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Bachelor of science

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A Bachelor of Science (B.S., B.Sc. or BSc; less commonly, S.B. or Sc.B. from the Latin Scientiæ Baccalaureus) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years (see below).

International differences

Commonwealth and Ireland

Commonly in the Commonwealth and Ireland graduands are admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Science after having completed a programme in one or more of the sciences. These programmes may take different lengths of time to complete.

A Bachelor of Science receives the designation B.Sc. or B.S. for a major/pass degree and B.Sc. (Hons) or B.S. (Hons) for an honours degree. In Ireland the former B.Sc. was changed to B.Sc. (Hons.) which is awarded after 4 years. The B.Sc. (Ord.) is awarded after 3 years.

Whether a subject is considered a science or an art can vary between universities. For example, an economics degree may be given as a B.A. by one university but as a B.Sc. by another. Biology, Biochemistry, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, General science, Earth science and Computer Science are almost universally considered to be sciences.

Even in cases of near-unilateral consensus across a country as to whether a subject is a science or an art, there are exceptions. The London School of Economics offers B.Sc. degrees in practically all subject areas, even those normally associated with arts degrees, while the Oxbridge universities award arts qualifications almost exclusively. In both instances, this is generally for historical and traditional reasons. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of London in 1860. Prior to this science subjects were included in the B.A. bracket, notably in the cases of mathematics, physics, physiology and botany. Formerly at the University of Oxford, the degree of B.Sc. was a postgraduate degree; this former degree, still actively granted, has since been renamed M.Sc.

Pakistan

In Pakistan, students are admitted to a B.A./B.Sc. degree programme at a college/university, after F.A./F.Sc. F.A./F.Sc. is a 2 year program equivalent to 11th and 12th grade of High School.

Most B.A./B.Sc. degree programs were 2 years in duration. But now HEC has changed the duration of BA/BSc degree to 4 years. However, professional degree programs vary in duration. Engineering programmes (B.Sc. Engineering or B.E.) take at least 4 years to finish. The medical degree, known as M.B.B.S. (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery), requires at least 5 years to complete.

United States

In the United States, a Bachelor of Science degree may be a more specialized version of B.A., with more focus on the subject and less on a broad liberal arts background; for example, a B.S. in economics may require several more advanced economics courses than a B.A. in economics and possibly more support courses (such as statistics), while requiring fewer lower-level liberal arts classes that do not directly relate the major in question. The B.S. is also frequently used for professional areas of study such as engineering, journalism, accounting, and advertising. At least seven American schools (Caltech, Embry-Riddle, Babson, Georgia Tech, MIT, NMT and HMC) and five service academies (United States Military Academy, United States Naval Academy, United States Air Force Academy, United States Merchant Marine Academy and United States Coast Guard Academy) award the BS for all subjects. On the other hand, many schools (especially Liberal Arts colleges) do not offer a BS at all.

Continental Europe

The B.Sc. in Germany was equivalent to a B.Sc. (Hons.). Many universities in German speaking countries are changing their systems into the BA/MA system, and in doing so also offering the full equivalent of a B.Sc. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia a Bachelor of Science places the pre-nominal letters Bc. before his name.

Other countries

In Brazil, a Bachelor of Science degree is a graduate degree and is also more specific, usually containing a one-year mandatory probation time by the end of the course followed by relatively elaborate written and oral evaluations.

Typical completion period

     Three years     Four years     Five years

Two years

Pakistan See above note.

Three years

Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada (Quebec), Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia (mostly three years, sometimes four), Czech Republic (mostly three years, sometimes four), Denmark, England (three or four years with a one-year placement in industry), Estonia, Finland, France, Germany (mostly three years, but can be up to four years), Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland (Ordinary), Italy, Jamaica (three or four years), Latvia (three or four years), Lebanon (three or four years), Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland (Ordinary), Singapore (honours degree takes 4 years), Slovenia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales and Zimbabwe.

Four years

Albania, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Australia (honours degree), Bangladesh (three or four years), Bahrain, Belarus, Belize, Brunei, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Canada (except Quebec), Cyprus, Guatemala, Greece (four or five years), Indonesia, Iran (four or five years), Iraq, Ireland (Honours Degree), Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Lithuania, Libya, Malawi (four or five years), Malta, Macedonia (three, four or five years), Montenegro (three, four or five years), Mexico, Myanmar, New Zealand (honours degree), People's Republic of China, the Philippines (four or five years), Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland (Honour Degree), Serbia (three, four or five years), South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Sri Lanka (three or four years), Haiti (three or four years), Ukraine (four or five years), United States, Yemen, Zambia (four or five years).

Five years

Cuba (five years), Greece (four or five years), Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Brazil (four or five years), Colombia, Mexico (4.5 years), Chile (usually four years dedicated to coursework plus one year of research thesis), Egypt, Haiti (four or five years), Nigeria (four to five years), 6 months dedicated to SIWES (Students Industrial Work Exchange Scheme) but for most sciences and all engineering courses only. A semester for project work/thesis not excluding course work during the bachelor thesis. Excluding 1 year for the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), para-military and civil service, Syria, Macedonia and Sierra Leone (four years dedicated to coursework).

See also

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor's degree
• Master of Science
• Bachelor
• Bologna process
• British undergraduate degree classification
• British degree abbreviations
• List of tagged degrees

References