BA vs BS

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by jayjay, Dec 23, 2008.

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  1. jayjay

    jayjay New Member

    If a person's ultimate goal is to obtain a C-level position at a larger company for a career, which is better to have -- a BA in Business or a BS in Business? And, to narrow down even further, then is business administration a better way to go than business management?

    In talking with all these online colleges that are available, it seems it's just one big sales arena. I need to find advising that is in my best interests and not the school's accounting sheet. If I can make the proper decision on which is the best degree to obtain in my situation, then it makes choosing that online school so much easier. (I did search all over geteducated.com and could not find an answer to the question).
     
  2. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    since we are all about learning; put the following search term into Google and research the results: ba vs bs site:.edu

    Only you can determine which degree type will meet your goals. Search the forum for CEO. You will find some threads on where CEOs obtained their degrees and in what fields.

    In addition other C-level positions(CFO, CIO, COO etc...) would most likely have different educational requirements.
     
  3. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    It is hard to say...what is your background? I would go for a BS in Accounting or Finance with a minor in management. The CEO of the company I work for has a BA in Humanities. Where does that fit???
     
  4. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    Facinating topic. There may not be a right or a wrong answer. In the old days, business administration was the degree to have (business management didn't exist back then, at least not to my knowledge). Then someone invented the term business management instead of business administration. From a degree granting perspective, is there a difference between administering a business verses managing a business? And if so, then is it significant? Probably not. I know people who have business administration degrees, but they tell people that they have a degree in business management, probably because it sounds more respectable. That's probably the greatest difference between the two in the 21st Century; and it probably varies from school to school.

    The difference between a BA and a BS (or a BBA) can vary from state-to-state or from school-to-school. Nothing is universal, except that:
    • A BA might have more liberal arts courses in it and might have a language requirement.
    • A BS might have fewer liberal arts courses in it with no language requirement.
    • A BBA (bachelor of business administration) might have even less liberal arts courses (and even more core business courses and fewer liberal arts courses) than a BA or a BS.
    This isn't ingrained in stone.
     
  5. Sleestack

    Sleestack New Member

    I don’t think it really matters. The HR zombie looking at your resume probably doesn’t know the difference either. In most cases the Bachelors level degree is just a check mark to make sure your resume doesn’t get sent to the round file right away. Good luck!
     
  6. Mark A. Sykes

    Mark A. Sykes Member

    I would think at the c-level of corporate management the bachelor wouldn't critically matter so long as it was sufficient for admission into the right Master's program.
     
  7. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    I agree. It is how you handle the interview that counts more than the degree.
     
  8. dlady

    dlady Active Member

    Having been a "C" level person at Marriott, I can suggest that the "B" level education and "C" level positions have little correlation outside of where you graduated from. At the division of Marriott I was in, it was Cornell or who cares.

    Now an "M" level education can start to matter, but honestly this type of job is about who you know and what you have done.
     
  9. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator


    What is an "M" level?
     
  10. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Regarding the name of the degree, outside of the natural sciences, there is no appreciable difference between the B.A. and B.S. degree. Universities choose the title of their degrees, so B.A. at one school would tend to be equivalent to a B.S. at another school. The same tends to be true for M.A. versus M.S. degrees.

    As for the title "business administration" versus "business management," at some schools, these mean different things, at others they do not. For example, my university offers degrees in business administration with a number of concentrations, one of which is management.
     
  11. dlady

    dlady Active Member

    "M" = Masters (I simply made it up)
     
  12. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    My thoughts are virtually the same as me again. It might just have to do with the number of credits you take within your major.

    BS = more
    BA = less

    I'd bet at least a penny that it varies not just from state to state but from school to school (even within state university systems). Merry Christmas.
     
  13. lovetheduns

    lovetheduns New Member

    I had this conversation about BS vs BA with a friend of mine. Since I went through many majors post high school and at a wide variety of universities and colleges-- my experience has been a BS requires more course work in the major where as a BA tends to have more liberal arts requirements with a core 20-24 credits in the major.

    Honestly, the BA work I have done in the past (BA Sociology, Classical Archaeology, Ethics of War/Peace, Psychology) were mostly concentrated on the the other liberal arts coursework. I remembered always being surprised I could be considered as having a BA in NameYourSubject with only 20-24 credits in that major out of 120-124 total credit hours.

    My BS Accounting had a minimum of 54 required hours in Accounting and Business core requirements--- I actually ended up with much more than just 54.

    For me, it was personally more important to have more major specific courses than the mishmosh of liberal arts courses I had while working on BA coursework. YMMV
     
  14. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    This tends to be true in programs that offer both a B.S. or B.A. option, particularly in the natural sciences and psychology. There is no general rule that differentiates the B.A. from the B.S. across different universities. A university that offers a B.A. in accounting may not have the increased liberal arts requirements and may require just as many courses in the major.

    My university, as a rule, tends to offer B.S. and M.S. degrees (probably due to its career-based orientation). Other universities offer B.A. andM.A. degrees in the same subject.
     
  15. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    If we are only including upper level credits my major was over 30 hours, not including the foreign language requirement. If we include the lower level credits that number increases to 45 hours. However, by nature, an English degree has a lot of breadth.

    I have to agree that it may vary as you state but that also it will vary by major.
     
  16. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    If you are going to include your business core (especially lower level 100, 200) in your calculations then should also include the prerequisite classes for the other subjects in th BA. The two degrees are closer than folks realize, it is merely the class subjects that have traditionally separated the BA from the BS (science/mathematics versus liberal arts). However, there just doesn't seem to be a hard fast rule.


    What school would consider 20-24 credits as a major?
     
  17. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Penn State's BA and BS in psych differ slightly- the BA requires a foreign language requirement.
     
  18. mbaonline

    mbaonline New Member

    I may be wrong, but I assumed when the OP mentioned "C-Level" positions, it was a reference to CEO, CIO, CFO, CCO, COO etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-level_management
     
  19. mbaonline

    mbaonline New Member

    My thoughts...

    I don't think that the actual title matters as much as other factors. The reasearch I've done indicates that an MBA is needed and quality of the MBA, the pedigree of the MBA and more importantly, the contacts one might make during the MBA might be more important. That is one drawback to distance learning MBAs but could be overcome if you attend a program with an inperson component such as Duke's MBA program like the DI poster Fortunado did.

    I tend to think a lot of CEOs have Economics as their undergrad major, because I have met some. But doing some research, I found this: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=947914

    Others have other ideas: Engineering http://engineering.curiouscatblog.net/2006/05/10/top-degree-for-sp-500-ceos-engineering/

    But this is probably the most important quote: It is interesting to see in the comments how many young people have questions about whether they are pursuing the right undergraduate degree in order to become a CEO. Although it is noble to be concerned about getting the right undergraduate education to reach the ambitious goal of becoming a CEO, the reality is that experience speaks a lot louder than any undergraduate degree. http://ww-success.com/blog/index.php/2008/08/30/the-best-age-to-be-a-ceo/

    Here's a link to the WSJ's 2008 CEO Panel, https://ceocouncil.wsj.com/participants.html?bio=farrell_thomas
    Many of these bios list undergrad majors and schools.

    So I would say get into the best undergrad program that you can, which will lead to more opportunities both for MBA programs and entry-level jobs. Good luck!
     
  20. Scott Henley

    Scott Henley New Member

    Except for perhaps in the United States, the BA degree is (or was) regarded as a "proper" degree. I believe that at Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge and other older English-speaking universities, the BA degree was the one that was looked upon favorably. When the BS arrived or the scene, it was seen a "technical" degree for specialists in certain fields, not the well-rounded and literate BA graduate.

    This may have changed, but if you are looking to move into management, a BA with its general and language requirements might do the trick. If you want to move into a specialist field like accounting or information systems, then a BS might be the way to go. Broader education is a very good thing for management, especially C-Level, positions. The ability to articulate, understand differing cultures and express oneself are traits that are key to any management position. There are plenty of BS Accounting or IT people out there to do the technical work in their cubicles.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 26, 2008

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