional (but math heavy) liberal arts economics major.
Agree with the above. The classes you take for you degree are more important than the name of the degree. You can look online at the requirements for Economics degrees at different colleges you are considering.