Bachelor of Arts (BA): Syllabus, Courses, Scope, Fees, Online, Salary, Distance

Bachelor of Arts (BA) is an undergraduate arts programme. BA degrees can be obtained in a variety of disciplines, including English, Hindi, History, Journalism, and Psychology. In India, the course can be started immediately after graduating from high school. Colleges typically offer a three-year Arts programme in a variety of streams such as Design, Mass Communication, and Hospitality.

BA (Hons) or BA courses are available in full-time, part-time, correspondence, or distance education formats. It is mandatory to study five subjects in addition to a few electives. The subjects will differ depending on the subject chosen.

Overview of Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Full Form	Bachelor of Arts
Duration of Course	3 Years
Eligibility Criteria	50% in class 12th
Admission Process	Merit Based and Entrance Exam Based
Courses	BA History, BA English, BA Hindi, BA Economics, BA Sociology etc
BA Course in Open University	IGNOU
BA Jobs	Psychiatrist, Historian, Sociologist, Author, Writer etc

Relevant Links
Bachelor Of Visual Arts [BVA]	Bachelor Of Arts [BA] (multimedia)	Bachelor Of Arts [BA] (journalism)
Bachelor Of Arts [BA] (computer Applications)	Bachelor Of Fine Arts [BFA]	Bachelor Of Performing Arts [BPA]

Eligibility Criteria of Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Candidates can check the eligibility criteria for admission to the BA course listed below.

• Aspirants must have a 10+2 diploma from a recognized board.
• Some colleges also require aspirants to have a minimum of 50% aggregate marks at the 10+2 level.
• Some colleges also provide a 5% weightage in this criterion for SC/ST candidates.

Admission Process for Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Admission to the BA programme in India is available through both merit and entrance exam.

• BA Admission by Merit: Colleges create a cut-off list, and if your score falls within that range, you can enrol in that programme. In elite colleges such as Hindu College, Miranda House, St. Stephens College, Gargi College, and others, the cut off list for Bachelor of Arts is as high as 98 percent.
• BA Admission via Entrance Exams: A few colleges, including Banaras Hindu University and Delhi University, accept admission through entrance exams such as JNUEE, BHU UET, DUET, and others. When applying for a Bachelor of Arts programme, the results of these entrance exams and/or Class XII results are considered.

The bachelor of arts admissions process is the same for both merit and entrances admissions, including registration, document uploading, and application fee payment. The only difference is that in the case of entrance admission, one must collect the admit card and sit for the entrances.

Some important facts about BA Admission are listed below:

• Bachelor of Arts Admission is primarily based on class 12 merit. Entrance exams are held by a few colleges, including BHU, St. Xaviers, Jadavpur University, and Loyola College.
• To be eligible for Bachelor of Arts admission, a candidate must have a minimum of 50% in class 12. Top BA colleges require a merit score of 90 percent or higher.
• Registration for Bachelor of Arts admission typically begins in the months of May and June.
• CUCET/CUET will be used for admission to Delhi University and its affiliated colleges.
• Patna Women’s College and Christ University have already begun registration for BA admission.
• JNUEE, Calcutta University Entrance Exam, NPAT, IPU CET, BHU UET, and TISSBAT are the top BA entrance exams.

Benefits of Pursuing Bachelor of Arts (BA)

With over 9 million people choosing to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree, it has become one of India’s most popular courses. Some of the reasons why you should pursue a BA after high school are as follows:

• A bachelor’s degree in the arts offers more career options than a bachelor’s degree in science or business.
• In contrast to a BSc, BBA, or BCom, which focuses on a specific discipline, a Bachelor of Arts focuses on a broad range of concepts.
• A BA degree allows graduates to work in healthcare, management, business, finance, commerce, or any other field.
• Because most government jobs and government exams, such as the SSC, require candidates to have a bachelor’s degree in the arts, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the arts is the best option for those who want to work in the government sector.
• Bachelor of Arts graduates have the same number of job opportunities as IT and Medical Course graduates.
• Bachelor of Arts emphasises cultural knowledge, which is not taught in other courses.
• Bachelor of Arts programme places a greater emphasis on emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills.

Skills Required for Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Candidates interested in pursuing a BA course should have the following skillset:

• Interpersonal skills
• Goal-oriented
• Management skills
• Good communication skills
• Analytical thinking
• Problem-solving skills
• Intellectually curious
• Organisation skills
• Ability to work under pressure
• Inquisitive

Entrance Exams for Bachelor of Arts (BA)

There is a list of entrance exams for students interested in pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree. For your convenience, we have listed a few of the top entrance exams as well as other important prerequisites.

• Students who wish to pursue a Bachelor of Arts must pass the entrance exam for the course.
• Admission to Bachelor of Arts programmes is based on the results of an entrance exam and an interview round conducted by the respective universities.
• A candidate can apply for several entrance exams, including BHU-UET, IPU-CET, TISSBAT, JNUEE, NPAT, and others, depending on the college to which he or she wishes to apply.

Preparation Tips for Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Top BA Colleges in India accept students based on their class XII results. BA cut-off scores in Miranda, Gargi, and Hindu reach 98-99 percent. As a result, it is critical to prepare thoroughly for both the class 12 exams and the entrance exams.

• Keep track of the colleges to which you want to apply and ensure that you meet the eligibility requirements.
• To ensure a smooth process, ensure that applications for BA colleges are submitted well ahead of time.
• Making a proper timetable is essential when preparing for the entrances.
• One must be aware of what is going on in and around the world, as well as keep up to date on colleges, exams, and admission procedures.

Top Colleges for Bachelor of Arts in India

Top BA colleges in India are concentrated in major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Pune, among others. The tables below discuss the top BA colleges in five major Indian cities.

In Mumbai

College Name	Fees (INR)
Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College	4825
KC College	10815
Wilson College	4095
NMIMS BSSA	427000
NMIMS JDSOLA	452000
Mithibai College of Arts	8000
Amity University Mumbai	80,000
Whistling Woods International	9,00,000
SP Jain School of Management	12,77,940
DG Ruparel College of Arts, Science and Commerce	5805

In Delhi

College Name	Fees (INR)
Lady Shri Ram College for Women	20370
Miranda House	14160
Hindu College	17560
Hansraj College	20545
Indian Institute of Art and Design	4,68,975
Ramjas College	13495
Jesus and Mary College	15610
Gargi College	12295
Sri Venkateswara College	12405
Delhi College of Arts and Commerce	9095

In Kolkata

College Name	Fees (INR)
St Xaviers College	32600
Asutosh College	4730
Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose College	8600
Sarsuna College	2100
University of Calcutta	2899
Bangabasi College	4810
Charuchandra College	5410
Chittaranjan College	2905
Deshbandhu College for Girls	4530
Maharaja Sris Chandra College	2450

In Bangalore

College Name	Fees (INR)
St Joseph’s College	28800
Universal Group of Institutions	150000
Brindavan Group of Institutions	105600
RS College of Management	200000
SEA College of Arts and Commerce	55,000
SJR College of Arts, Commerce and Science	6000
BWMC	292955
Bangalore University	1857
The National Degree College	9000
London American City College	20000

In Pune

College Name	Fees (INR)
St Mira College for Girls	19350
Abeda Inamdar Senior College	9240
Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University	16000
Hutatma Rajguru Mahavidyalaya	7120
Tikaram jagannath College of Arts, Commerce and Science	5400
MU College of Commerce	2400
MIT Art, design and Technology University	45000
TCC Pune	4010
SMNC Pune	2730

Top Colleges for Bachelor of Arts in Abroad

Aspirants can find top BA colleges in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada to pursue various specialisations in BA courses.

In USA

College Name	Fees (USD)
Stanford University	74000
MIT	51500
University of California	44000
Columbia University	59000
University of Chicago	56000
Princeton University	49400
Yale University	60000
Cornell University	58600
University of Pennsylvania	50500
Johns Hopkins University	54200

In UK

College Name	Fees (USD)
University of Cambridge	44500
University of Oxford	33000
University College London	23400
University of Edinburgh	37300
Kings College of London	38500
University of Manchster	26400
University of Glasgow	26500
University of Bristol	23000
University of Southampton	25700
University of Warwick	22100

In Canada

College Name	Fees (USD)
University of Toronto	45600
University of British Columbia	32200
McGill University	17000
University of Montreal	14400
University of Alberta	22100
McMaster University	26700
University of Calgary	16600
University of Waterloo	32300
University of Ontario Institute of Technology	18200
Queen’s University	18200

In Australia

College Name	Fees (USD)
Australian National University	27900
University of Melbourne	23800
University of NSW	24300
University of Sydney	25500
University of Queensland	32500
Monash University	11200
University of Adelaide	28500
University of Western Australia	22800
Macquarie University	20200
University of Wollongong	16200

Types of Bachelor of Arts Programmes

Aside from a regular Bachelor of Arts of three years duration, an aspirant can pursue BA in distance mode or online mode, which is designed to meet the needs of individuals who want to pursue Bachelor of Arts from home or while working full-time.

Types of BA	Eligibility Criteria	Duration	Average Fees
Full-time BA	10+2 from a recognised board with 50% marks	3 years	INR 10,000 – 80,000
Distance BA	10+2 qualifying degree from a recognized board.	3-6 Years	INR 6,000 – 20,000
Online BA	10+2 qualifying degree from a recognized board.	3 years	INR 40 000 to 1,00, 000

Syllabus for Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The syllabus for the BA programme varies by subject. However, there are a few BA subjects that are required for all programmes. The following are the results:

General knowledge	Comprehensive Ability
Indian Polity	Numerical and Mental Ability
The Human Body & Common Disease	History & Indian Culture
Population & Climate Change	Environmental Studies

The BA programme includes an integrated syllabus for several subjects. The following is an explanation:

BA Subjects & Syllabus
BA English
English Literature	Twentieth-Century Indian Writing
Concurrent – Qualifying Language	Nineteenth-Century European Realism/ Classical Literature/ Forms of Popular Fiction
Concurrent – Discipline Centered	Contemporary Literature
Anglo-American Writing from 1930/ Literary Theory/ Women’s Writing of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries/ Modern European Drama	(-)
BA Political Science
Language – MIL/ English Environmental Science	Understanding Political Theory
Constitutional Government and Democracy in India	Generic Elective
Environmental Science Language – MIL/ English	Political Theory-Concepts and Debates
Political Process in India	Introduction to Comparative Government & Politics
Perspectives on Public Administration	Perspectives on International Relations
Ability Enhancement Course	Pol. Process & Inst. in Comparative Perspective
Public Policy and Administration in India	Global Politics
Generic Elective	Ability Enhancement Course
Classical Political Philosophy	Modern Indian Political Thought
Modern Political Philosophy	Indian Political Thought
BA History
History of India	Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the Ancient World
Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the Medieval World	Rise of Modern West
History of Modern Europe	History Of Southeast Asia: 19th Century
History of Modern East Asia	Generic Elective (Interdisciplinary Any Four): Environmental Issues In India, Research Methodology in History, Making of Contemporary India, Delhi: Ancient, Delhi: Medieval, Delhi: Modern or Issues in the Contemporary World Any Two: Understanding Heritage/ Art Appreciation: An Introduction to Indian Art/ Archives and museums/ Understanding Popular Culture
BA Psychology
Introduction to Psychology	Statistical Methods for Psychological Research-I
Environmental Science	General Psychology
Bio psychology	Psychology of Individual Differences
English Communication	Youth, Gender and Identity
Development of Psychological	Psychological Research
Social Psychology	Emotional Intelligence
Psychology for Health and Well-being	Understanding Psychological Disorders
Statistical Methods for Psychological Research-II	Applied Social Psychology
Stress Management	Psychology at Work
Dealing with Psychological Disorders	Developmental Psychology
Positive Psychology	Human Resource Management
Organizational Behavior	Counselling Psychology
Health Psychology	Community Psychology
BA Philosophy
Indian Philosophy	Logic
Greek Philosophy	Ethics
Western Philosophy: Descartes to Kant	Social & Political Philosophy: Indian and Western
Applied Ethics	Text of Indian Philosophy
Text of Western Philosophy	Truth Functional Logic
Analytic Philosophy	Continental Philosophy
Philosophy of Religion (Indian & Western)	Philosophy of Language (Indian & Western)
BA Social Work
Beginnings of Social Work	Fundamental of Social Work
Sociology for Social Work	Concurrent Field Work
Concurrent- Qualifying Language	Basic Concepts in Psychology
Contemporary Social Concerns	Social Psychology
Concurrent- credit Language	Working with Individuals
Working with Groups	Social Deviance and Social Problems
Community Organisation	Communication and Development
Physical, Mental and Community Health	Social Policy and Social Development
Social Legislation and Human Rights	Social Action and Movements
Social Welfare and Administration	Research in Social Work
Areas of Social Work Practice II	NGO Movement
BA Economics
Introductory Microeconomics	Mathematical Methods for Economics
Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course	Generic Elective
Introductory Macroeconomics	Mathematical Methods for Economics
Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course	Intermediate Microeconomics
Statistical Methods for Economics	Skill Enhancement Course
Intermediate Microeconomics & Macroeconomics	Introductory Econometrics
Skill Enhancement Course	Indian Economy
Development Economics	Discipline-Specific Elective
Indian Economy	Development Economics
BA Archaeology
Methodology and Perspectives of Social Science	History of Art and Architecture in India
Basics of Archaeology	Introduction to Sociology
Cultural Transition in Pre-Modern Kerala	Methods of Archaeology
History of Folklore	Development of Sociological Theory
Making of Modern Kerala
BA Sociology
Methodology and Perspectives of Social Science	History of Art and Architecture in India
Basics of Archaeology	Introduction to Sociology
Cultural Transition in Pre-Modern Kerala	Methods of Archaeology
History of Folklore	Development of Sociological Theory
Making of Modern Kerala	Informatics
Basics of Indian Numismatics	Introduction to Political Science
Understanding the Past	Early Societies in India
Development of Numismatics in India	Governmental Machinery and Processes
Growth of Indian Archaeology	Introduction to Archives and Records
Archaeological Sites and Monuments in India	Archival Conservation and Reprography
BA Geography
Geomorphology	Climatology
Cartographic Techniques	Geography of Population
Concurrent – Qualifying Language	Analytical Physical Geography
Oceanography	Thematic Cartography (Practical)
Geography of Settlements	Concurrent – Credit Language
Economic Geography	Environmental Geography
Remote Sensing (Practical)	Urban Geography
Concurrent – Interdisciplinary	Geography of Natural Resources
Spatial Dimensions of Development	Statistical Methods in Geography
Geography of India	Evolution of Geographical Thought
Social Geography	Regional Planning: Case Studies
Field Techniques	Disaster Management
Geographical Information System	Optional: Agricultural Geography, Bio Geography, Political Geography, Geography of Tourism, Contemporary Environmental Issues and Rural Development
BA Anthropology
Introduction to Social Anthropology	Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Archaeological Anthropology-I & II	Technical Writing & Communication in English/ Computational Skills
Anthropology of Kinship	Biostatistics and Data Analysis
Theories of Culture and Society	Human Genetics
Primate Biology / Cell Biology-I	Molecular Biology-I & II
Tribes and Peasants in India	Anthropology of religion, politics & economy
Biodiversity & Indigenous Knowledge / Cell Biology II	Anthropology of India
Human Ecology: Biological Dimensions	Biological Diversity in Human Populations
Human Ecology: Social and Cultural Dimensions	Genetics & Genomics
Field work dissertation	Fundamental of Human Origins and Evolution
Genomic Diversity in Human Populations	Anthropology In Practice
BA Rural Studies
Elements of Rural Development	Rural Development Policies and Programmes
Indian Rural Economic Scene	Indian Rural Social Scene

Job Profiles in Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Following are a few sectors and profiles for BA graduates:

Job Profile	Description	Average Salary (INR)
Content Creator	Content creators can work in a variety of fields, including copywriting, travel writing, blogging, and so on. They are also required in large multinational corporations to create content for brands and advertising.	3.5 LPA
Academic Writing and Editing	Academic writers typically create content for research articles or papers and edit previously written articles to make changes.	4 LPA
Air Hostess/ Flight Attendant	They are in charge of the safety of the passengers on board the flight, as well as their care and service.	6 LPA
Political Consultant	A political consultant investigates the origins, evolution, and operation of political systems, which may include public opinion, ideology, political decision-making, and so on.	7.5 LPA
Author/ Writer	Apart from various types of literature mediums, an author writes fictional, academic, nonfiction, or any genre of books or short stories.	4.5 LPA
Historian	A historian typically writes or outlines a chronological account or record of past or current historical events dealing with some phase of human activity, either in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, or geographic groupings.	4.5 LPA
Psychologist	A psychologist uses their education and practical experience to provide diagnostic interviews, psychological testing, individual and group psychotherapy, and other services. They can work alone or as part of a multidisciplinary team of professionals.	4.2 LPA
Executive Assistant	An Executive Assistant works in a similar capacity to a secretary or administrative assistant. They usually handle everything from accepting and making phone calls to creating business meeting agendas and reviewing incoming reports.	6 LPA
Counsellor	A counsellor advises students or professionals on their career and studies based on their interests. They work either independently or as part of a counselling firm.	3.5 LPA
Foreign Language Expert	Foreign language experts are professionals who assist in the translation of conversations and written documents in order to overcome language barriers in business and communication.	4 LPA
Social Worker	Social work can be done in any field, such as child labour, women’s rights, unemployment, animal welfare, and so on. There are numerous government institutions and organisations that require the services of social workers. They are also employed by national and international non-governmental organisations.	2.9 LPA
Archaeologist	Archaeologists investigate historic and prehistoric sites and examine physical remains in order to understand human connections to the past and preserve past cultures.	3.5 LPA

Scope in Bachelor of Arts (BA)

• BA degree holders can work in both the government and private sectors, earning an average salary of INR 4-7LPA.
• Some of the main domains for these candidates to work in include educational institutes, economic development, export companies, foreign affairs, law firms, lobbying firms, media houses, and so on.
• Bachelor of Arts students with less than one year of experience can expect to earn between INR 18,000 and 25,000. A minimum salary of INR 22,000-28, 000 can be expected in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai, among others.
• In other cities, the starting salary can range between INR 15,000 and 18,000, depending on the job profile and the company.
• Some of the top recruiting companies for Bachelor of Arts graduates include Deloitte, ITC Hotels, NIIT, Byju’s, Toppr, BCG, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, KPMG, Accenture, and others.

Frequently Asked Questions