The B.A. and B.S. Degrees

~ The Sociology Program at Missouri State ~

B.A. - Bachelor of Arts
B.S. - Bachelor of Science

What's the difference? A B.A. degree requires that the student take at least twelve (12) hours of a foreign language beyond the two introductory courses (a total of 18 hours), six hours of fine arts, three hours of philosophy, and six hours of western civilization courses. You and your advisor can make a judgment call on whether you will be better off with a B.A. or a B.S. degree.

The B.S. degree has no requirement for a language or for the philosophy, fine arts, or western civilization courses. Regardless of which degree you pursue, you should still be able to complete your studies at Missouri State within the 125 hour minimum requirement.

Here are some links you can use to learn more about the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree and the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree at Missouri State. As you may know, Missouri State offers a wide variety of academic Undergraduate Degrees. Click here to see all the majors and minors you have to choose from if you are a B.S. students. Or click here to see all the majors and minors you have to choose from if you are a B.A. student.

Both of these degrees are described more fully in the Missouri State Undergraduate Catalog. You can get a free copy of the Catalog in the Admissions Office, located on the second floor of Carrington Hall on the Springfield campus. Once you have a copy of the Catalog, look under the section entitled "Undergraduate Degrees and Requirements."

The choice of degree is up to you. If there is an advantage to the Bachelor of Arts degree it would be that it helps a student develop some facility with a foreign language. If you were to choose to take Spanish, for example, this may strengthen efforts to gain employment in areas with a large Hispanic population (primarily in the "sunbelt" of the U.S. - Arizona, New Mexico, southern California, etc.). In addition, students with an understanding of the fine arts, western civilization and philosophy may be better prepared for ANY career, if not for a greater appreciation of the finer things available in this life.

Depending upon which degree you pursue (B.A. or B.S.), a given number of academic Majors are available. You will find a listing of these in the Missouri State Undergraduate Catalog under the section entitled "Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements" and "Bachelor of Science Degree Requirements." Please read over the list prior to an advisement session with me so you become familiar with opportunities available to you.

To visit the department web page for any of these Majors, just click on the Major below that you want to learn more about. When you get to that department’s web page you may find it interesting to explore all the sites they make available (career opportunities with that Major, the faculty, related student organizations, special programs and events, etc.).