Major vs Bachelor
Major and bachelor are words that are commonly heard in the world of education, especially higher education past the level of High School. A bachelor’s degree is a prerequisite these days to be recognized by the industry so as to get a decent paying job. It is an academic degree that is the first important milestone in higher education. There are people who confuse between major and bachelor and think of them to be two different degrees. One has to get a bachelor’s level degree studying a particular subject that is referred to as his major. This article attempts to highlight the differences between bachelor and major to remove confusion from the minds of the readers.
Bachelor
Bachelor’s degree is an academic degree that is the first degree a student can hope to get after completing his High School. This is a 4 year degree course that can be pursued in different streams such as art, science, commerce, business administration, etc. One can be a bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of law, bachelor of music, and so on depending upon the course he has chosen at the undergraduate level.
Major
In higher studies, one can start with a bachelor’s level degree or the undergraduate course and can then go on to do a master’s level degree and even the PhD which is a research based degree undertaken for pursuing a career in research or teaching. However, no matter what degree you are pursuing, you have to indicate the subject that you have chosen or studying when someone enquires about it. It is this subject that tells others what you are majoring in. In other words, if you are studying psychology and currently doing your bachelor’s level degree in a college or university, psychology is said to be your major while you are referred to as a bachelor of arts.
What is the difference between Major and Bachelor?
• Major is the specific field of study whereas bachelor is an academic degree offered by colleges and universities.
• It is not enough to tell that you are doing your undergraduate level course; that is bachelor’s level degree, until you specify the name of the major you have taken.
• If you are doing engineering at the undergraduate level, you have to specify the stream which can be anything from civil to chemical to mechanical, and it is this stream that is called the major.
• Bachelor’s level degree is generic while major is the specific field of study at this level.