Background: in 1984, the Academic Senate Curriculum
Committee was asked to prepare a policy statement which would
differentiate between Bachelor of Science degrees and Bachelor
of Arts degrees at California Polytechnic State University,
San Luis Obispo. The need for this arose when some departments
at Cal Poly proposed to change their BA degrees to B.S. degrees.
The requests were refused by the Chancellor's Office in part
because Cal Poly, SLO, had no campus policy which specified
the differences between the two degrees.
1.
Both the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science degrees
should have a reasonable balance of three components:
-
A major providing depth of preparation in an academic or
professional field.
-
General education providing basic university-level education
in science and mathematics, in the social sciences, in the
arts and humanities, and in human communication.
-
Electives chosen to fit the student's preferences or needs.
(It is recognized that the number of these electives may
be fewer in some degrees because of accreditation requirements,
but the inclusion of some electives is important.)
2. Bachelor of Arts Degree:
-
is usually less specialized than a Bachelor of Science degree.
-
requires a minimum of 180 quarter units for the degree;
36 units are required in the major, of which at least 18
units are at the 300-400 level.
-
is normally awarded in such majors as the languages, literature,
other humanities, and history.
3. Bachelor of Science Degree:
-
typically involves technical fields.
-
requires a minimum of 180 quarter units for the degree;
54 units are required in the major, of which at least 27
quarter units are at the of 300-400 level.
-
is normally awarded in such majors as the physical and biological
sciences, engineering, and agriculture.
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