Bachelor of Arts

"B.A." and "A.B." redirect here. For other uses, see BA (disambiguation) and AB (disambiguation).
For the R. K. Narayan novel, see The Bachelor of Arts. For the film, see Bachelor of Arts (film).

Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University
AcronymBA
AB
TypeBachelor's degree
DurationThree or four years, depending on country

A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin baccalaureus artium, baccalaureus in artibus, or artium baccalaureus) is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts,[1] or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years, depending on the country and institution.

  • Degree attainment typically takes five or more years in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.
  • Degree attainment typically takes four years in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada (except Quebec), China, Egypt, Finland, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United States, and Zambia.[2]
  • Degree attainment typically takes three years in Albania, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Caribbean, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel,[3] Italy, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Canadian province of Quebec, South Africa (certain degrees), Switzerland, the United Kingdom (except Scotland), and most of the European Union. In Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Russia, three-year BA (associates) courses are also available.[4] A three-year bachelor's degree usually does not qualify the holder for admission to graduate programs in other countries where four-year bachelor's degrees are the standard prerequisite.[5]
  1. ^ "Understand the Difference Between a BA and BS Degree". US News and World Report. 23 October 2018. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  2. ^ "FAST-US-5 United States Education Reference File". Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  3. ^ "BA Business Administration – RRIS – IDC Herzliya". www.idc.ac.il. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Degree (Pass) prospectus" (PDF). National University, Bangladesh (in Bengali). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 November 2018.
  5. ^ See for example https://grad.ucla.edu/admissions/research-requirements/