Bachelor of Arts Vs. Liberal Arts

The Basics

When you start college, there’s pressure to decide your major. More broadly, you must also decide the type of degree. Among those options are a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts.

The question is, what’s the difference between the two?

As you will discover in this guide, these degrees have many similarities. But many more differences make them unique. Specifically, the type of coursework and the career opportunities you have after graduation are different. Let’s explore these and other differences in more detail!

One of the biggest differences between a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a BA in Liberal Arts is the focus of the degree program. A Bachelor of Arts program comes with a specialization attached – psychology, education, and communications are just three examples. A Liberal Arts programs lacks that singular focus. Instead, the focus is much broader, often encompassing two or three (or more) fields of study.

In a Bachelor of Arts program, the first two years of your studies are usually spent fulfilling general education requirements. These courses, which typically include math, science, humanities, and English, are required of all undergraduate students. Then, the final two years of a Bachelor of Arts program are spent focused on your major.

But in a Liberal Arts program, the final two years of studies are not unlike the first two years – extremely diverse and broad-based. The primary difference is that your final two years of liberal arts studies are in higher-level courses – 3000-level and above – whereas the first two years are in introductory-level courses.

Differences in Coursework

Let’s explore the differences in coursework between these degrees a little more closely.

Assuming you are pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree, say, in psychology, your upper-level coursework will look very different from the typical coursework in a BA in Liberal Arts program. For example, your junior and senior years of college might include courses in Experimental Psychology, the Psychology of Learning, and Cognitive Psychology. Likewise, you might take classes in Psychological Statistics, History and Systems of Psychology, and Abnormal Psychology.

Contrast that with the broad spectrum of courses you might take as a junior or senior in a BA in Liberal Arts program. Your coursework might look like the following:

English Literature
Philosophy of the Mind
Principles of Marketing
Logic
Economic Sociology

Let’s use another example to illustrate this point further. Let’s assume you are in a Bachelor of Arts program in business administration. Your program of study would focus on business topics, such as microeconomics, supply chain management, and human resources. In fact, the bulk of the courses in your junior and senior years would be in business, marketing, management, and other closely related fields.

But, again, as a liberal arts major, your upper-level coursework would explore multiple fields. Let’s say you are interested in business, communications, and computer science. Your liberal arts degree might include upper-level courses like the following:

Business Ethics
Entrepreneurship
Visual Storytelling
Media and Society
Computer Programming
UX Design

As you can see, the sample courses in the Liberal Arts curriculum examples above touch on multiple fields of study. In most cases, you get to choose the fields you concentrate on; in other cases, the curriculum is designed to be inclusive of many different subjects.

Differences in Career Opportunities

As noted earlier, a Bachelor of Arts has a specific focus, whereas a Liberal Arts degree is broad-based. Because of this difference, the careers you pursue after graduation are different, too.

Let’s go back to the psychology example used earlier. With a BA in psychology, you might work in a community mental health clinic as a case manager or for a government agency like the Department of Family Services. These careers relate directly to the specialty of psychology. Likewise, if you complete a BA in Business Administration, your job opportunities will be in that specific field – management, marketing, or human resources, to name just a few examples.

Though a BA degree can lead to broad career opportunities, they aren’t as broad as what’s available with a BA in Liberal Arts. This goes back to the differences in coursework – since a Liberal Arts degree is so broad, in theory, it prepares you for many more potential careers in a greater number of specialties.

Using the business, communications, and computer science Liberal Arts example from earlier, you might find opportunities after graduation like the following:

Human Resources Specialist, where you use your business skills to support and advocate for workers in a business environment.
Junior Editor, where you use your communications skills to craft well-written, engaging content for newsletters, blogs, or social media.
Web designer, where you use your computer science training to develop websites that are easy to use and aesthetically pleasing.

Not only are the career opportunities in this example far more diverse, but the skills you use in each example are also quite diverse. This demonstrates the value of a Liberal Arts degree if you can’t decide what career you want to pursue. Instead of having a narrower set of skills as you would in a typical BA program (e.g., accounting or English), you can draw on varied skills that are applicable to a greater number of careers.

Again, this isn’t to take away from the value of a traditional BA degree program. If you are sure what you want to do with your life, a BA in a specific field is a great way to advance your knowledge and understanding and prepare you for your desired career path.

Is It Better to have a BS or BA?

By and large, BS and BA degrees are equally valuable. The primary difference between the two is that BS degrees usually require more science and math courses. BA degrees often have a more stringent requirement for learning a second language. They might also require fewer major-area courses and give you a little more freedom to explore electives.

Where one might be better than the other is in how you intend to apply your degree. For example, if you intend to work in a technical field, like biophysics, a BS degree would be better preparation, given the greater focus on science and math courses.

However, if you envision yourself working in a humanities field like art education, the added science and math requirements of a BS might not be worth it. Instead, a BA track would be more appropriate and allow you more freedom to take the art-related courses you wish to take.

Which degree is better can come into play if you wish to go to graduate school, too. In some cases, technical master’s degrees, like Nursing, might require you to have a BS degree. In others, like Communications, a BA degree might be preferable to prepare you for graduate-level work.

Ultimately, though, these differences are minor and don’t necessarily constitute a BS or BA being better than the other. In fact, many colleges and universities offer BS and BA options in the same fields of study. Psychology and computer science are prime examples of this, and either option sets you up for success in an entry-level career or graduate studies.

Do Employers Prefer BS over BA?

Generally speaking, employers have little to no preference for a BS or BA. What employers are interested in is your academic performance in college, the specific courses you took, and the usable skills you possess. Likewise, employers want a candidate that’s qualified, competent, and can help their organization achieve its goals.

Having said that, some employers might have a preference depending on the type of position they wish to fill. Let’s use computer science as an example. If the open position is for a computer programmer – a technical position that requires you to have high-level computer science skills – a BS might be preferred.

However, let’s now assume that the open position is for a web designer. In this case, an employer might prefer a candidate with a BA, given that it’s a creative position that requires less technical skills and more broad-based skills in computer science, graphic design, communications, and so forth. Typically, BA programs are more aligned with the development of these types of skills.

Though these are fairly specific examples, the same generally holds true for positions of all types. Most employers could care less what degree you have so long as you have the knowledge and skills they are looking for.

Does a BA or BS Make More Money?

The salary you earn with a bachelor’s degree depends more on the field of work than the type of undergraduate degree you have. Whether you have a BS or a BA, there are potential careers that pay very, very well. At the same time, there are potential careers that don’t pay so well, either.

There are other factors that affect your salary more than the type of degree. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

Your level of experience
Your level of training (e.g., advanced studies, certifications, licensure, etc.)
The geographic location in which you work
Your on-the-job performance
Affiliations with professional associations

At the end of the day, having a bachelor’s degree of any kind is good for your bottom line. With a BS or a BA, you stand to earn hundreds of thousands more dollars over the course of your working life than someone with a high school diploma. So, whether you get a BA, a BS, or another kind of undergraduate degree, your financial future will be much brighter!

Bachelor of Arts Vs. Liberal Arts - Key Differences [2024] (2024)

The Basics