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BA vs BSc?

So I'm thinking about reapplying for different courses this year, as I don't think my current course or uni is for me.

I'm looking at St Andrews uni, and they offer a lot of courses for undergraduate at either MA or BSc. (I'm not sure why a masters if offered in the arts ones but not science).

Under their "choosing your degree" section, they mention.
"...If your exam qualifications are Arts subjects such as English or History, you should apply to study for an MA Honours degree in the Faculty of Arts. If they are Science subjects such as Physics or Chemistry, and you would like to take additional science modules such as Computer Science, you should apply to study for a BSc Honours degree in the Faculty of Science."

Now... here's the deal. In school I did 6 Highers and 3 Advanced Highers over my two senior years. Those being Higher Art, Business Management, English, Graph Comm, Maths and Modern Studies. Then Advanced Higher Art, Graph Comm and Maths. It looks to me as only Maths would fall under the "Science" category, and the rest would be Arts. I achieved A's in all of them.

I'm doing a BA degree just now within the Creative Arts category, however, I'm thinking about applying to the likes of Computer Science, Economics and Maths. Would I be accepted to do a BSc Degree in regards to my type of subjects? And would a BSc be better than an MA or BA in terms of those courses?
Reply 1
Original post by Wolff248
So I'm thinking about reapplying for different courses this year, as I don't think my current course or uni is for me.

I'm looking at St Andrews uni, and they offer a lot of courses for undergraduate at either MA or BSc. (I'm not sure why a masters if offered in the arts ones but not science).

Under their "choosing your degree" section, they mention.
"...If your exam qualifications are Arts subjects such as English or History, you should apply to study for an MA Honours degree in the Faculty of Arts. If they are Science subjects such as Physics or Chemistry, and you would like to take additional science modules such as Computer Science, you should apply to study for a BSc Honours degree in the Faculty of Science."

Now... here's the deal. In school I did 6 Highers and 3 Advanced Highers over my two senior years. Those being Higher Art, Business Management, English, Graph Comm, Maths and Modern Studies. Then Advanced Higher Art, Graph Comm and Maths. It looks to me as only Maths would fall under the "Science" category, and the rest would be Arts. I achieved A's in all of them.

I'm doing a BA degree just now within the Creative Arts category, however, I'm thinking about applying to the likes of Computer Science, Economics and Maths. Would I be accepted to do a BSc Degree in regards to my type of subjects? And would a BSc be better than an MA or BA in terms of those courses?


I would say that for those subjects a BSc might be more relevant to its real life applications. However, just so you know, in Scotland an MA is equivalent to an English BA
Original post by 06ollie
I would say that for those subjects a BSc might be more relevant to its real life applications. However, just so you know, in Scotland an MA is equivalent to an English BA


Just being pedantic, but that kind of MA is only offered by the ancient Scottish universities and is equivalent to a BA. The non-ancient places in Scotland offer a BA just like England does. :tongue:

Look at the entry requirements for courses you're thinking of. For the school of Computer Science it says:

Wolff248
x


Conventional Entry to First Year
The normal requirements for entry in 2013 to any of our single or joint degrees are as follows:

Standard Grade and Higher
Grade 2 at Standard Grade in English and Maths, plus:
AABB at Higher, including Maths


You seem to satisfy these requirements, and therefore would qualify to study a BSc offered by the school of computer science. Entry requirements will vary for every course, so it's up to you to go on the uni's website - or to get a prospectus - and look at courses you're interested in and see what their subject entry requirements.

The school of Maths and Statistics says:

AAAB in Highers with an A grade in Higher Mathematics.

For entry to the four year "fast track" MMath programme a grade B in Advanced Higher Maths plus one further B (or equivalent).

For Direct Entry to Second Year (3 year BSc or 4 year MMath) grades of AA at Advanced Higher including AH Maths.


These are the degrees the school of maths and statistics offers.

Like I said, go look around on the website.

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