Question about 2nd Bachelor...

If an individual graduated with a B.S. from Excelsior and had Literature as one area of focus and History as another area of focus, would it be accurate to list the degree as:

Bachelor of Science in History and Literature


I would appreciate any comments or opinions on this.

Thanks.

 

Were the two areas taken as "majors" ? Was one a minor and the other a major?

 

The way it works with Excelsior, the BS in Liberal Studies can have two areas of focus of around 12 semester hours (or more) each (I think). What I'm asking, would it be legitimate to list that you had a BS in Literature/History if those areas of focus are listed on a transcript even though it is a BS in Liberal Studies. Or would it seem to be a double major? That I wouldn't want to imply. I know this seems a matter of semantics or appearance, but would it be misleading to state it that way?

 

If it were me, I'd state it as a BS in Liberal Studies with specializations in History & Literature.

This covers all your bases if people to check your transcript and see that the degree is actually a Liberal Studies degree.

 

I'd have to agree with Steve and the way he lists it. They are special areas of study and as such you can portray them in that manner.

 

Wow........good question. Then how would you guys rate the MLS in Criminal Justice from Fort Hayes State University.

It is actually 18 hours in a specialization and only 13 hours (yes 31 hours) in Liberal Studies. So would it be disingenuous to list this as a Master of Criminal Justice because over 50% of the degree is in a specialized field?

 

I agree with Steve. If you had 30 semester hours in a specific subject for an undergraduate degree and 18 semester hours for a graduate degree in a specific subject, then you would have a good case.

My undergraduate degree consisted of 30+ semester hours of math courses and 30+ semester hours of education courses. My diploma states "BS in Education" while my transcripts state "BS in Math Education." The program fell under the math department, not the education department, and to this day, I hesitate to list "BS in Math."

It did serve to make graduation kind of cool because, out of a 1,000+ graduating students, when they called the education department to stand up, hundreds of students stood up, when they called the math department to stand up, only 11 of us stood up.

 

The two depths are 12 hours - the area of focus is 21 hours with 6 upper in the Bachelor of Arts of Bachelor of Science LS degrees.

The Area of focus is more than a traditional minor but less than a major. Very often it's interdisciplinary.

An Excelsior College Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies with an area of focus in Literature is not the same as a Bachelor of Science in Literature.

I suppose it could be acceptable to say BS Liberal Studies (Literature) or BSLS (Literature) if the idea isn't to imply a BA/BS in Literature.

The name of the Degree is "Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies" (if that's the degree you're completing) and not "Bachelor of Science". It's a bit of a fine line but in this case the line is defined IMHO.

Not:
Bachelor of Science in History and Literature

instead:
Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies (History and Literature focus)

This is just my opinion as an alum though and grad of the BSLS program though.

 

why not have a masters in history and literature?

 

Right..........

In fact Fort Hayes has an MLS that is probably CHEAPER than a 2nd BS..... http://www.fhsu.edu/mls/conc/index.shtml

But how would you list an MLS in History on a resume? "Masters in History"? or "Masters of Liberal Studies in History" or "Masters of Liberal Studies (History)"?

After all, 18 of the 31 hours are in a concentration area which is over half the degree. So..............then I guess according to the above logic saying "Masters of (your area of concentration)" is not misleading?

 

I don't think it's appropriate to apply "logic" to how we list a degree. Isn't it as simple as listing what the diploma or transcript says?

Example - I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Music (cum laude) from Coastal Carolina University.

That's what the diploma says - that's what I should list. It's not a Bachelor of Music (an entirely different animal) and even though I was so described by the department, I wasn't "a flute major" but instead "a music major". In cricumstances where I need to define that my primary musical concentration was in performance on flute (as opposed to any other instrument, education, composition, conducting, history, etc...) I can simply add that as a comment.

The fact that I also completed over 30 hours of English/Literature courses doesn't make me "a literature major" though I could have applied for a Lit minor if I didn't have an aversion to LitCrit class.

An MLS in History would be listed as:
Master of Liberal Studies in History
if that is how the conferring university put it on the diploma. It might just be a Master of Liberal Studies which is as noble a degree to earn as any other.

Master of Arts in History is likely a different degree altogether and a Master of History (if there is such an animal differs from both.

An MLS in Criminal Justice is still an MLS - it's not an MS or an MA or an MPA or an MBA or an MCJ -- it's an MLS.

Personally, I like the liberal studies designation. It implies that I've developed a wide range of knowledge beyond "the major" in a way that we used to think of the liberal arts degrees. That was the whole reason I got a BA in music and not a BM - the liberal arts are cool.