Do Employers Prefer B.A. or B.S. Degrees?

Undergraduate college majors are typically offered under two degree options: a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.).

Generally, a B.A. focuses on humanities studies, while a B.S. is more rooted in math and science. But what other ways do the two degree types differ from one another? And how do employers view each?

US News recently explored key differentiating traits between B.A. and B.S. degrees and offered a few tips on how students can make the right decision.

AN EMPHASIS IN HUMANITIES VS. STEM

At many colleges, a B.A. degree emphasizes liberal arts topics such as philosophy, literature, history, social sciences, art, and foreign language study. While math and science courses are also included in many B.A. curricula, the emphasis is much less when compared a B.S. program.

Some colleges have majors offered in both B.A. and B.S. paths. The University of Colorado Boulder, for instance, allows students majoring in computer science to choose between the two paths. A student in the B.S. computer science path may be more interested in becoming an engineer post grad, while a student in the B.A. path on the other hand may want to pursue web design.

WHAT EMPLOYERS THINK

Both the B.A. and B.S. degree options offer value to employers and most don’t have a strong preference as long as applicants can demonstrate what they’ve learned in their studies.

“It’s really about skills,” James W.C. White, dean of arts and sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says. “I think, increasingly so, what employers are looking for is critical reasoning, really first-rate communication skills – oral and writing – and they don’t really care that much how you acquire them.”

CU Boulder, which offers both B.A. and B.S. computer science degrees, specifically notes that “demand for graduates with computer science skills is so high that employers are not making a distinction” between B.A. and B.S. degrees in the field, and that technology jobs will have substantial demand for years to come.

At the end of the day, choosing the right degree option is a personal choice and one that’s dependent on your career goals and interests.

“I think students are best advised to look at the overall quality and content of the curriculum offered by an institution more so than the degree awarded,” Kristi Wold-McCormick, assistant vice provost and university registrar at CU Boulder, says. “Neither the BA or BS should be viewed as superior to the other. Rather, they should be viewed as … comparable or equal in quality with a slightly different focus based on curricular requirements and the student’s academic experience.”

Sources: US News, University of Colorado Boulder

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