Bachelor Degree Growing In Scope, Narrowing In Focus
Most college students spend roughly four years pursuing the most popular college degree - the bachelors degree. The most popular form of this degree is the Bachelor of Arts, however, there are plenty of disciplines that award the Bachelor of Science degree. The bachelors degree can be the beginning of one's collegiate career or it can be the degree where a college sends a student out into the world.
The Bachelor of Arts degree is the oldest form of a collegiate degree. Throughout the years these degrees have been conferred to students who completed four years of study in a liberal arts environment. In recent years there has been a trend away from the completion of four years of study to a credit hour requirement. More students are completing Bachelor of Arts degrees in three years due to the abundance of Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. Most non-scientific courses award the Bachelor of Arts degrees. Typically English Majors, History Majors, Philosophy Majors and other majors in these types of areas are awarded Bachelor of Arts degree upon completion.
A degree with increasing popularity and prominence in the workplace is the Bachelor of Science degree. In a world of increasing technological capabilities there is a need for more students to be trained in these areas. The B.S. degree is awarded for courses of study that are primarily scientific or mathematic. Students who have ambitions of becoming doctors would arrive at medical school with a B.S. Fields such as computer engineering, computer science, physics, and chemistry are all majors which can earn a B.S. As with the B.A., AP and IB credits can defray some of the credit requirements that a college would ask.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts is a degree program that primarily is housed in the United States. The difference between this program and the Bachelor of Arts program is that there is a more prominent studio component. Some schools, such as Boston University, have completely separated the Fine Arts department from the College of Arts and Sciences. Computers also play a role in the B.F.A. because of the necessity for graphic designers. Usually, two-thirds of a student's time in a B.F.A. program is spent working in a studio as opposed to the lecture and discussion of a B.A. program.
In some schools and conservatories, there exists a degree known as the Bachelor's of Music. This is not a new phenomenon; in fact B.M.'s have been awarded since the 17th century. New additions to the Bachelor's of Music include degree programs in music technology and the music business. In order to receive a degree from these programs there is often a performance component. These programs usually last in the United States for about three and a half to four years.
Many students who receive bachelors degrees and aspire to graduate school find themselves looking to make Dean's list and achieve Latin honors on a degree. The simplest note of Latin honors is the phrase cum laude which simply translates to "with honor". The other forms of Latin honors are the phrases magna cum laude and summa cum laude. These phrases translate to "with great honor" and "with highest honor". Some colleges will confer an honor of maxima cum laude which means "with very great praise" so that they may reserve the summa cum laude designation for those achievers whose GPA upon graduation is a 4.0.
Two courses in high school that are gaining prominence and affecting the role of the bachelors degree are Advanced Placement courses (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. These courses are considered college level academics and usually involve a specific study (i.e., AP Psychology). If a student scores a certain percentage on a test, colleges are inclined to waive some requirements for that student. Often if students have accumulated enough AP or IB credits they'll find their stay in college to be less than four years with some even graduating in two and a half years.
The ever-changing nature of the traditional and online bachelor degree and the prominence held is a tribute to the versatility of the world of education. Students are now leaving college with on-campus and online degrees having received a well-rounded yet highly specialized piece of sheepskin.