Bachelor of Arts [BA]: Full Form, Subjects, Courses List, Duration, Fees, Admissions

Bachelor of Arts or BA is an undergraduate program. The full form of BA is Bachelor of Arts and it comes under the discipline of humanities/arts. BA course duration is 3 years. BA course is divided equally into 6 semesters. Students who have a 10+2 degree in any stream can take up this course. There are various BA specializations available for the students to choose from. Some of them are Philosophy, Literature, Anthropology, Psychology, Theology, Journalism, French, Sanskrit, etc, and many more. 

Many different specializations available under BA subjects make the course unique and diverse from other main courses. BA job scope is very wide and evergreen.

One with good creativity and wanting to explore the different forms of arts can take up the BA course. There are various job opportunities provided in various sectors for Bachelor of Arts graduates and BA subjects such as Advertising, Law, Public Planning, Graphics, and Printing Industry, Journalism is highly career-oriented.

BA Course Fee in India

There are various colleges all over India that provide admissions for BA courses. Bachelor of Arts course fee varies with different colleges and also with different specializations. The average BA course fee ranges from INR 4,000 to 65,000 per annum. Other factors which can affect this fees include the faculty available, the infrastructure of the college as well as the facilities available for the students.

BA Course Salary in India

BA jobs salary varies with the work experience and the field in which an individual is working. The average BA course salary according to Payscale is around INR 3.5 LPA. If students gain more higher education or work experience they can increase their salary even more.

BA Course

Bachelor of Arts, abbreviated as BA, is an undergraduate degree program with many specializations under it. BA course duration is 3 years. A person seeking a BA course admission needs to study at least 5 subjects. Under the BA course, there are many combinations of subjects that one can opt for depending upon the availability of those courses in various Institutes.

A student can easily map their Bachelor of Arts course as per his or her future aspirations with options ranging from Psychology, Anthropology, History, Literature, Political Science, Philosophy, Foreign languages, Foreign Studies, Tourism, Public Relations, Sociology, and more.

BA course is composed of many artistic disciplines and offers various subject combinations to candidates to choose from apart from compulsory subjects. The BA syllabus covers all the related topics for the field and gives rigorous training to the students. BA course students are exposed to various subjects that make them more knowledgeable about the course

Admission procedures include merit-based admissions and entrance exams are conducted by a few colleges. For BA course admissions and other requirements, including entrance exams, the information varies from university to university. Some of the top BA colleges in India include:

• St. Stephens College, New Delhi
• Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi
• Hans Raj College, Delhi University
• Madras Christian College, Chennai

The Bachelor of Arts job scope is generally available in almost all the common areas such as teaching, public relations, management, acting, mass media, writing, and many more. BA jobs are very unique and are easily available in every sector.

BA Course Quick Links

• What is BA Course?
• Why Choose BA?
• BA Courses List
• BA Entrance Exams
• BA Course Preparation Tips
• BA Subjects
• BA Course Syllabus
• BA Course Eligibility
• BA Course Admission
• BA Specialisations
• BA Job Opportunities
• List of BA Colleges
• Distance BA
• Difference Between BA and BSc

What is BA Course?

Bachelor of Arts Degree or BA course is an undergraduate arts degree awarded for students usually in a branch of the Liberal Arts. The Bachelor of Arts degree is one of the oldest and most popular degrees in the world.

BA degree is a mix of many subjects that allows candidates to adapt to the changing demands of the employer and meet their needs. BA course enhances the candidates’ communication, research, and analytical skills. The ability to analyze tasks, set priorities, and communicate goals to others are some other skills that can be honed for pursuing the course. The major BA subjects under the conduit of the BA curriculum include:

• English
• French
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Philosophy
• History
• Religious Studies
• Journalism and Mass Communication
• Media Studies
• Any Other Linguistics Course

Teaching jobs are the primary areas of employment for graduates of the BA course. The scope of work for a graduate of BA course is comprehensive and variant over a large number of working areas and sectors.

Why Choose BA?

BA course is a very introspective and interesting stream of education. Students are exposed to the general functioning of our society, unlike many science streams, students are able to learn about a very relatable subject matter. The intrinsic worth of a BA course can be gauged from the fact that it offers more avenues of employment opportunities than any other stream. Thus, the BA job scope is forever widening and appealing.

This is primarily because students with engineering and science backgrounds are limited to work in their specific fields, whereas students pursuing a BA course are not limited to their specific areas resulting in a vast job. With many numbers of specializations, the BA course is an all-around course. Concerning the previous academic background and the personal choice and the ability of the student towards a particular program, there exists an appropriate plan for almost every candidate opting for the BA course.

Although the BA course is primarily a full-time degree course, it can also be pursued via distance learning from many colleges and universities. Jobs and salaries of BA course graduates may vary depending on the specialization chosen by them as well as the education body in which they have pursued their BA degree course. After a BA course, an aspirant can also choose to pursue a Master of Arts in higher education.

BA Courses List

There are numerous courses under the broad conduit of the BA course list. Mentioned below are some of the most popular and lucrative specializations of the BA course:

BA Courses List
BA Bengali	BA Journalism
BA Bengali Hons	BA Kannada
BA Computer Applications	BA LLB
BA Criminology	BA LLB Hons
BA Economics	BA Marathi
BA Economics Hons	BA Mathematics
BA Education	BA Music
BA Hons Education	BA Music Vocal
BA English	BA Philosophy
BA English Hons	BA Hons Philosophy
BA English Literature	BA Physical Education
Bachelor Of Arts In Fine Arts	BA Political Science
BA Foreign Languages	BA Political Science Hons
BA Functional English	BA Psychology
BA Geography	BA Psychology Hons
BA Geography Hons	BA Public Administration
BA Hindi	BA Sanskrit
BA Hindi Hons	BA Sanskrit Hons
BA Hindi Literature	BA Sociology
BA History	BA Hons Sociology
BA History Hons	BA Statistics
BA Home Science	BA Tamil
BA Hons	BA Tamil Literature
BA Journalism And Mass Communication	BA Urdu

 

BA Entrance Exams

Entrance exams are a common and popular means for some colleges to have a screening to decide which student must be admitted to the course. There are many popular colleges around the country, who have made a name for themselves for conducting internationally acclaimed research projects. These colleges often conduct entrance exams, as the demand to enter these colleges are higher than the seats available for students.Some of the top entrance exams which are employed by several colleges to gauge the merit of an aspirant to grant admission into several courses under the broad conduit of the BA course are listed below:

IPU CET: Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University conducts an entrance test of their own. Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test is a common exam for admissions into any of the courses in Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. Students can write this exam if they wish to join the BA course at that university.

BHU UET: Banaras Hindu University Undergraduate Entrance Test is conducted by Banaras Hindu University for admissions into undergraduate programs at that university.

JSAT: Jindal Global University conducts Jindal Scholastic Aptitude Test for admissions on their campus for any of the courses. BA degree aspirants who wish to join Jindal Global University can write this exam.

TISS NET: Tata Institute for Social Sciences National Entrance Test is conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences for admissions in any of the arts streams in Tata Institute of Social Sciences. TISS is one of the top colleges for the arts streams in India.

DU JAT: Students who are aspiring to join any of the colleges that are affiliated with Delhi University can write Delhi University Joint Admission Test for admissions into BA courses.

BA Course Preparation Tips

Improve Vocabulary: Improvising the vocabulary is very much necessary as the BA course deal with a lot of writing and reading activities. So having excellent communication and writing skills are a plus for the student studying BA course.

Read and Practice More: Being up to date with the syllabus every day is very important. Practicing and reading more will help the student to be thorough with the syllabus and do well in exams.

Have Intrinsic Knowledge And Interest In Subjects: Having intrinsic knowledge about the subject and having the same amount of interest in the subject will keep the student exciting about the subject and learn more than what's in the syllabus.

Revise Methodically: Revising from time to time can be a key to score good marks in the final exam. Keep revising regularly and understand the subject properly. Revision is the key to scoring good marks.

Prepare a Timetable: Prepare a timetable for studying properly. As the course has many subjects to deal with, allot different time for different subjects which will be key to understanding all the subjects and scoring good marks.

BA Subjects

The subjects that the aspirants study will differ widely based on the specialization that they choose to pursue. The syllabus for the BA course is decided based on the specialization, as the colleges aim to ensure that the students get a chance to learn about every subject in great depth. Yet, there are many subjects in the BA course, which are taught to all students irrespective of the specification. These subjects help lay a foundation for the students to learn about the humanities streams. There is a wide variety of subject combinations available to aspirants pursuing BA courses, the following are the most noteworthy:

Sl.No	BA Subjects
1	Anthropology
2	Archaeology
3	Education
4	Economics
5	English
6	French
7	Geography
8	German
9	Hindi
10	History
11	Library Science
12	Literature
13	Mathematics
14	Philosophy
15	Political Science
16	Public Administration
17	Psychology
18	Sanskrit
19	Sociology

 

BA Course Syllabus

The course syllabi included in the curriculum of some of the most important and popular BA courses are tabulated below. The crux of the syllabus is maintained throughout most colleges across the nation although minor deviations may be observed for a few colleges.

Sl.No	BA English Syllabus
1	English Literature I
2	Twentieth-Century Indian Writing I
3	Concurrent - Qualifying Language
4	English Literature II
5	Twentieth-Century Indian Writing II
6	English Literature III
7	Concurrent - Credit Language
8	English Literature IV
9	English Literature V
10	Nineteenth-Century European Realism I/ Classical Literature I/ Forms of Popular Fiction I
11	Concurrent - Interdisciplinary
12	English Literature VI
13	English Literature VII
14	Nineteenth-Century European Realism II/ Classical Literature II/ Forms of Popular Fiction II
15	Concurrent - Discipline Centered I
16	English Literature VIII
17	English Literature IX
18	Contemporary Literature I
19	Anglo-American Writing from 1930 I/ Literary Theory I/ Women’s Writing of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries I/ Modern European Drama I
20	English Literature X
21	Contemporary Literature II
22	Anglo-American Writing from 1930 II/ Literary Theory II/ Women’s Writing of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries II/ Modern European Drama II
23	Concurrent - Discipline Centered II

 

Sl.No	BA Political Science Syllabus
1	Language - MIL/ English Environmental Science
2	Understanding Political Theory
3	Constitutional Government and Democracy in India
4	Generic Elective-I
5	Environmental Science Language - MIL/ English
6	Political Theory - Concepts and Debates
7	Political Process in India
8	Generic Elective-II
9	Introduction to Comparative Government & Politics
10	Perspectives on Public Administration
11	Perspectives on International Relations
12	Generic Elective-III
13	Ability Enhancement Course-I
14	Pol. Process & Inst. in Comparative Perspective
15	Public Policy and Administration in India
16	Global Politics
17	Generic Elective-IV
18	Ability Enhancement Course-II
19	Classical Political Philosophy
20	Modern Indian Political Thought-I
21	Discipline-Specific Elective-I
22	Discipline-Specific Elective-II
23	Modern Political Philosophy
24	Indian Political Thought-II
25	Discipline-Specific Elective-III
26	Discipline-Specific Elective-IV

 

 

Sl.No	BA History Syllabus
1	History of India-I
2	Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the Ancient World
3	History of India-II
4	Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the Medieval World
5	History of India-III (c. 750-1206)
6	Rise of Modern West-I
7	History of India IV (c.1206-1550)
8	Rise of Modern West -11
9	History of India-V (c. 1550-1605)
10	History of India-VI (c. 1750-1857
11	History of Modern Europe-I (c. 1780-1939)
12	History of India-VII (c. 1605-1750)
13	History of India-VIII (c. 1857-1950)
14	History of Modern Europe-II (1780-1939)
15	History of Southeast Asia-The 19TH Century
16	History of Southeast Asia-The 20TH Century
17	History of Modern East Asia-I(c.1840-1919)
18	History of Modern East Asia-1I (c. 1868-1945)
Generic Elective (Interdisciplinary Any Four)
19	Environmental Issues In India
20	Research Methodology in History
21	Making of Contemporary India
22	Delhi: Ancient
23	Delhi: Medieval
24	Delhi: Modern
25	Issues in the Contemporary World
Any Two: Understanding Heritage/ Art Appreciation: An Introduction to Indian Art/ Archives and museums/ Understanding Popular Culture
Discipline-Specific Elective (Any Four)
26	History Of United States Of America-1(C. 1776 -1945)
27	History Of United States Of America-I1(C. 1776 - 1945)
28	History Of The USSR-I (c. 1917- 1964)
29	History Of The USSR-II (c. 1917- 1964)
30	History Of Africa (c. 1500 - 1960s)

 

Sl.No	BA Psychology Syllabus
1	Introduction to Psychology
2	Statistical Methods for Psychological Research-I
3	Environmental Science
4	General Psychology
5	Biopsychology
6	Psychology of Individual Differences
7	English Communication
8	Youth, Gender and Identity
9	Development of Psychological
10	Psychological Research
11	Social Psychology
12	Emotional Intelligence
13	Psychology for Health and Well-being
14	Understanding Psychological Disorders
15	Statistical Methods for Psychological Research-II
16	Applied Social Psychology
17	Stress Management
18	Psychology at Work
19	Dealing with Psychological Disorders
20	Developmental Psychology
21	Positive Psychology
22	Human Resource Management
23	Organizational Behavior
24	Counseling Psychology
25	Health Psychology
26	Community Psychology

 

 

Sl.No	BA Philosophy Syllabus
1	Indian Philosophy
2	Logic
3	Greek Philosophy
4	Ethics
5	Western Philosophy: Descartes to Kant
6	Social & Political Philosophy: Indian and Western
7	Applied Ethics
8	Text of Indian Philosophy
9	Text of Western Philosophy
10	Truth-Functional Logic
11	Analytic Philosophy
12	Continental Philosophy
13	Philosophy of Religion (Indian & Western)
14	Philosophy of Language (Indian & Western)
15	Discipline-Specific Elective - 4 (DSE) Subject Centric (Any Four)
16	Philosophy of Mind
17	Philosophy of Science
18	Philosophy of Logic
19	Knowledge and Scepticism
20	Aesthetics
21	Indian Theories of Consciousness
22	Philosophy of Law
23	Indian Materialism
24	Generic Elective (GE) - 4 (Inter-Disciplinary)
25	Ethics In Public Domain
26	Formal Logic
27	Feminism
28	Bio-Ethics
29	Skill Enhancement Course (SEC) - 2
30	Critical Thinking
31	Art And Film Appreciation

 

 

Sl.No	BA Social Work Syllabus
1	Beginnings of Social Work
2	Fundamentals of Social Work
3	Sociology for Social Work
4	Concurrent Field Work
5	Concurrent - Qualifying Language
6	Basic Concepts in Psychology
7	Contemporary Social Concerns
8	Social Psychology
9	Concurrent - Credit Language
10	Working with Individuals
11	Working with Groups
12	Social Deviance and Social Problems
13	Community Organisation
14	Communication and Development
15	Physical, Mental, and Community Health
16	Social Policy and Social Development
17	Social Legislation and Human Rights
18	Social Action and Movements
19	Social Welfare and Administration
20	Research in Social Work
21	Areas of Social Work Practice II
22	NGO Movement

 

Sl.No	BA Economics Syllabus
1	Introductory Microeconomics
2	Mathematical Methods for Economics-I
3	Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course-I
4	Generic Elective-I
5	Introductory Macroeconomics
6	Mathematical Methods for Economics-II
7	Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course-II
8	Generic Elective-II
9	Intermediate Microeconomics-I
10	Intermediate Macroeconomics-I
11	Statistical Methods for Economics
12	Skill Enhancement Course-I
13	Generic Elective-III
14	Intermediate Microeconomics-II
15	Intermediate Macroeconomics-II
16	Introductory Econometrics
17	Skill Enhancement Course-II
18	Generic Elective-IV
19	Indian Economy-I
20	Development Economics-I
21	Discipline-Specific Elective-I
22	Discipline-Specific Elective-II
23	Indian Economy-II
24	Development Economics-II
25	Discipline-Specific Elective-III
26	Discipline-Specific Elective-IV

 

 

Sl.No	BA Archaeology Syllabus
1	Methodology and Perspectives of Social Science
2	History of Art and Architecture in India
3	Basics of Archaeology
4	Introduction to Sociology
5	Cultural Transition in Pre-Modern India
6	Methods of Archaeology
7	History of Folklore
8	Development of Sociological Theory
9	Making of Modern India
10	Informatics
11	Basics of Indian Numismatics
12	Introduction to Political Science
13	Understanding the Past
14	Early Societies in India
15	Development of Numismatics in India
16	Governmental Machinery and Processes
17	Growth of Indian Archaeology
18	Introduction to Archives and Records
19	Environmental History
20	Archaeological Sites and Monuments in India
21	Archival Conservation and Reprography

 

Sl.No	BA Sociology Syllabus
1	Introduction to Sociology
2	Sociology of India
3	Sociological Theories
4	Methods of Sociological Enquiry
5	Religion and Society
6	Marriage, Family, and Kinship
7	Social Stratification
8	Gender and Sexuality
9	Polity and Society in India
10	Economy and Society
11	Techniques of Social Research
12	Gender Sensitisation
13	Society Through the Visual

 

Sl.No	BA Geography Syllabus
1	Geomorphology
2	Climatology
3	Cartographic Techniques
4	Geography of Population
5	Concurrent – Qualifying Language
6	Analytical Physical Geography
7	Oceanography
8	Thematic Cartography (Practical)
9	Geography of Settlements
10	Concurrent - Credit Language
11	Economic Geography
12	Environmental Geography
13	Remote Sensing (Practical)
14	Urban Geography
15	Concurrent - Interdisciplinary
16	Geography of Natural Resources
17	Spatial Dimensions of Development
18	Statistical Methods in Geography
19	Geography of India
20	Concurrent - Discipline Centered-I
21	Evolution of Geographical Thought
22	Social Geography
23	Field Techniques
24	Agricultural Geography* (Optional)
25	BioGeography* (Optional)
26	Political Geography* (Optional)
27	Disaster Management
28	Regional Planning: Case Studies
29	Geographical Information System
30	Geography of Tourism* (Optional)
31	Contemporary Environmental Issues* (Optional)
32	Rural Development* (Optional)

 

 

Sl.No	BA Anthropology Syllabus
1	Introduction to Social Anthropology
2	Introduction to Biological Anthropology
3	Archaeological Anthropology-I
4	Technical Writing & Communication in English/ Computational Skills
5	Archaeological Anthropology-II
6	Anthropology of Kinship
7	Biostatistics and Data Analysis
8	Theories of Culture and Society
9	Human Genetics
10	Primate Biology / Cell Biology-I
11	Molecular Biology-I
12	Tribes and Peasants in India
13	Anthropology of religion, politics & economy
14	Biodiversity & Indigenous Knowledge / Cell Biology-II
15	Anthropology of India / Molecular Biology-II
16	Human Ecology: Biological Dimensions
17	Biological Diversity in Human Populations
18	Human Ecology: Social and Cultural Dimensions
19	Genetics & Genomics-I
20	Fieldwork dissertation
21	Fundamental of Human Origins and Evolution
22	Genomic Diversity in Human Populations
23	Anthropology In Practice / Genetics & Genomics-II

 

Sl.No	BA Linguistics Syllabus
Core Courses - Discipline-Specific Course (DSC)-4
1	Introduction to Language
2	Elementary Phonetics and Phonology
3	Morphosyntactic Processes
4	Language, Mind, and Brain
Discipline-Specific Elective (DSE) Any Two
5	Language, Society and Language Change
6	Linguistic Tradition and Historical Linguistics.
Generic Elective (Inter-Disciplinary) Any Two
7	Issues in Applied Linguistics-I
8	Issues in Applied Linguistics-II
	or
9	GE-2(ii): Language Interfaces
Skill Enhancement Course [SEC]
10	Understanding Human Language
11	Understanding Hindi as a Foreign Language
12	Understanding Concepts of Translation
13	Understanding Concepts of Language Acquisition and Intervention.

BA Course Eligibility:

For admission in the BA course, it is essential for students to fulfill the eligibility criteria. Students who have successfully passed their higher secondary examinations (10+2) from a recognized education board with any stream can opt for BA course. Many colleges and universities conduct entrance exams for students to be eligible for the course. While other colleges require students to have scored a minimum of 50% in their 12th exams. There is no age limit to apply for this course.

BA Course Admission

BA Admission is possible through both entrance examination and merit-based. Many universities offer both direct admission and entrance exam-based admission to the BA course. Candidates who are applying for the Bachelor of Arts program should have all the necessary documents before giving the entrance test, such as 12th results and I.D verification.

BA degree course applications are available either online from the University website or offline by visiting the Admissions Office of the university. Specific colleges and universities also admit students with exceptional performance in extra-curricular activities under the ECA and Sports Quota. Usually, 5% of seats are reserved under the ECA and Sports Quota. An interview would be conducted by some of the exams before admissions to check if the students have good communication skills.

BA Specialisations

Some of the popular specialization options available to the aspirants of the BA course are listed below:

Sl.No	Specializations
1	BA English
2	BA in Political Science
3	BA History
4	BA Psychology
5	BA Philosophy
6	BA Social Work
7	BA Economics
8	BA Archaeology
9	BA Sociology
10	BA Geography
11	BA Anthropology
12	BA Linguistics
13	BA Rural Studies
14	BA Hindi
15	BA Bengali
16	BA Tamil
17	BA Marathi
18	BA Telugu
19	BA Kannada
20	BA Malayalam
21	BA Assamese
22	BA Bihari
23	BA Odiya
24	BA Journalism
25	BA Psychology
26	BA German
27	BA French
28	BA Italian
29	BA Hebrew
30	BA Spanish
31	BA Russian
32	BA Chinese
33	BA Japanese
34	BA Photography
35	BA Korean
36	BA Agro Sciences
37	BA Airlines, Hospitality and Customer Care
38	BA Ancient History
39	BA Ancient Indian Culture
40	BA Arabic
41	BA Cinematography
42	BA Corporate Secretaryship
43	BA Comparative Religion
44	BA Criminology
45	BA Culinary Art
46	BA Defence and Strategic Studies
47	BA Drawing and Painting
48	BA Education
49	BA Punjabi
50	BA Gujarati

 

BA Job Opportunities

The most lucrative among the jobs afforded to the BA graduates are listed below:

1. Executive Assistant
2. Operations Manager
3. Human Resources Manager
4. Graphic Designer
5. Content Writer
6. Operations Team Leader
7. Marketing Manager
8. Business Development Manager

 

List of BA Colleges

Some of the top colleges in India where aspirants may pursue BA courses are listed below:

Sl.No	Name of the College
1	Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi
2	Loyola College, Chennai
3	Christ University, Bangalore
4	St. Xavier's College, Mumbai
5	Miranda House, Delhi University
6	Hans Raj College, Delhi University
7	Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi
8	Hindu College, Delhi University
9	Ramjas College, Delhi University
10	Madras Christian College, Chennai

Distance BA

Some of the top colleges in India for the pursuing BA course through distance mode or correspondence mode are listed below:

1. Indira Gandhi National Open University [IGNOU]
2. Sikkim Manipal University
3. Madurai Kamaraj University
4. University of Madras
5. Acharya Nagarjuna University Center for Distance Education [ANUCDE]
6. Punjab University
7. Karnataka State Open University
8. Delhi University
9. Tamil Nadu Open University
10. University of Pune

Difference Between BA and B.Sc

Sl.No	BA	BSc
1	Bachelor of Arts	Bachelor of Science
2	BA course is an undergraduate course that deals with the subjects that come under arts/humanities. BA graduates are capable of working in any industry irrespective of the field.	BSc is an undergraduate course dealing with subjects related only to science, which can either be Physical science or life science. The jobs for BSc graduates os only available in the science field and are limited.

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