What are the differences between BSc, BA, MEng?

superman_nick

What are the differences between them? can i be an Architect by studying any of them?
Thanks

Reply 1

240920

MEng is a masters in Engineering, so no. The other two are fine tho.

Reply 2

jrhartley

some people say a BA course is more arty than a BSC architecture course, which is more "science-y" but i personally think the BSC / BA pre-fix is just a product of history - for example, architecture at cardiff is BSc as it used to be a technical college where architecture was taught, but the course today is pretty evenly balanced between art and science. It's largely legacy in my view.

Reply 3

bluenoxid

Although you may get an MEng if you do something like Structural Engineering with Architecture. M = Masters B = Bachelors

Reply 4

jrhartley

soulsussed

This quote and information link answers this question hopefully:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts

"The BS degree typically specifies more courses in the major (or cognate fields) than does the BA degree. The BA focuses on creating a well-rounded graduate through formal study of natural sciences, social sciences, and foreign languages. The BS degree tends to be awarded more often in the natural sciences than in the humanities.

In the United Kingdom, usage varies: most universities distinguish between Arts and Science subjects through awarding either a BA or BSc depending on field of study. However, Oxford and Cambridge traditionally award BAs to undergraduates having completed the Part II Tripos (Cambridge) or Finals (Oxford) examinations in any subject (including the sciences)."

You can believe what someone has contributed in a wiki article to make the decision which could influence the rest of your life, or you could actually look at the evidence and go to visit these places yourself and see how confused the classification is in real life. Courses change and evolve as staff change - nothing is set in stone in academia. A course which started out very technical and has evolved into an artier course will not be reclassified. Similarly the other way around. This is the reality of the situation, and its particularly true in architecture which spans arts and science and so the leanings of the head of department and senior tutors will change frequently with staff changes and also to a degree architectural fashion.

BSc at the Bartlett, BSc at Cardiff - these are hardly places where we are wearing white coats and doing complicated force analysis calculations using supercomputers. i really think its dangerous to start using wikipedia to reflect these matters, when there are peolple who are ACTUALLY STUDYING the subject at uk universities who are telling you something different.

Ultimately, i leave you to make you're own mind up on who do you want to trust, some generalist wiki article quoted by someone who hasn't started the course yet or people who are actually doing it and have first hand experience of whether it is sciency or arty?

Reply 5

jrhartley

soulsussed

I only get annoyed when people patronise me, otherwise it's just a discussion.

I only get concerned and bother contradicting people when I see things that are posted that are factually incorrect to the point of being dangerously misleading.

Reply 6

jrhartley

with regards to architecture, yes, you are factually incorrect. But clearly this grates with you, so i'll make you happy by admitting you were right all along and that i don't know what i'm talking about. it's obviously important for you to be right, whereas i'm just interested in people making the right decisions from the right information. hopefully we can draw a line under things now?

Reply 7

240920

Heheh. So Jrhartley- You have gone from being totally wrong, to both right. Thats progress, I guess. :smile:

Reply 8

jrhartley

lol! i think i preferred it when I was totally wrong. Life was simpler then. poor buggers who end up reading this thread looking for a simple answer!

Reply 9

be a dreamer

jrhartley, this is getting a bit tedious for all of the other readers/ contributors of the architecture thread. you seem to enjoy starting these needless debates with people, well if you wouldn't mind, could you please put these in another thread. all your doing is clogging up this thread with your insecurities, adding petty little sentences, and trying to have the last word. please get over it.

::dreamer::

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