Full-Form of BA | What is the scope of the B.A. Degree?

BA

Contents:

1. What is BA?
2. What are the subjects in B.A.?
3. What is the scope of the B.A. Degree?
4. Is B.A. Degree good or bad?
5. Difference between B.A. Vs B.A. (Hons.)
6. What are the similarities between B.A. and B.A. (Hons.)?
7. Pros and Cons of B.A.

What is B.A?

B.A. stands for Bachelor of Arts. It is an undergraduate course that is pursued by students after completion of class 12th. The course is usually of three years duration; in most of the universities, it is divided into six semesters. 

The program can be pursued as a full-time course or even as part-time, correspondence, or in distance education mode. After completion of the program, a bachelor’s degree is awarded to the student.

• BA stands for Bachelor of Arts

What are the subjects in B.A.?

The subjects in B.A. are: 

• Geography, 
• Economics, 
• Political Science, 
• Philosophy, 
• History, 
• Sociology, 
• Literature, 
• Psychology, 
• Anthropology, 
• Library Science, 
• Archeology, 
•  English Literature, 
• Different types of languages (Hindi, Arabic, Bengali, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, etc.) and many more. 

As a part of the B.A. course, normally a candidate needs to study five compulsory subjects along with few elective subjects. These subjects may vary depending on the course selected by candidates.

What is the scope of the B.A. Degree?

     B.A. degree provides a sea of opportunities and scope to the students. It is the basic foundation course that one has to undertake in order to pursue higher education or for applying to any job.

      After attaining the Bachelor’s degree, a candidate can go for studying masters or M.A. course. If a person is interested in teaching, then he/she can take up B.Ed. course after B.A. This makes him/her eligible for teaching in schools up-to class 10th. If a person wants to teach in colleges, then a Master’s program can be taken after completion of B.A. A person interested in doing research can go for Ph.D. programs after that.

The scope of a B.A. Degree for job opportunities in the Government or Private sector is immense.

      One can find jobs in Banking, Finance, Defense (Army, Navy, Airforce), Teaching, Civil Services (UPSC/ State Civil Services), Marketing, etc. In short, B.A. is the basic degree required for any executive government jobs or private jobs.

Is B.A. Degree good or bad?

     B.A. degree can be considered as a stepping stone for a bright future. This degree not only prepares one for the future prospects in terms of knowledge but also is of utmost necessity for shaping one’s future as it provides ample job opportunities. It is a broad-based program with a mix of disciplinary, inter-disciplinary, and skill-based courses. So, definitely, a B.A. degree is the best course if a person chooses his/her subject diligently and knows what are his /her career goals. 

     A person who has taken humanities in class 12th and if the person has an inclination towards humanities or arts, then he/she should never go for any other course other than B.A. This course will enable the candidate to apply for any competitive examinations or to pursue higher studies.

Difference between B.A. Vs B.A. (Hons.)

There is a basic difference between B.A. and B.A. (Hons.). 

In the B.A. course, there is no specialization in any subject, whereas in B.A. (Hons.) a specialization is done in a particular subject. A B.A. (Hons.) course prepares one thoroughly for taking up specialization in the Master's program. This course is basically focused on a particular subject which one takes as a subject of interest. That subject is considered as the core subject and some other subjects are to be studied along with it. The Hons. program enhances one’s ability to acquire advanced skills and develop extensive knowledge required for taking up research in a specific area of humanities or arts. It also develops the necessary skills-set for an advanced professional career. The Hons. course is academically demanding and requires proper attention and thorough studies. In this program, there will be more papers of the Hons. or the specialization subject.

A simple B.A. student without any Hons. will not specialize in any particular subject of his or her choice. Generally, a student needs to take five subjects for any B.A. course. The number of elective and compulsory subjects differs and depends upon the university’s curriculum. In some universities. out of the five subjects, three are elective subjects and two subjects are compulsory. In some universities, there are two elective subjects and three compulsory subjects. For example, out of the following subjects (History, Geography, Political Science, English, Environmental Studies, etc). in a B.A. pass course program, the student need not specialize in any of the mentioned papers. Whereas, if a student is taking Hons. the program, then he or she will be specializing in only one of the above-mentioned Arts subjects like English or Political Science and most of the subjects in the student’s syllabus will be from the different fields or particular sectors of the main subject that he/she has taken honors in. If a person has taken English Honors, then the main papers will be like Classical Literature, Contemporary Literature, Modern Indian Literature, Modern Indian Drama, and a paper in History, Political Science or Geography.

What are the similarities between B.A. and B.A. (Hons.)?

Both B.A. and B.A. honors are undergraduate programs and both awards bachelor degrees on completion of the course. The medium of instruction can be English or Hindi or any other languages like Assamese, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, etc. For taking Masters or M.A. course in the future, B.A. is the qualification required in most cases, whereas in some universities (for research-based programs), specialization or honors are made compulsory. However, in most of the reputed universities, if we want to pursue higher education like Masters or M.A. then specialization or honors in that particular subject are the necessary and essential criteria. The marks in the Honors subject are made as to the qualifying criteria for getting admission in the M.A. program or entrance qualifying tests are conducted for getting admission for higher studies. Moreover, for applying in most jobs like banking, defense, civil services, etc B.A is only essential. But, in some specialized jobs like teaching, subject teacher, subject experts, etc Honors is required and is mentioned in the job details. So, it is always better to take the Honors Program in the B.A. course if one is willing to keep all doors open and get ample of career prospects.

Pros and Cons of B.A.

Pros:

The main benefit of doing B.A. is that one gets an open platform to excel in one’s career after completing the course:

1. A student can pursue higher education or can apply for a lot of government or private jobs depending on one’s interest. Moreover, writing skills also improve significantly if one studies humanities. 
2. Another advantage is that the course fee is much lower in this course compared to many other professional courses. 
3. The number of seats is quite large and so ease of getting admission in the B.A. course is sufficiently satisfying. 
4. Moreover, the accessibility of the course is quite great. Normally, the B.A. course is available even in any local college of rural areas or sub-urban areas where other courses like B.Com or BBA, etc may not be available. 
5. This course prepares an individual to take up responsibilities and focus on one’s area of interest. It also enhances one’s reasoning ability and skill to contribute to society. 
6. A person can categorically decide on his / her strong points and thus shape the future. After becoming a graduate, a person can even become a civil servant and contribute tremendously to the line of administration.

Cons:

1. As there are lots of colleges offering a B.A. course and there is a huge number of students pursuing this course so, the number-of pass out graduates is also large, thus the competition is quite huge in the job market. 
2. Another disadvantage is that the initial salary package is sometimes low compared to that obtained by other professional graduates. 
3. Sometimes, a simple graduate may have to face tougher competition and other challenges which may sometimes require him/her to take other professional courses to get an edge over others.

However, considering both the pros and cons, it is the basic course that shapes the heroes of any society.