Types of Bachelor's Degrees: The Complete Guide

What Is a Bachelor's Degree?

A bachelor's degree is the basic higher education degree you can get. Universities award it to students who have certain knowledge, skills, and training in one or more subjects. This level usually comes after you finish secondary school and before you take on a master's degree course. Some jobs in related fields require this level of education, as without it your expertise might be deemed insufficient for the position.

In the UK, bachelor's degrees are considered a level 6 qualification based on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF). Graduate certificates and degree apprenticeships are also at level 6. However, the Scottish system places ordinary bachelor's degrees at level 9 and honours degrees at level 10, depending on the subject.

A student studying towards their first bachelor's is considered an undergraduate. This means you have just finished further education but don't have any degree yet. But you might have a diploma or completed an apprenticeship. Undergraduates are commonly around 20 years old, but some may be older — nowadays, you can get a degree at any point in life. Online and part-time courses make it very easy to join the programme even if you are a working professional.

You can get a bachelor's degree in up to four years. While it usually takes only three, some programmes incorporate a placement year or studying abroad, which adds an extra year. Certain subjects may take longer, but four years is a typical full-time studying experience.

The Most Common Types of Undergraduate Degrees (BA, BSc, BEng, LLB)

Universities offer a huge variety of undergraduate degrees to students. No matter what you're interested in and which professional path you want to take in the future, you can find a suitable course to enrol in.

One of the most common degrees you'll see at universities is BA — Bachelor of Arts. If you're curious to learn about art, humanities, and social sciences, BA should be your choice. This degree encompasses:

• English;
• history;
• philosophy;
• languages.

But you don't have to focus on just one. Some students choose to study two at a time, especially if they complement each other in some ways. For instance, you can take on philosophy and history to see how philosophical viewpoints developed throughout the years. In a BA, you will write essays and pass written exams, while most of your classes will be independent.

If natural and applied sciences sound more interesting, you should select a Bachelor of Science (BSc) programme. Biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and mathematics are the focus of a BSc, which is more technical and practical. You can expect a lot of experiments, practice, and more contact hours at university. Based on the subject, you might spend some time in the lab, too.

Some students, however, would like to focus on engineering in particular. Those interested in civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering can enrol in the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) course. It's similar to a BSc in Engineering, but your degree may be accredited by a professional engineering institution, meaning it concentrates more on the engineering speciality. If you know you want to become an engineer in the future, this path can give you an industry placement.

The first step towards a career as a barrister or a solicitor can be an LLB covering the seven foundation subjects, such as constitutional law, contract law, and criminal law. Although a BA in Law already exists, whether either qualification lets you proceed to Bar training without taking a conversion course depends on whether it covers the required subjects.

For solicitors, however, a degree in this field is not compulsory under the SQE route. Other than that, both can provide high-quality legal education.

How to Choose the Right Bachelor's Degree for Your Career

Now that you know the answers to questions like "What is a bachelor's degree?" and "What kind of undergraduate degrees are there?", you have to understand how to choose the right one. The whole course will take up to four years, and it's important to do your research beforehand. Don't invest your time, money, and effort into something that won't benefit your career in the long run.

Think about the topics and subjects you're interested in, and note down your aspirations and professional positions you'd like to occupy in the future. You might not be set on one career path yet, and that's okay. In that case, you can either take a shorter course online or find a job. You can also take a broader programme, such as an English BA.

If you know what you enjoy and who you want to be in the next 10 years, however, you can take a more specific step forward. A degree like an LLB or BEng might suit you. In the end, your choice will be based on how confident you are in your interests and plans.

Essential Skills You Will Learn During Your Undergraduate Studies

The skills you gain from completing a bachelor's degree programme don't particularly depend on the subject you choose. All types of undergraduate degrees upgrade your:

• communication;
• critical thinking;
• analytical skills;
• research skills;
• digital literacy;
• media awareness;
• creativity;
• adaptability;
• emotional intelligence.

As a student, you will be writing and speaking a lot. Whether completing assignments, passing exams, or giving presentations, you will have to express your ideas clearly and be able to discuss them with others. Your communication skills will naturally get better, and that will be extremely valuable in the future. Media, journalism, marketing, corporate communication, and other niches will value these abilities, letting you build worthwhile relationships and influence others.

The same goes for analysing information around you. Interpreting things correctly lets you make conscious, responsible decisions instead of guessing. Critical thinking is also essential in all fields you could possibly explore, including business, consulting, policymaking, and others.

But analysis is impossible without research. During a bachelor's degree course, students are required to conduct research on different subjects and topics, evaluate sources, and show their findings through essays and presentations.

Researching allows you to understand facts and see whether the sources you are using are accurate before you make any decisions — especially now, when misinformation and fake news are extremely common. This is important in government roles, journalism, market research, and social work.

Creativity presents a different side of the coin. You will mostly develop that skill if you pursue BA subjects in writing, storytelling, and coming up with new ideas. If you become an author, this will be the backbone of your work, making it more unique, interesting, and attention-grabbing. But this is just as valuable in other careers tied to content creation, marketing, advertising, and branding. Brands that want to stand out will hire you to create high-quality content.

And you will know exactly how to do this, thanks to your undergraduate degree, as it'll train your digital literacy and media awareness skills. It's impossible to go through life without digital tools, online platforms, or media trends. They have become a core part of modern living. During the programme, you will utilise these skills to prepare for online marketing, journalism, content creation, and other careers.

A bachelor's course requires students to understand different topics, look at them from multiple perspectives, and learn how to handle several assignments at once. Students become multi-taskers if they want to graduate, adapting to new situations. Not only that, but they do it efficiently, without dropping the quality of their results.

Adaptability and multi-tasking are intertwined and essential for any expert. Executives in corporations, managers, entrepreneurs, and other professionals have to juggle more than one task at a time, so employers naturally look for employees who can work in dynamic environments. An undergraduate degree prepares students for this part of their career in advance.

Last but not least, you'll learn to understand people around you, their emotions, and social behaviour. Subjects like sociology and psychology explore this the most, but other bachelor's degree courses also encourage these skills. Employees with emotional intelligence can communicate with others better, build trust more easily, and perfect their relationships.

What Comes After a Bachelor's Degree? Elevate Your Qualifications

A bachelor's degree is the most basic degree you can get from the university. There are many courses you can choose from, regardless of your passions and career plans. For example, you can pursue BA degrees like fine arts and history or focus on practical science programmes. Either way, today, a bachelor's degree is often just the baseline entry requirement for the job market.

In general, employers are looking for candidates with higher-level qualifications in relevant subjects. To stand out — especially in highly competitive niches like HoReCa — employers increasingly look for candidates with postgraduate Master's degrees. So, if you want to step into a leadership role in the hospitality sector, IHCL's MA in Hotel & Restaurant Business will give you the competitive edge you need. With an online learning approach, this course will suit aspiring professionals and career changers who want leadership roles.