Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts (BA, B.A., AB or A.B. from the Latin artium baccalaureus or baccalaureus artium) is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both. Bachelor of Arts degree programs generally take three to four years depending on the country, academic institution, and specific specializations, majors or minors. The word baccalaureus or baccalarium (from the Latin bacca, a berry, and laureus, "of the bay laurel") should not be confused with baccalaureatus (translatable as "gold-plated scepter" by using the Latin baculum and aureatus), which refers to the one- to two-year postgraduate Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree (Baccalaureatus in Artibus Cum Honore) in some countries.

Diplomas generally give the name of the institution, signatures of officials of the institution (generally the president or rector of the university as well as the secretary or dean of the component college), the type of degree conferred, the conferring authority and the location at which the degree is conferred. Degree diplomas generally are printed on high quality paper or parchment; individual institutions set the preferred abbreviation for their degrees.