<p>can anyone tell me the difference between B.S. and B.A.?</p>
<p>please reply! thank you!</p>
<p>B.S. degrees usually require a much more rigorous departmental curriculum than than the counterpart B.A. degree at most colleges, but this varies from school to school. Often times, if you go to X University's Department of Y Undergraduate section, they will list the difference in graduation requirements for the B.S. and B.A. degrees, and the B.S. usually is a heavier load, often with independent work or research involved.</p>
<p>Actually BA and BS are merely differences in the faculty in which different subject matter, and hence majors, fall under. Some majors may fall under one or both, such as math, psychology, economics, design, depending on the university in question. But they are not different in rigor: what degree you get depends on your major and where it falls in a particular university.</p>
<p>The 'rigor' depends on your strengths as a student. A Bachelor of Science may have more hours in the lab, or you may have to take advanced math and it may sound more rigorous (also for some immigrant groups, of which I'm one, often families think "science" has prestige but "arts" does not). But it also might require a ton of memorization and 'right' answer thinking, which you are good at. In contrast, a Bachelor of Arts might mean having to read and write essays on 12 novels during the year, or require you to take philosophy, master another language, or take advanced economics (maybe those are not the courses that are your strong points, you don't like the ambiguity involved, or you may not like how hard it is to get a tippy-top grade in such courses).</p>
<p>This is why I said * counterpart * B.A. degree, because in departments where there is no counterpart (there is only B.A.), none of what I said really applies. Besides, you really only have B.S. degrees in the natural sciences, applied sciences, mathematics, and psychology.</p>
<p>Ah I missed that word, sorry. </p>
<p>Even regarding the counterparts, I would not say the difference is one of rigor, but one of focus (e.g. a BSc in psych requires different courses and is aimed at different subareas than a BA in Psych). Moreover, if it's the sames ubject between two schools, it's not clear there are differences (e.g. a BS in Design at school X vs BA in Design at school Y or BID at school Z). </p>
<p>Having said all that, I think tho the OP is asking something more basic than we are talking about.</p>
<p>the REAL question is what on earth is the difference between BA and AB</p>
<p>There is no difference. They are both undergraduate degrees. </p>
<p>At one point in history there was a difference, however, this is no longer true. </p>
<p>Your college or university will award you a BA or a BS depending on how they align departments. Typically the humanities, languages, and arts will receive BAs and the social sciences and natural sciences will receive BSs.</p>
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the REAL question is what on earth is the difference between BA and AB
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<p>ilovebagels are you shadowing me in every thread where I post? :)</p>
<p>What is your beef with my alma mater? Let me ask you, why the heck does Penn's College of Veterinary Medicine use VMD instead of D.V.M? Does it matter?</p>
<p>Dearest tokyo, you know i love you baby. it's not about you. It's about Princeton, which I simply love to mock.</p>
<p>Such as the Philomathean Society resolution being drafted that proposes banning graduates of Princeton from public office (exhibits A and B being Woodrow Wilson and Donald Rumsfeld). It's all in good fun.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are other schools that give AB instead of BA. I didn't even think of Princeton when I was writing that. I have no idea why Penn would use VMD instead of DVM. These are the mysteries for which I seek enlightenment (as can only be delivered by a forum full of high-schoolers with anxiety disorders and some fossils from the class of nineteen ought-nine).</p>
<p>BA=AB
BSc=BS
BS=Sc.B=ScB=SB (if anyone uses the last one I dunno)</p>
<p>Now, BS =/= BA. However, they are both undergraduate degrees. Often, a BS has more requirements in the major, e.g. at Brown University, which grants ScB and AB for undergrads, the chemistry department (for example) says that the ScB is intended for entry-level technical work OR further graduate study in chemistry, while the AB provides " core education in the discipline" (i.e. chem is your MAJOR, meaning a traditional 10 courses or so required as part of a set of varied liberal arts courses).</p>
<p>However, some schools issue a BS as opposed to a BA simply because of the FIELD of study, but they are, in that case, equivalent.</p>