<p>What is the difference?? Besides one is more math and analysis oriented. Does one have a higher job outlook than the other? Or is a BA just more flexible than a BS in ECON?</p>
<p>I have a BA in Economics. IIRC, a BS required 16 semester hours (5+5+3+3) of a foreign language whereas the BA only required 13. There might also have been one more required science course. My degree was through the College of Arts & Sciences. One could also get an Economics degree though the College of Business Administration (but I don't recall whether that was a BA or BS). My Economics advisor steered me to the A&S route. If I had to do it again, I would have gone the other way. Some of the required and elective Business classes would have been helpful (and some wouldn't), I really sucked at foreign languages (BAD story there), and even though I went to grad school in Economics, I didn't like it (and dropped out after a year), so there was no need for the foreign language (which would have mattered if I had pursued a PhD).</p>
<p>I bet many students in a BA program end up taking what students in a BS program take. Perhaps there is an extra class or two required in advanced economics or mathematics for the BS, but a lot of BA students are going to surpass their minimum requirements. Also, someone in a program that grants BS degrees could probably take a few extra classes in a different field. The difference, it seems, is primarily administrative, although it varies from school to school.</p>