This article is about academic degrees. For other degrees, see Degree (disambiguation) The word degree may refer to: A unit of angle measure A unit of temperature measurement A curvature measure any of several meanings in mathematics An academic award or title A musical term A symbol used in science, engineering and mathematics Degree is also used in: Family to describe the...

A degree is any of a wide range of awards made by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study. A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ...

History

The first universities were founded in Europe 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 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. A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... A carpenter is a skilled craftsman who performs carpentry -- a wide range of woodworking that includes constructing buildings, furniture, and other objects out of wood. ... A guild is an association of persons of the same trade or pursuits, formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards of morality or conduct. ...

Candidates who had completed three or four years of study in the prescribed texts of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric and logic), and who had successfully passed examinations held by his masters, would be awarded a bachelor's degree. 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"). The trivium comprised the three subjects taught first in medieval universities, before the quadrivium. ... Media:Example. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Today the terms master, doctor and professor signify different levels of academic achievement, but initially they were equivalent terms. The University of Bologna in Italy, regarded as the oldest university in Europe, was the first institution to award the degree of Doctor in Civil Law in the late 12th century; it also awarded similar degrees in other subjects including medicine. Note that medicine is now the only field in which the term doctor is applied to students who have only obtained their first academic qualification. The University of Bologna (Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a university in Bologna, Italy. ... A doctorate is an academic degree of the highest level. ... Medicine is a branch of health science concerned with maintaining health and restoring it by treating disease. ...

The University of Paris used the term master for its graduates, a practice adopted by the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The Sorbonne, Paris, in a 17th century engraving The historic University of Paris (French: Université de Paris) first appeared in the second half of the 12th century, but was in 1970 reorganized as 13 autonomous universities (University of Paris I–XIII). ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

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 philosophy, 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 philosophy, 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) 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. A precise definition of the arts can be contentious, but the following areas of activity are usually included: Art / Visual arts Architecture Crafts Cinema Dance Design / Graphic design Drawing Music Painting Photography Pottery Sculpture Theater In academia, the Arts are usually grouped with or a subset of the Humanities. ... Grammar is the study of the rules governing the use of a language. ... The term philosophy derives from a combination of the Greek words philos meaning love and sophia meaning wisdom. ... Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration. ...

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. A bachelor is an unmarried but marriageable man; some restrict the usage to men who have never been married. ... Japanese high school students in uniform Secondary education is a period of education which follows directly after primary education (such as intermediate school or elementary school), and which may be followed by tertiary or post-secondary education. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

In Germany, the doctorate is still the only higher degree granted; additions to the title specify the area of study, such as Dr.rer.nat. (Doktor rerum naturalium) in the natural sciences and Dr.-Ing. (Doktor-Ingenieur) in engineering. The term natural science as the way in which different fields of study are defined is determined as much by historical convention as by the present day meaning of the words. ... Engineering is the application of science to the needs of humanity. ...

In Europe, degrees are being harmonised through the Bologna process, which is based on the three-level hierarchy of degrees (Bachelor, Master, Doctor) currently used in the United Kingdom and the United States. This system is gradually replacing the two-stage system now in use in some countries. The purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by harmonising academic degree standards and quality assurance standards throughout Europe. ...

Types of academic degrees

Some examples of specific degrees follow each general term. For more information, see the article about the general term.

• Associate's degrees (U.S.): AA, ABS, AS
• Foundation degrees (U.K.): FdA, FdEd, FdEng, FdMus, FdSc, FdTech
• Bachelor's degrees: BA, BComm, BE, BS, BSc, BFA, BCL, LLB, MB, BBA, BChir
• Master's degrees: MA, MS, MSc, MS, MApol, MPhil, MRes, MFA, MTh, M.T.S., M.Div., MBA, MPA, MPAff, MLitt, MPM, MPP, MRE, LLM, MEng, MSci, MChem, MPhys, MMath, MESci, MGeol, MTCM, BCL (Oxon)
• Specialist degrees: EdS, B.Acc.
• Doctorate degrees: PhD, EdD, EngD, DNursSci, JD *, DBA, DD, DSc, DLitt, DA, DMA, DMus, DCL, ThD, PharmD, DPhil, DOM, OMD, PsyD

* Note: In the U.S., according to legal convention, the J.D. degree does not confer the title of doctor. Kandidat Nauk Candidate of Science Doktor Nauk Doctor of Science An associates degree is a degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges and some bachelors degree-granting colleges and universities (eg Penn State) in Canada and the United States upon completion of a course of study equivalent to the first two years in a four-year college or... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government Official website of the United States government - Gateway to governmental sites White House - Official site of the US President Senate. ... The Foundation Degree is a vocational qualification introduced by the UK government in September 2001. ... ... Media:Example. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... The Specialist Degree is most often found in programs in specialized education and is awarded for study beyond the masters degree but below the doctorate. ... The degree of Bachelor of Accountancy is the principal academic degree in Accountancy. ... A doctorate is an academic degree of the highest level. ... J.D. is an abbreviation for the Latin Juris Doctor, also called a Doctor of Law or Doctorate of Jurisprudence, and is the law degree typically awarded by an accredited U.S. law school after successfully completing three years of post-graduate law study. ...

Furthermore, the BCL offered at Oxford University is actually a master's degree in common law, despite its designation as a Bachelor of Civil Law. The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

In some countries, such as Australia, a diploma is a specific academic award of lower rank than an academic degree. Australia has several different types of diplomas: Diplomas, Advanced Diplomas, Graduate Diplomas and Postgraduate Diplomas. A diploma can also be an additional course taken after a standard bachelor's degree giving specilisation in a particular field. For example, Australian schoolteachers often study a bachelor's degree in Arts or Science (with a significant education component) for the first three years, then in their final year complete a Diploma of Education (DipEd), which qualifies them as school teachers. In Ireland a National Diploma is below the standard of the honours bachelor degree, whilst the Higher Diploma is taken after the bachelor degree. In Germany the diploma (in German "Diplom") is the standard academic degree, comparable to the Master's degree. Additionally Germany also has the Magister degree, which is awarded after graduating in the humanities. It is comparable to the Master as well. The situation in Austria is similar to the situation in Germany: The students get a Diploma as well, but they graduate either with a Magister degree or with a Diploma. This depends on the faculty: arts, 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". ... The National Diploma (NDip) (Irish: Dioplóma Náisiúnta) is a three year ab initio specialised higher education qualification in a technology discipline offered by an Institute of Technology or other HETAC designated institution in the Republic of Ireland. ... A bachelors degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course that generally lasts three or four years. ... The Graduate Diploma or Higher Diploma in Ireland is a postgraduate award taken after a Bachelors degree. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... The humanities are a group of academic subjects united by a commitment to studying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming to define any discipline. ...

See also

• ad eundem degree
• Degrees of Oxford University
• Lambeth degrees
• Education by country
• Higher education
• Honorary degree
• European higher education area
• Lisbon recognition convention

An ad eundem degree is a courtesy degree awarded by one university or college to an alumnus of another. ... This article concerns the Degrees of Oxford University. ... Lambeth degrees are awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury, under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 (25 Hen VIII c 21) (Eng). ... This is a list of articles on education organized by country: Education in Afghanistan Education in Albania Education in Algeria Education in Argentina Education in Australia Education in Austria Education in Belgium Education in Brazil Education in Bulgaria Education in Canada Education in Québec Education in the Peoples... Higher education is education provided by universities and other institutions that award academic degrees, such as university colleges, and liberal arts colleges. ... An Honorary degree (Latin: honoris causa ad gradum) is a degree awarded to someone by an institution that he or she may have never attended, it may be a bachelors, masters or doctorate degree - however, the latter is most common. ... The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is the objective of the Bologna process - to create more comparable, compatible and coherent systems of higher education in Europe. ... The Lisbon Recognition Convention is an international convention for the Europe area of UNESCO. It stipulates that degrees and periods of study must be recognised unless substantial differences can be proven by the institution that is charged with recognition. ...

External links

• The Value of a College Degree
• Vocational Certificates and College Degrees