bachelor of arts (B.A.): from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both.

In the United States, the concept of "years" is based on credit hours and full-time study. The "four years" expected to complete a B.A. degree is an estimate of time it should take to complete the required number of credit hours. Thus, a B.A. could be achieved in less time if the student "overloads", that is, takes more classes than expected. B.A. degrees are most commonly awarded for successful completion of a "liberal arts" program (in majors such as English literature, humanities, history, philosophy, communication arts, and political science).