Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

Re:Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code by dragonwriter on Friday March 14, 2014 @01:43PM (#7400486)

I think in most cases BA vs. BS is meaningful -- schools that offer only BS degrees have different kinds of core programs than schools that offer only BA degrees, and there are plenty of schools that offer both kinds of degrees, sometimes in the same major field of study.

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Re:Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code by ForHackernews on Friday March 14, 2014 @01:47PM (#7400518)

I guess if a single school offers both degrees in the same field, with different requirements, that would be a meaningful distinction.

However, in my experience, it will still be a distinction without a difference, since very few employers would understand or care about it.

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Re:Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code by dragonwriter on Friday March 14, 2014 @02:16PM (#7400744)

> However, in my experience, it will still be a distinction without a difference, since very few employers would understand or care about it.

This presumes that the only meaningful effect of a college education is a vocational certification that is presented to employers.

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Re:Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code by ForHackernews on Friday March 14, 2014 @02:27PM (#7400800)

If we assume the primary goal of a college education is developing the ability to think abstractly and reason meaningfully about the subject at hand, then the BA/BS distinction becomes even less consequential.

If we presume the BA student has taken a few more electives in outside areas, and the BS student has taken a few more major-focus classes and perhaps more quantitative classes, it's hard for me to see that choice having a serious impact on a student's intellectual development.

At most, it's a signal about the type of person that student was when they choose their degree.

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Re:Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code by dragonwriter on Friday March 14, 2014 @04:37PM (#7401666)

> If we assume the primary goal of a college education is developing the ability to think abstractly and reason meaningfully about the subject at hand, then the BA/BS distinction becomes even less consequential.

What if we assume that the primary goal of a liberal arts undergraduate degree (BA) is that, and the primary goal of other types of undergraduate degrees (BS, BFA, BSL, etc.) differs for each?

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