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A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B.) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences.-1... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ...

Contents

Duration

The BA generally lasts three years in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) and Australia or four years in the United States. Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country or nation and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ...


In Canada, most BA programs last four years, although Quebec universities offer a three-year degree after graduation from a provincial CEGEP programme. Some Canadian universities outside of Quebec offer three-year BA degrees, particularly in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, but these degrees are seen by prospective employers and graduate schools as being less prestigious than their four-year (honours degree) counterparts. This article describes the Canadian province. ... CÉGEP (Collège denseignement général et professionnel - College of General and Vocational Education, pronounced say-jep [fr/en] or see-jip [en]) is a type of educational institution in Quebec. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Splendour without diminishment) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Area 944,735 km² (5th)  - Land 925,186 km²  - Water 19,549 km² (2. ... Motto: Fortis et Liber (Strong and free) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ralph Klein (PC) Area 661,848 km² (6th)  - Land 642,317 km²  - Water 19,531 km² (2. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Area 1,076,395 km² (4th)  - Land 917,741 km²  - Water 158,654 km² (14. ...


Coursework

In the United States and Canada, a Bachelor of Arts degree usually requires a student to take a majority of their courses (usually 1/2 or 3/4) in the arts, namely social sciences, humanities, music, or fine arts. The curriculum of a traditional Bachelor of Arts degree is centered around providing a well-rounded, liberal arts education. The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Terms like SOSE (Studies of Society & the Environment) not only refer to social sciences but also studies of the environment. ... The humanities are a group of academic subjects united by a commitment to studying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming to define any discipline. ... Music is an art, entertainment, or other human activity which involves organized sound, though definitions may vary. ... The term fine art was first coined in 1767 in reference to the arts that were concerned with beauty or which appealed to taste (S.O.E.D 1991). ... In the history of education, the seven liberal arts comprise two groups of studies, the trivium and the quadrivium. ...


In the United States, colleges and universities often award Bachelor of Arts degrees even to those who pursue a majority of their coursework (i.e., major) in traditional, "hard" science fields such as biology and chemistry. This is particularly common at some prestigious American universities, such as Princeton University, and liberal arts colleges. Biology is the science of life (from the Greek words bios = life and logos = reasoned account). ... -1... Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. ... A liberal arts college is an institution of higher education found in the United States, offering programs in the liberal arts at the post-secondary level. ...


In the UK, usage varies: most universities maintain an Arts/Science distinction but some, e.g. Oxford and Cambridge traditionally awarded BAs (which automatically leads to an MA after 4 years) to undergraduates regardless of subject. Most of the Ancient universities of Scotland award an MA to arts undergraduates but a BSc to science undergraduates. The University of Oxford, situated in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest in the English-speaking world, after Oxford University. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... The Ancient universities in Scotland comprise: The University of St Andrews (founded 1413) The University of Glasgow (1451) The University of Aberdeen (1495) The University of Edinburgh (1583) Uniquely, the Ancient Universities award a Masters degree for Arts Undergraduate courses (known as Scottish MA); the degrees are equivalent to... A Scottish MA is the undergraduate academic degree in Humanities and Social Science faculties given at the four ancient universities and some of the newer universities in Scotland. ... BSC is an abbreviation for: Bachelor of Science - ususally written BSc (academic degree) Barcelona Supercomputing Center Base Station Controller (part of a GSM mobile phone network) BSC-protocol - standard for computer communication developed by IBM The British Society of Cinematographers Birmingham-Southern College - Birmingham-Southern College This is a disambiguation...


A Bachelor of Arts receives the designation BA or AB for a major/pass degree and BA(Hons) or AB(Hon) for an honours degree.


Difference between the BA and BS

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BS or BSc) are very similar, in that they are the most common of undergraduate degrees. In the United States and Canada, both degrees consist of a general education component (usually requiring matriculants to take courses in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics). They typically also require students to declare a major, take a certain number of elective courses, and sometimes have basic skills components (such as writing exams or computer proficiency exams). The humanities are a group of academic subjects united by a commitment to studying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming to define any discipline. ... Terms like SOSE (Studies of Society & the Environment) not only refer to social sciences but also studies of the environment. ... The term natural science as the way in which different fields of study are defined is determined as much by historical convention as by the present day meaning of the words. ... Mathematics, often abbreviated maths in Commonwealth English and math in American English, is the study of abstraction. ...


The BS typically requires more courses in the major than the BA. Also, the BS tends to be awarded significantly more often in the natural sciences than in the humanities. Finally, the BA is used four times as often by so-called "arts and sciences colleges" than professional/technical schools. Beyond these differences, the variation between the BA and the BS is dependent on the policies of the individual colleges and universities.


EU harmonisation

European Union members states' ministers of education have agreed on a harmonisation of the education cycles within the EU. One part of this agreement is the division into an undergraduate and a graduate level of higher education.


Following this so-called "Bologna/Berlin declaration" (see Bologna process for more information), universities in the EU are now in the process of reorganising their courses in order to offer Bachelor and Master degrees. Many universities have already changed to the bachelor/master model, and the others soon will. Subjects of the humanities and social studies can be completed with a BA at an increasing number of universities in Germany already, for example. This means EU countries are giving up their traditional magister or diploma courses to make switching and comparing universities easier. The purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by harmonising academic degree standards and quality assurance standards throughout Europe. ...


The reason for this rationalisation is because the English magister ("master") and baccalaureus ("bachelor") classifications developed separately from most European countries. For example the baccalaureus is gained at the end of secondary education in some countries. For a fuller explanation of why this is so see Degrees of Oxford University. This article concerns the Degrees of Oxford University. ...


The BA is supposed to last three/four years, the MA one/two years, but altogether no longer than five years.


See also:


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