The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) is one of the two most common undergraduate degrees awarded by four-year colleges and universities.  The other is the Bachelor of Science (B.S.).  At the University of Dayton, the B.A. requires 124 semester hours and may be visualized as the sum of three parts:  the major, the liberal studies curriculum, and electives.  The B.A. is offered through humanities and social science programs as well as through programs in music, visual arts, mathematics, and chemistry.

All B.A. students are required to complete the liberal studies curriculum. The liberal studies curriculum is a carefully integrated program which guides students through the completion of the University’s general education and competency requirements.  In addition, the liberal studies curriculum lays the foundation for critical thinking and integrates the numerous ways that academic disciplines shape our world.  The liberal studies curriculum requires composition and communication skills (3-9 hours), social science breadth (12 hours), mathematics (3 hours), history (6 hours), science (11 hours), philosophy and religious studies (12 hours), literature and creative or performing arts (6 hours), and the option to take a foreign language or complete humanities breadth (3-9 hours).

The B.A. programs offered in music, photography, and visual arts as well as those offered in mathematics and chemistry are designed to give students a strong foundation in the subject matter and the opportunity to use electives to develop other skill areas.  For example, students in the B.A. music program have used electives to develop business skills and thus prepare for a profession in the business aspects of music.  Students in fine arts have developed minors in science as they prepare to become medical illustrators, and students in photography have developed journalism minors as they prepare for careers in photojournalism.  Students who select the B.A. programs in mathematics and chemistry often use their electives to complete education courses as they prepare for careers in secondary school settings.

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