I’m about to enter college and have been somewhat confused by the different degrees available. What are the general differences between BS’s, PhD’s, BA’s, Masters etc.?
I’d like info on time it takes to get one, advantages/disadvantages, work required to get one and anything else you’d like to contribute.
The more advanced the degree, the more work involved.
B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) and B.S. (Bachelor of Science) indicate that you have completed courses in a four-year college (there are Associate degrees for a two-year college). Optimally, they take four years of full-time attendance.
M.A. (Master of Arts) and M.S. (Master of Science) are graduate degrees; you usually need a B.A. or B.S. first. It’s another year or two, and has additional requirements. Also, they are usually only granted by graduate schools.
Ph.D. is a doctorate. It goes beyond the M.A./M.S. (sometimes you get the masters first, sometimes not) and, in addition to a course of study, you need to write a thesis – a major length paper on a subject in your field that no other Ph.D. has ever written about.
For general jobs, a Bachelor’s is enough. If you’re going to teach in a college, then you need at minimum a Masters and usually a Ph. D. If you’re not going to teach, then the graduate degrees have some use, but are rarely requirements.
[ul]
[li] BS—organic by-product of a male cow.[/li][li]MS—More of the Same.[/li][li]PhD—Piled Higher and Deeper.[/li][/ul]
Don’t some master’s also require a thesis? I suppose the master’s thesis is less in deep and…erm…“difficult” to do than the doctoral thesis, but is there any other difference?
Oh, and some master’s require thesis and others don’t.
Just to clrify, since you seem to be asking about it, the difference between a BSc and a BA is the field of study you are in. If you are studying something like History or English or psychology, then you will receive a BA, as these are considered to be Arts subjects. Note that in some places, A BSc in psychology is also offered, but this major would have a different requirement (likely a lot more biology) than the BA one. If you are studying something like Bio or Chem or physics or genetics, basically anything science, then you receive a BSc.
There are other undergraduate degrees available, and the titles change a little bit according to the school offering it, but not usually by much. For example, my university offers a B.Comm (Bachelor of Commerce) while my SO’s university offers a BA(Comm) (Bachelor of Arts - Commerce). These are for your business and administration students. There are also BSc(Eng) or BEng for Engineering bachelors, and my school offers something called a BSc(Tech) for their more technical majors, and a BSc(Env) for Environment majors. Then you get the BASc, which is the bachelor or Arts and Science, which, IIRC is basically a double major, one Arts, and one Science.
As you are only starting, then you only have to worry about the program you are in, and what degree it will give you. Once you know whether you want to do a masters or a PhD, then there really isn’t a decision about “MA or MS” since your field of study determines whether you are in the Arts or Sciences. As for PhD, well, same thing - you get a PhD in a subject.
The two lower degrees, Batchelor and Master of Whatever show that you have completed a certain required course of study. Some schools, I think, still require a thesis for the Masters.
A PhD includes additional study plus the thesis. I’ve always looked at it as the holder of a PhD has demonstrated, at least once. the ability to select and organize a project; collect the necessary materials and whatnots needed for completion; and the ability to write a report which must be defended before a group who, it sometimes seems, are all thinking, “What makes you think you should get a PhD from a** prestigious institution like ours?**”
Also note: A.B. is another way of saying “bachelor of arts.” Some universities use the Latin abbreviation.
The question of the theses varies.
A Ph.D. always requires a thesis.
Bachelors sometimes require a senior thesis, depending on the college. The same for a Masters. It depends on the area you are studying and the college’s policies.
For instance, I wrote a thesis for my B.A., but didn’t write one for my M.A.
Just to complicate matters, certain Masters are considered “terminal degrees” like a Ph.D. For instance, a Masters of Fine Arts or a Masters of Business Administration is usually considered the equivalent of a Ph.D. when a college hires, mostly because there isn’t a Ph.D. in those fields (though some colleges may be creating them). In addition, there are oddball degrees like a D.A. (Doctor of Arts) where my college gave a doctorate to people who did creative work instead of a research thesis.
BS vs BA - It depends on the college. For example, Dartmouth College is a liberal arts school and all the undergrad degrees are BAs. I have a BA in computer science, you can get a BA in engineering. To get a BS in engineering there is a seperate 5th year program through the Engineering school.
The idea is that we are supposedly learning more theory and concepts, versus practical and applied work. In practice, I think that distinction has been lost in the sciences. I’ve never had anyone question my BA vs BS in the business world.
Actually, you can also get a B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts). I have one of 'em for Cinematography. Is used mostly to get job at Kinko’s.
The length of time of the Bachelor’s degree can vary, depending on where in the world you study. In South Africa, a general Bachelors degree is completed in three years, and is fairly general, often “majoring” in two or more subjects. A further fourth year (Honours year) can be completed in a single subject and this often involves a research project of some kind. An Honours year is often an entry requirement for a Masters/PhD in that subject.
Grim BSc(Hons) 
Just out of curiousity, mnemonic, what are you thinking of doing for a career?
Much the same as indicated by grimpixie, in Australia Bachelor degrees are usually three years, with a fourth year for Honours. Some B.Sc. course are set as four years with an Honours project built into the fourth year.
Masters degrees are obtained more usually by coursework than thesis.
At UNSW there was an ongoing chiacking between the Arts and Engineering faculties that meant every year at exam time all the garbage bins on campus were labled “B.A. only”.
woolly B.Sc (Hons) 
For good Master’s level research experience one can also opt for the M.Phil. Around here this is a one-year program that can be pure research or course work plus research. In either case assessment is based on a good-sized thesis (20,000-30,000 words) of original work.
and just to add more information to the mix (but not necessarily more knowledge) the undergraduate and even graduate degrees may be totally unrelated to the doctorate. In my case, I have two degrees in music (B. Mus. & M. Mus), which I fully intend someday to use as rolling papers. My doctorate, earned many years later, is in education.
CC:
Would that be an Ed.D.? Yet another degree not yet mentioned in this thread. An Ed.D. doesn’t require a dissertation, does it? Also: don’t you need to have demonstrated several years as a working teacher before you can enter an Ed.D. program?
Yes, it is an Ed. D. It most certainly DOES require original research, a dissertation, a defense, etc., the whole shot. In general, acceptance to such a degree program does require a significant amount of practical experience, as a teacher, administrator or in some other area. But, a colleage of mine, who is an award-winning writer with a highly respected educational publisher - was only in teaching about 5 years before he began his work on his doctorate.
To weigh in on the thesis…at my university you only had to write a thesis if you wanted honors, and the thesis was only thirty pages long or something. Certain majors require a senior project or 20-30 pages (the French department just started (thankfully after I declared so I didn’t have another thing to worry about!) and Social Thought and Analysis, among others).
Ph.D. is always an “earned” degree involving advanced study and original research documented in a dissertation or thesis in the particular discipline in which it is earned. Many schools offer other earned doctorates with differing criteria. (Note that a J.D. differs in only minor ways from a Bachelor of Law degree, and both involve additional study beyond the four-year “normal” undergraduate period.) The vast majority of degrees other than Ph.D. are apparently honorary degrees bestowed by the college or university on people they believe deserve them (whether for scholarship or for endowing the school).
It was my understanding from three separate schools that a B.S. degree usually involved college-level mathematics while a B.A. usually required study in a foreign language, along of course with other requirements, that being the major distinguishing factor. But I’m confident this is not always true at all schools.
Polycarp, you mention something not touched on. MD’s and JD’s (the first for medical doctors and the second for lawyers and judges) are hands on types of degrees. They tend to touch on the theoretical aspect of the given subjects but quickly go to practical application. Depending on your specialty you either learn what medicines do what or what surgeries correct what ailment for the MD. In the JD, one practices forming an argument, doing legal research, etc.