Degrees and Majors
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree conferred for completion of a program with focus on broad and liberal education in the humanities, arts, social sciences, and sciences. Curricula leading to the B.A. emphasize ways of knowing and approaches to understanding consistent with the liberal arts. B.A. requirements typically promote broad preparation within the discipline and among related fields.
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree conferred for completion of a program with focus on in-depth education in the sciences, social sciences, or professional fields. Curricula leading to the B.S. emphasize ways of knowing and approaches to understanding consistent with the sciences and/or professional or pre-professional preparation. B.S. requirements typically promote depth of preparation within a discipline and/or related disciplines.
Major. A prescribed set of courses and other requirements recommended by the department and approved by the Community of Educators as a valid representation of the area of study. Generally these courses focus on a specific academic discipline; however, there are some interdisciplinary majors which include work from two or three disciplines. Satisfactory completion of this prescribed set of courses leads to a degree in that area of study.
Messiah University may offer specialized degrees such as Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) or Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.), etc. Such specialized degrees will be treated as Bachelor of Science degrees.
Individualized Major. The University provides an opportunity for qualified students to pursue an individualized major. A student with earned credits between 30 and 72 and who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or higher, is eligible to apply. The application process requires the student, with the assistance of a primary and secondary academic advisor, to produce a detailed proposal for consideration. Contact the Registrar for additional information.