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A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study.
The first universities were founded in ancient India in Taxila (Takshashila University) and Nalanda (Nalanda University) in the 7th century BC and 5th century BC, respectively, followed by Byzantium in the 5th century (in Constantinopolis and Athens). The first university in the Islamic world was founded in Cairo (Al-Azhar University) in the 10th century, while in western Europe, universities were founded in the 12th and 13th centuries.
As with other professions, teaching in universities was only carried out by people who were properly qualified. In the same way that a carpenter would pass through the grades of apprentice and journeyman to attain the status of master carpenter when fully qualified by his guild, a teacher would become a master when he had been licensed by his profession, the teaching guild. These teaching guilds in various cities took on the identity "university" when granted a charter by the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor, and students were admitted to the university and passed through its grades in ways directly analogous to those of the trade guilds.
In the medieval universities, candidates who had completed three or four years of study in the prescribed texts of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic), and the quadrivium (mathematics, geometry, astronomy and music), together known as the Liberal Arts, and who had successfully passed examinations held by their masters, would be admitted to the degree of bachelor of arts, from the Latin baccalaureus, a term previously usually used of a squire (i.e., apprentice) to a knight. Further study, and in particular successful participation in and then moderating of disputations would earn one the master of arts degree, from the Latin magister, teacher, entitling one to teach these subjects. Masters of Arts were eligible to enter study under the "higher faculties" of Law, Medicine or Theology, and earn first a bachelor's and then master's or doctor's degrees in these subjects. Thus a degree was only a step on the way to becoming a fully qualified master – hence the English word "graduate", which is based on the Latin gradus ("step").
Today the terms "master", "doctor" (taken directly from Latin and meaning, literally, "teacher"), and "professor" signify different levels of academic achievement, but in the Medieval university they were equivalent terms, the use of them in the degree name being a matter of custom at a university (most universities conferred the Master of Arts but, for instance, the highest degree was variously termed Master of Theology/Divinity or Doctor of Theology/Divinity depending on the place).
The University of Bologna in Italy, regarded as the oldest university in Europe, was the first institution to confer the degree of Doctor in Civil Law in the late 12th century; it also conferred similar degrees in other subjects, including medicine. Note that medicine is now the only field in which the title "doctor" is commonly applied in the UK, albeit informally, to individuals who have only obtained their first academic qualification. The doctor title is also used by those holding other types of doctoral degrees as it signifies that they have achieved the highest degree in a specific discipline.
The University of Paris used the term master for its graduates, a practice adopted by the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge, as well as the ancient Scottish universities of St Andrew's, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh.
The naming of degrees eventually became linked with the subjects studied. Scholars in the faculties of arts or grammar became known as "masters", but those in theology, medicine, and law were known as "doctor". As study in the arts or in grammar was a necessary prerequisite to study in subjects such as theology, medicine and law, the degree of doctor assumed a higher status than the master's degree. This led to the modern hierarchy in which the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.), which in its present form as a degree based on research and dissertation is a development from 18th and 19th Century German universities, is a more advanced degree than the Master of Arts (M.A.). The practice of using the term doctor for all advanced degrees developed within German universities and spread across the academic world.
The French terminology is tied closely to the original meanings of the terms. The baccalauréat (cf. "bachelor") is conferred upon French students who have successfully completed their secondary education and admits the student to university. When students graduate from university, they are awarded licence, much as the medieval teaching guilds would have done, and they are qualified to teach in secondary schools or proceed to higher-level studies.
In Europe, degrees are being harmonized through the Bologna process, which is based on the three-level hierarchy of degrees: Bachelor (Licence in France), Master, Doctor. This system is currently in use in Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. This system is gradually replacing the two-stage system now in use in some countries.
In the United States, since the late 1800s, the threefold degree system of bachelor, master and doctor has been in place, but follows a slightly different pattern of study than the European equivalents.
In the past, degrees have also been directly issued by authority of the monarch or by a bishop, rather than any educational institution. This practice has mostly died out. In Britain, Lambeth Degrees are still awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and only the universities of Oxford and Cambridge still permit the D.Phil. (Oxford) or Ph. D. (Cambridge) to be conferred upon a student by an individual member of the faculty.
In the United States, most standard academic programs are based on the four-year bachelor's degree (most often bachelor of arts, B.A., or bachelor of science, B.S.), a two-year master's degree (most often master of arts, M.A., or master of science, M.S.; both of these programs might be three years in length) and a further year or so of course work, plus teaching experience and the writing of a dissertation for the doctorate (most often doctor of philosophy, Ph.D.) for a total of about nine years from starting the bachelor's degree (which is usually begun around age 18) to the awarding of the doctorate. This timetable is flexible, however, as, for instance, students in accelerated programs can sometimes earn a bachelor's in three years, or on the other hand a particular dissertation project might take four years to complete.
Some schools offer an associate's degree for two full years of study, often in pre-professional areas. This may sometimes be used as credit toward completion of the four-year bachelor's degree.
In the United States, there is also another class of degrees called "First Professional degree." These degree programs are designed for professional practice in various fields rather than academic scholarship. Most professional degree programs require a prior bachelor's degree for admission (a notable exception being the PharmD program), and so represent at least about five total years of study and as many as seven or eight.
Some fields such as fine art or architecture have chosen to name their first professional degree after the bachelor's a "master's degree" (e.g., M.F.A.) while the professional degree in medicine is known as "doctor" (e.g., MD or DO); the legal profession has renamed its degree from Bachelor (L.L.B.) to Doctor (J.D.). Despite being named "masters" some masters degree programs may require about the same amount of time to complete as "professional doctorate" programs in other fields so the naming is somewhat arbitrary. For example, despite being a "masters" level degree, the first professional degree in architecture may require 3 to 3.5 years to complete. There is currently some debate in the architectural community to rename the degree to a "doctorate" in the manner that was done for the law degree decades ago. It is important to recognize that first-professional degrees in these fields, which are normally earned after the bachelor's, are not normally original research oriented degrees. [1]
The standard British degree is the bachelors degree with honours (e.g. BA (hons)). This usually takes three years full time study. British Bachelors degrees are usually categorised by one of five grades.
The first, and highest, is first class honours, notified as (1.1). There is then Second class honours, division one, denoted as (2:1). This is followed by second class honours, division two or lower second (2:2). Third class honours follow, shown as (3.3). Students who do not achieve the standard for the award of honours may be given a pass degree.
The Graduateship (post-nominal GCGI) awarded by the City & Guilds of London Institute is mapped to a British Honours degree
Some students study an integrated Masters, which is still a first degree. This takes four years of study and is usually designated by the subject, such as MEng for engineering. Grades are as above.
Unlike the case in the United States, Master's Degrees take only one year of full time study, and the usual amount of time spent working for a Ph.D. is three years full time. Therefore, whilst the usual amount of time spent studying from Bachelor's level through to doctorate in the United States is nine years, it is in most cases only seven in the United Kingdom.
There can also be awarded a Foundation degree, for having completed two years of study in, what is usually, a vocational discipline. The Foundation degree is comparable to an associate's degree in the United States, and can be awarded by a University or College of Higher Education.
Some examples of specific degrees follow each general term. For more information, see the article about the general term.
Abbreviations for degrees can place the level either before or after the faculty or discipline, depending on the institution. For example, DSc and ScD both stand for the (higher) doctorate in science. Various other abbreviations also vary between institutions, for instance BS and BSc both stand for 'Bachelor of Science'.
There are various conventions for indicating degrees and diplomas after one's name. In some cultures it is usual to give only the highest degree. In others, it is usual to give the full sequence, in some cases giving abbreviations also for the discipline, the institution, and (where it applies) the level of honours. In another variation, a 'rule of subsumption' often shortens the list and may obscure the chronology evident from a full listing. Thus 'MSc BA' means that the degrees conferred were - in chronological order - BSc, BA, MSc. The subsumption rule reflects the principle that a person of a given high status does not separately belong to the lower status.
For member institutions of the Association of Commonwealth Universities , there is a standard list of abbreviations, but in practise many variations are used. Most notable is the use of the Latin abbreviations 'Oxon.' and 'Cantab.' for the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, in spite of these having been superseded by (little used) English 'Oxf.' and 'Camb.' Other Latin abbreviations include Exon. for the University of Exeter, Dunelm. for Durham University, Ebor. for the University of York and Cantuar. for the University of Kent (formerly the "University of Kent at Canterbury"). Confusion results from the widespread use of 'SA' for the University of South Australia (instead of S.Aust.) because 'SA' was officially assigned to the University of South Africa. For universities of different commonwealth countries sharing the same name, such as York University in Canada and the University of York in the UK, a convention has been adopted where a country abbreviation is included with the letters and university name. In this example, 'York (Can.)' and 'York (UK)' is commonly used to denote degrees conferred by their respective universities.
The doubling of letters in LL.B., LL.M., LL.D. is because these degrees are in laws, not law. The doubled letter indicates the Latin plural legum as opposed to the singular legis. Abbreviations for the degrees in surgery Ch. B. and Ch. M. are from Latin chiruguriae and often indicate a university system patterned after Scottish models. The combination of M.B. with Ch. B. arose from a need to graduate the students at the time of year allocated to graduation rituals, but the legal inability to confer the M.B. before they had been properly approved by professional regulatory bodies. Thus the Ch. B. was conferred first, and the M.B. was conferred later, after registration, and without ceremony. In recent times the two have come to be conferred together and are widely (mis)understood to constitute a single degree.
Some degrees are awarded jure dignitatis. That is, a person who has demonstrated the appropriate qualities to be given a particular office may be awarded the degree by virtue of the office held. It is another kind of earned degree.
In some countries, such as Australia, a diploma is a specific academic award. Diplomas are usually signified by a stole rather than an academic hood, the latter being used only for those of graduate status.
Australia has several different kinds of diplomas: Diplomas, Advanced Diplomas, Graduate Diplomas and Postgraduate Diplomas. The system is not without anomalies, due largely to the different traditions of individual institutions which the Australian Qualifications Framework aims to regularise. A Diploma is usually equivalent to the first year of a Bachelor's degree, although a few have been similar to Bachelor of Arts degrees and permit direct admission to graduate programs.
An Australian Advanced Diploma is usually considered lower than a Bachelor degree, but may qualify its holder for higher advanced placement in a Bachelor program, direct admission to a Graduate Diploma course or direct admission to a Masters program.
Graduate Diplomas are always higher than a Bachelor degree, and usually require one year of full-time study. They are often an additional course taken after a standard Bachelor degree to introduce a specialization in a particular field or a new discipline. For example, Australian school teachers often study for a bachelor's degree in Arts or Science, then in an additional year complete requirements for a Graduate Diploma of Education, which qualifies them as school teachers. Some Graduate Diplomas are simply the first two semesters of a three- or four-semester Master's program. (In the past, the Graduate Diploma of Education was called the Diploma of Education.)
Some universities have issued Post-graduate Diplomas, which are always in the same discipline as the undergraduate degree, and generally no different from a Bachelor with Honours degree, which requires one year after a regular Bachelor degree.
In Ireland a National Diploma is below the standard of the honours bachelor degree, whilst the Higher Diploma is taken after the bachelor degree. The new NQAI National Framework of Qualifications, adopted in 2003, replaced the National Dipoma with the Ordinary Bachelors degree. The framework also clarifies that although the Higher Diploma is taken after the bachelor degree the learning outcomes are at the same level as for the Honours Bachelors Degree.
More technically, a diploma is a document attesting that its bearer has satisfied certain study requirements, as opposed to a degree being a status level in the academic community. For this reason, diplomas are 'awarded to' the recipient while degrees are 'conferred upon' the graduand who then becomes a graduate, or the graduand is "admitted to" a degree. Similarly a person 'has' a diploma, but a graduate 'is in' a status. It is also for this reason that study for diplomas can be at undergraduate or advanced level.
In French universities, the academic degree system was quite complicated : the first degree was the baccalauréat (completed in fact after high school), the the two-year diplôme d'études universitaires générales (<small>DEUG</small> General Academic Studies Degree) or premier cycle (undergraduate education), then the one-year licence, the one-year maîtrise (master's degree), the two forming the second cycle (graduate education), the 1-2 years Diplôme d'Études Approfondies, Special Studies Degree and the three-year doctorate, the two forming the troisième cycle (postgraduate education). With the Bologna Process, the system is now much more simple: baccalauréat, licence, master, a new two-year degree merging maîtrise and DEA, and doctorate.
In Germany there are several academic degrees. Traditionally, the lowest degree has been the Magister and the Diplom (in science and engineering). This is somewhat misleading however, as the Diplom, before its gradual displacement by other, Anglo-Saxon-inspired degrees, was also the highest non-PhD/Doctorate-title in many disciplines.
Since 1999, the traditional degrees are gradually being replaced by Bachelor's (Bakkalaureus) and Master's (Master) degrees (see Bologna process). The main reasons for this change are to make degrees internationally comparable, and to introduce degrees to the German system which take less time to complete (German students typically take five years or more to earn a Magister or Diplom). Some universities are still resistant to this change, considering it a displacement of a venerable tradition for the pure sake of globalization. Universities must fulfill the new standard by the end of 2007. In the future, the Diplom or Magister degree will no longer be awarded.
Doctorates are issued under a variety of names, depending on the faculty: e.g., Doktor der Naturwissenschaften (Doctor of Natural Science); Doktor der Rechtswissenschaften (Doctor of Law); Doktor der medizinischen Wissenschaft (Doctor of Medicine); Doktor der Philosophie (Doctor of Philosophy), to name just a few. Multiple doctorates and honorary doctorates are often listed and even used in forms of address in German-speaking countries. A Diplom (University), Magister, or Master's student can proceed to a doctorate.
Sometimes incorrectly regarded as an academic degree, the Habilitation, a further endorsement beyond the doctorate earned by writing a second dissertation (the Habilitationschrift), is the highest academic qualification in Germany. The "Dr. habil.", as it is abbreviated, is the necessary qualification for serving as a Privatdozent (roughly the equivalent of an American assistant professor), or as a Professor (roughly the equivalent of a full professor).
The situation in Austria is similar to the situation in Germany: students get a Diploma, but they graduate either with a Magister degree or with a Diploma. This depends on the faculty: arts, social sciences, and fine arts earn a Magister degree, while technical sciences get a Diploma in engineering. So the degree that, for example, an Information Technology student earns is "Diplom-Ingenieur". With the Bologna process, Bachelor's degrees (Bakkalaureus) have been introduced. Doctorates and the Habilitation follow a similar pattern to that of Germany.
In Poland the system is similar to the German one. For instance, Warsaw University confers the following university degrees and titles:
The profesor (Professor's) title is officially conferred by the President of Poland.
The content of the info about academic degrees in Norway were translated from the article in the Norwegian Wikipedia
Prior to 2003, there were around 50 different degrees and corresponding schooling within higher education in Norway. A reform was passed in order to replace these with an international system. All degrees with Cand. as the first part of the title were dropped. The second part of the title usually consisted of a word in latin specific to each professional direction.
The reform for higher education in Norway, Kvalitetsreformen, was passed in the Norwegian Parlement, Stortinget, in 2001 and carried out starting the school year 2003/2004. It also introduced a system with norms for study lengths. The titles master and bachelor (baccalaureus) were introduced.
The system differentiates between the free master degrees, and a master in technology. The latter corresponds to the previous sivilingeniør degree (not to be confused with civil engineer). All the previous specific doctor degree titles were dropped, and replaced with philosophical doctor degree, which is written philosophiæ doctor instead of the traditional doctor philosophiæ. The title dr. philos. is kept for those who qualify without participating in an organized doctoral degree program.
Embedseksamen of higher degree includes masters study, hovedfag, or equivalent, and gives kandidrad. For men the correct latin word is candidatus and for women the word is candidata. Both are shortened as cand..
Embedseksamen of lower degree does not include master studies or the equivalent:
For most of these subjects, it is required that the student has first passed preparatory examinations in philosophy (examen philosophicum and examen facultatum).
Lisensiat og magister degrees were between kandidat and doctor degrees.
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