BA versus BS

[cookderosa]

Many schools don't offer both, so you may not have a choice. TESC awards BAs for everything except business, applied tech, or nursing. Penn State's global/world campus allows you to choose if you're getting a degree in psychology. The BA requires a foreign language credit that the BS does not. Harvard extension, for example, awards everyone the same degree ALB (backwards because it's Latin) which is a Bachelor of Liberal Arts (in Extension Studies) no matter your major. Pick the school, don't worry about BA/BS unless you have a choice, then choose the one that serves your career.

[sanantone]

This could make for some pretty humerous degree titles haha

Bachelor of Science in Art Appreciation
Bachelor of Arts in Biology
Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science
....the ironic titles could go on forever, I'm sure...

TESC already offers a BA in computer science, mathematics, biology, and natural science/mathematics. All that's left is to see a BS in something like art or literature. I would love to see that!

[dcan]

Actually, mathematics is a so-called "liberal art" not a science as many people mistakenly believe, so a BA in math is completely appropriate. Also, for what its worth TESC's BA comp sci degree requires two levels of calculus and either discrete math or linear algebra. Compare that to Troy State's BS comp sci ("applied cs") that only requires "business calculus" yet is rather highly regarded in the military as a CS degree. TESC has a more rigorous degree (mathematically, at least) but almost nobody in the military has heard of it.

BTW TESC will put 3 credits of math in the natural science block, go figure.

[sanantone]

Actually, mathematics is a so-called "liberal art" not a science as many people mistakenly believe, so a BA in math is completely appropriate. Also, for what its worth TESC's BA comp sci degree requires two levels of calculus and either discrete math or linear algebra. Compare that to Troy State's BS comp sci ("applied cs") that only requires "business calculus" yet is rather highly regarded in the military as a CS degree. TESC has a more rigorous degree (mathematically, at least) but almost nobody in the military has heard of it.

BTW TESC will put 3 credits of math in the natural science block, go figure.

The natural sciences are liberal arts too. Within liberal arts you have humanities, social sciences, mathematics, and natural science. If I had to split the liberal arts into two groups, I would link mathematics with the natural sciences just by the way they operate even though some of the social sciences can be quite scientific. The humanities aren't scientific and the social sciences aren't considered hard sciences because they have to deal with the variable and less predictable human behavior factor. TESC's BA in computer science is probably appropriately labeled just by the sheer number of general education requirements and free electives. Computer science is also quite theoretical.

The liberal arts are the classical subjects that have been studied for thousands of years and are rooted in philosophy. They are considered essential for any higher education program (gen ed). The liberal arts are also highly theoretical as opposed to applied like information technology, business, and engineering. Then, there are the applied arts like criminal justice and social work. They are rooted in the social sciences, but they are more concerned about application than theory and experimentation.