Is A Bachelor Degree Right For Me?

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Looking For Bachelor Degree Info?

A bachelor’s degree is a four-year degree meaning it typically takes four years of full-time study to complete your bachelor’s degree. In these four years, you will complete 120 semester credits or around 40 college courses. If your college uses a quarter system rather than a semester system, you’ll need to complete a minimum of 180 quarter credits to earn an accredited bachelor’s degree.

A bachelor’s is a post-secondary undergraduate degree. Historically, the term “college degree” meant a bachelor’s or traditional four-year degree. Bachelor degrees are also sometimes called baccalaureate degrees. Regionally accredited liberal arts colleges award most of the bachelor degrees in the United States.

Liberal arts classes are required for all types of bachelor degrees.  In most cases, more than half of a bachelor’s degree consists of general education or liberal arts courses in areas such as English, critical thinking, psychology, history and mathematics.

 Typically only 30 to 36 credits—10 to 12 courses—will be in your major area of study. 

The bachelor’s degree remains the standard for entry into many professional careers. Getting a bachelor’s degree can be the ticket to a more promising career.

 In most cases, you cannot attend a professional graduate school in law, medicine, or teacher education unless you hold a bachelor’s degree. That means you will almost always need a bachelor’s before enrolling in a master’s program to open the door to even more career opportunities.

When You …

  • Know that a bachelor degree is required for your career

  • Have already earned more than 60 semester college credits or hold at least one associate degree.

  • Know that a graduate or professional degree will be required for your career

What Is A Bachelor Degree

Associate VS. Bachelor Degree

When To Seek A Bachelor's Degree

While a bachelor’s degree is a 4 year degree, the associate’s degree takes two years to complete. 

 A bachelor’s degree program aims to round out a student not only as a potential worker, but as a whole. It equips graduates with skills and knowledge in a particular field that will lead them to professional and middle-management jobs. Courses needed to get a bachelor’s degree include general courses in the liberal arts and specific required courses in a major concentration. 

 Associate degrees, on the other hand, typically prepare graduates for entry-level work with the basic skills and knowledge needed in a field. 

 Associate’s degrees can also allow students to complete general education requirements through a two-year program, for later transfer into a four-year degree. Many traditional and online colleges, universities, community colleges, and junior colleges have what are called 2+2 programs. After a student completes the first two years of their four-year bachelor degree, they have earned their associate’s degree. A student can continue their education post-associate at a larger university or college through an articulation agreement. This plan can be an easy and affordable bachelor’s degree journey.

Types Of Bachelor Degrees

A list of bachelor degrees and the their specific majors and concentrations would be almost infinite.

The three most popular types of bachelor degrees are:

  • Bachelor of Arts (BA degree)

  • Bachelor of Science (BS degree)

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA degree). 
     

What is a BA Degree?

A BA degree generally requires students to take fewer concentration courses and to focus more on exploring the liberal arts. These students have a little more freedom when it comes to customizing their education to fulfill their career goals and aspirations. The most common majors include English, Art, Theatre, Communications, Modern Languages and Music

What is a BS Degree?

The BS degree, on the other hand, is less focused on exploration and more targeted to a specific concentration. Bachelor of Science students, more often than not, focus specifically on the field of their major and tend to be more career-focused. Bachelor degrees in the medical field, for example, are more likely to be Bachelor of Science degrees.

 Popular majors that make the Bachelor of Science degree list include:

  • Computer Science

  • Business

  • Economics

  • Nursing

  • Chemical Engineering

  • Biology. 

What is a BFA?

The BFA is another vocational or professional degree. The goal of a BFA program is for its graduates to go on to become professionals in the creative arts world. This includes dancers, singers, actors, painters, and sculptors, just to name a few. Like the BS degree, the main difference between a BFA and a BA program is the tendency to focus more on their major concentration than on general studies.

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