In the United States, it is also considered a highly specialized professional technical degree; the Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) is an applied baccalaureate, typically containing advanced technical education in sciences combined with liberal arts education that traditional degrees do not have.
[2][3][4] The BAS degree is designed to develop both theoretical and pragmatic knowledge (Bachelors Portal, n.d.).
[5] Compared to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BS), a BAS degree combines “theoretical and hands-on knowledge and skills that build on a variety of educational backgrounds” (Edmunds College, n.d.).
In February 2009, the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Ronald Plasterk, proposed to replace all the existing degrees offered by Dutch vocational universities, such as the BBA, BEd and BEng, with the BAA and the BASc.
The BAS usually requires a student to take a majority of their courses in the applied sciences, specializing in a specific area such as the following: