BA Psychology vs BSc Psychology: Which is Better?, Top Colleges, Jobs

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Psychology courses are pursued by candidates aspiring to study the human mind, understand the functions affecting human behavior and its possible effects on human health. Students are taught topics like human brain development, consciousness, behavior, etc.

Psychology has gathered lots of attention because of its scope and application in different areas including society, industries, education, etc. In the field of psychology, two different courses are provided including BA psychology and BSc psychology which further gives rise to different specializations including clinical psychology, health psychology, forensic science, and many more.

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In this article, we will be discussing the difference between these two different courses of the same field named BA psychology and BSc psychology. According to the experts, these two courses differ from one another because of their classification and nomenclature. Let’s discuss the two courses one by one to know them in a better way.

Difference Between BA Psychology and BSc Psychology

After discussing both the courses separately, we can say that BSc psychology differs from BA psychology in various ways like syllabus, etc. 

However, there are also similarities between the courses like admission procedure, duration, etc. The key differences between BA Psychology and BSc Psychology are tabulated below.

Particulars BA Psychology BSc Psychology
Eligibility Criteria Class 12th with a minimum of 50% marks in any stream Class 12th with a minimum of 50% marks in science stream
Focus Area Includes both Psychological and Non-Psychological fields. Includes Applied Psychology and Research Psychology
Admission Procedure Both Merit and Entrance based Mainly Entrance Based
Average Fee 15,000 INR to 450,000 INR 20,000 INR to 600,000 INR
Job Opportunities Clinical Psychologist, Career Counsellor, Rehab Specialist, Day-Care Supervisor, etc. Human Resource Manager, Psychology Assistant, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, etc.
Average Annual Salary 80,000 INR to 10,00,000 200,000 INR to 650,000 INR

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BA Psychology

Bachelor of Arts (BA) psychology is an undergraduate course offered by various colleges and universities across India for a time duration of 3 years. The course is divided into 6 semesters and for the first four semesters, students are directed towards the theory part and practical work. After completing the theory and practical parts, students deal with the projects and internships in the last semesters of the course.

Check: BA Psychology Top Colleges

Students who wish to pursue the course must have completed class 12th with a minimum of 50% marks from any recognized board in any stream. The BA Psychology admission process varies for different institutions. Some colleges admit students on merit basis however, some colleges admit students through the entrance exams. The fee for the course ranges from 15,000 INR to 450,000 INR per year.

After completing BA psychology, students can proceed to make a career in different fields including law, education, counseling, journalism, etc. and the job profiles include Career Counsellor, Social Worker, Teacher, etc. The salary after completing the BA Psychology course ranges from 120,000 INR to 10,00,000 INR depending on the type of job profile. Students can also specialize in different fields after completing BA Psychology and these specializations include Forensic Psychology, Criminal Psychology, Child Psychology, Organizational Psychology, etc.

To know the BA Psychology course in a better way, students must be aware of the syllabus and the subjects taught during the course for three years. The course deals mainly with the study of mind and behavior. However, the semester-wise syllabus for the BA Psychology course is mentioned in the table below.

Semester I Semester II
Introduction to Psychology Psychology of Individual Differences
Statistical Methods for Psychology Research-I English Communication
Environmental Science Biopsychology
GE-I GE-II
Semester III Semester IV
Social Psychology Statistical Methods for Psychology Research- II
Development of Psychological Thought Applied Social Psychology
Psychological Research Understanding Psychological Disorders
AEEC-I AEEC-II
GE-III GE-IV
Semester V Semester VI
Understanding and Dealing with Psychological Disorders Organizational Behavior
Development Psychology Counseling Psychology
DSE-I DSE-III
DSE-II DSE-IV

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Top BA Psychology Colleges

Some of the top colleges offering the course BA Psychology are tabulated below.

College Name Average fee INR
Amity University, Noida INR 420,000
ICRI, Nehru Place INR 270,000
Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar INR 24,000
St. Xavier's College INR 16,560
Fergusson College, Pune INR 22,350

BSc Psychology

BSc Psychology is an undergraduate course of a duration of 3 years which is further divided into 6 semesters. The course aims to train students to analyze and understand the behavior, attitudes, emotions, pressure management, motivation, etc. organized by different biological functions and processes including cerebral processes and characteristics of the brain.

See: BSc Psychology Admission

Students, who wish to pursue the course BSc Psychology must have completed class 10+2 from any recognized board with a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate in science stream. Students are admitted to the course on both an entrance and merit basis. Some of the entrance exams conducted for admission to the course include BHU UET, CUET, DUET, etc. The average fee for the course ranges from 20,000 INR to 6,00,000 INR for the entire course duration.

After completing the BSc psychology course, students can find different career opportunities in various public and private sectors. The job profiles offered after completing BSc psychology include Mental Health Counsellor, Industrial Psychologist, Child Psychologist, etc. and the average starting salary provided for these job profiles is around 450,000 INR per year. After completing BSC psychology, students can go for further studies and can pursue courses like MSc psychology and so on.

To have a clear view of the course BSc Psychology, the semester-wise syllabus is discussed in the table below.

Semester I Semester II
Language (English) Language-II
Language (Choice) General Psychology
Introduction to Psychology Psychology of Individual Differences
Introduction to Social Work Child Development Study
Biological Basis of Behavior Experimental Psychology Studies
Semester III Semester IV
Language III Language IV
Human Development Social Psychology-II
Behavioral Science Experimental Psychology Studies-II
Environmental Studies Consumer Behavior
Soft Skills Developmental Psychology
Research Methodologies Statistics in psychology
Psychology of Adolescence and Adulthood Core Elective-I
Semester V Semester VI
Abnormal Psychology Community Psychology
Counseling Psychology Psychopathology
Organizational Behavior Human Resource Development
Psychological Research Core Elective-III
Core Elective-II Project

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Top BSc Psychology Colleges

Some of the top colleges providing BSC Psychology courses are mentioned in the table below.

College Name Average Fee INR
Chandigarh University INR 110,000
Jain University, Bangalore INR 124,000
IGNOU INR 4,000- 16,000
Jamia Millia Islamia INR 20,000 – 24,000
Sophia College, Mumbai INR 48,000 – 198,000

Difference Between BA Psychology and BSc Psychology FAQs

Ques. Which is better BA or BSc in Psychology?

Ans. Both the courses are good to pursue. There are no such pros and cons of one over the other. Students, who wish to develop a career in research psychology can opt for BSc psychology.

Ques. Can you become a psychologist with a BA in Psychology?

Ans. Yes, after completing class 12th, you need to choose BA Psychology course and you can become a psychologist with a BA in psychology degree.

Ques. Is BA in Psychology worth it?

Ans. Yes, the course BA in Psychology is worth it as it is finding applications in different fields such as education, industries, the society we live in, etc. You can also get a decent salary after completing BA Psychology ranging from 120,000 INR to 10,00,000 INR per annum.

Ques. Can I do a BSc in Psychology after 12th arts?

Ans. To opt for a BSc Psychology course, students need to have completed class 12th with science stream. So, students with arts stream in class 12th can opt for BA Psychology other than BSc Psychology Course.

Ques. Is BA Psychology hard?

Ans. In terms of coursework, we can say that the course is a bit hard as it requires citing your sources of assignments and also will require you to back up lots of arguments that you will be having.

Ques. Which course is better after BA Psychology?

Ans. There are lots of specializations after BA psychology. Some of the top specializations after BA Psychology include Child Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Criminal Psychology, etc.

Ques. Can I do MBA after BA or BSc in Psychology?

Ans. Yes, you can pursue MBA after BA in Psychology or BSc Psychology as you need to have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% marks to pursue MBA.

Ques. Can a BA Psychology student do MSc Psychology?

Ans. Yes, after completing BA psychology, you can apply for the MSc Psychology course.

Ques. What can I do with a Psychology degree?

Ans. A candidate with a Psychology degree can go for different areas of employment and also can continue studies in the same field. The areas of employment for a psychology degree holder include industries, private sectors, govt. sectors, society, etc. And the job profiles offered are clinical Psychologist, Career Counsellor, Day-Care Supervisor, Human Resource Manager, Psychology Assistant, etc.

Ques. What is the salary after BSc Psychology and BA Psychology?

Ans. The average annual salary after completing BSc Psychology ranges from 200,000 INR to 650,000 INR. Whereas, the salary after completing BA Psychology ranges from 120,000 INR to 10,00,000 INR

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