I’m really confused. Can someone please explain the differences and career paths a person can take with either? Which is easier? What kind of person should get a BS and what kind of person should get a BA? Thanks a lottt.
^course description
I honestly don’t think it matters at all for a career path. If the extra courses in the BS sequence appeal to you, then go that route. If you’d like a little extra flexibility to take classes outside CS, then go the BA route.
It’s only like 2 extra CS courses and then 3 physics and more math??? thats why im confused lol
Yes, that’s really the only difference between a BS (bachelor of science) and a BA (bachelor of arts). A BS requires more science classes. It’s still a degree in CS either way and the difference between the two is negligible in terms of possible career paths.
A lot of job advertisements will be looking for people with quantitative skills, and they aren’t particular about the exact major – they want someone with a B.S. who has taken a strong core of math/science classes. This can include CS jobs but also data analytics and many others. If you go the B.A. route, you will not have the sufficient quantitative core that such employers are looking for. That said, if you want to pursue a foreign language for four years (or some minor) and you can only fit the courses in your schedule by getting the B.A. instead of the B.S., then that would be a valid reason to go that route. Otherwise, having the math/science core of a typical B.S. program will likely open more doors for you, and also give you a strong basis for admission to a lot of graduate degree programs that will expect and require those courses as pre-requisites. Most if not all CS graduate degree programs will look for math courses beyond Calculus I, for example.
@mommyrocks you didnt check the link right?
BA:
MATH 201 Calculus I 1
MATH 202 Calculus II 1
MATH 211 Calculus III 1
MATH 226 Probability and Statistics for Engineers 2 .5
MATH 241 Discrete Structures 5 1
I mean you were giving an example but i dont see how
PHYS 211 Classical and Modern Physics I 1
PHYS 212 Classical and Modern Physics II 1
PHYS 235 Applied Electronics 1
Science course 1
would help me more than taking electives.
bumpp
So the BS degree also has 2 required comp sci electives as well as theory of computation and applied electronics. I’d probably take the BS > BA if I had the choice just because there’s more opportunity to build skills.
Both the BA and the BS in computer science at Bucknell require the same math - three semesters of calculus and a semester of probability and statistics. The difference is two additional 300- or 400-level CS courses, two semesters of general physics and a semester of applied electronics.
@juillet and the theory of computation too
I’m leaning toward the BA now