What are the different types of university degrees
When you choose to study at university abroad, it is important to know everything you can about the course you are signing up to study, especially as the equivalent course can go by different names in different countries.
University courses allow you to graduate with a specific award, for example a BA or an MSc. There is a great deal of diversity in the range of university award types around the world, and what those award types actually mean. We have collected a list of these award types to describe what they mean, how they might be commonly referred to, and how they relate to your academic goals.
Undergraduate award types
Bachelors degrees
Bachelor’s degrees are the undergraduate degrees that you will most commonly come across at university, and generally take between 3-4 years of Full-time study to complete.
In some countries, Bachelors degree courses will simply be named as a Bachelor of a subject area, for example: Bachelor of Design or Bachelor of Biomedical Science.
In other countries, Bachelors courses will be named using an abbreviation of the bachelors award type, for example: Biology BSc (Hons) or History BA (Hons).
Common Bachelors award types, if used, include:
Bachelor of Arts
Common abbreviations include: BA, B.A, BA (Hons)
Courses where a Bachelors of Arts is awarded upon graduation often cover subjects from within the liberal arts and humanities, examples of which could include Architecture, Philosophy, Politics and Music.
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Common abbreviations include: BFA
Courses where a Bachelor of Fine Arts is awarded upon graduation often cover subjects fine and the performing arts, examples of which could include Dance, Creative Writing, Photography and Film.
Bachelor of Visual Arts/Bachelor of Creative Arts (BCA)
Common abbreviations include: BVA, BCA
Similar to the Bachelor of Fine Arts, courses where a Bachelor of Visual Arts is awarded upon graduation often cover subjects with the fine arts, examples of which could include Painting, Photography and Film.
Bachelor of Performing Arts
Commons abbreviation: BPA
Similar to the Bachelor of Fine Arts, courses where a Bachelor of Performing Arts is awarded upon graduation often cover subjects such as Acting, Singing, Performing and Dancing.
Bachelor of Science
Commons abbreviations include: BSc, B.Sc, BS, BSc (Hons)
Courses where a Bachelors of Science is awarded upon graduation often cover subjects from within or drawing upon the sciences, examples of which could include Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science and Zoology.
Bachelor of Engineering
Common abbreviations include: BEng, BE, BEng (hons)
Courses where a Bachelor of Engineering is awarded upon graduation cover subjects from engineering disciplines.
Bachelor of Laws
Common abbreviations include: LLB, LL.B, LLB (Hons)
Courses where a Bachelor of Laws is awarded upon graduation cover subjects from the Laws.
Honours (Hons) courses
If a bachelors course is labelled as Hons, it means that it is an Honours degree, which is generally regarded as more prestigious than its ordinary counterpart. Honours degrees generally involve a larger body of work and study than an ordinary bachelor’s degree. For example, in the UK they may involve work that carries more credit marks, such as producing a major project in your final year.
Postgraduate award type
Postgraduate Diploma
Common abbreviations include: PG Dip, PGDip, PgD, PgDip
Studied at the same level as a Masters degree, a Postgraduate Diploma takes less time to study for than a full Masters degree, but can still be a very attractive next step in your studies after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree.
Postgraduate Certificate
Common abbreviations include: PG Cert, PGCert
Similar to the Postgraduate Diploma, a Postgraduate Certificate is also studied at the same level as a Masters degree, but takes less time to study for than a Postgraduate Diploma.
Masters degrees
Masters degrees are the postgraduate degrees that you will most commonly come across at university, and generally take between 1-2 years of Full-time study to complete. Common award types for Masters degrees include:
Master of Arts
Common abbreviations include: MA, M.A.
Courses where a Master of Arts is awarded upon graduation often cover subjects from within the liberal arts and humanities.
Master of Science
Common abbreviations include: MSc, M.S., MS
Courses where a Master of Science is awarded upon graduation often cover subjects from within or drawing upon the sciences.
Master of Engineering
Common abbreviations include: MEng, ME, M.E., M.Eng.
Courses where a Master of Engineering is awarded upon graduation cover subjects from engineering disciplines.
Master of Research
Common abbreviations include: MRes
The Master of Research degree is a course that places more emphasis on the students research skills, as opposed to the taught structure of a regular Master degree. The MRes can be awarded as a degree in its own right, or as part of preparation for doctoral research.
Master of Laws
Common abbreviations include: LLM, M.L, LL.M
Courses where a Master of Engineering is awarded upon graduation cover subjects from legal disciplines.
Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
Common abbreviation: MBA
A Master of Business Administration degree is similar to studying for an MA or an MSc in Business, but offers the student a wider grounding in several areas of business. MBA courses are often aimed at professionals looking to improve their knowledge in the field of business.
Research Degrees
Doctorate of Philosophy
Common abbreviations include: PhD, DPhil
A PhD is a doctorate degree awarded at the highest academic level to students who have completed three to four years of full-time academic research.
Doctor of Education Degree
Common abbreviations include: EdD
An EdD is a doctorate in the field of education, usually delivered part-time.
Master of Philosophy
Common abbreviations include: MPhil
The MPhil research degree can be studied standalone or as part of a PhD, and usually involves only a single research project. As such, MPhil degrees in general do not take as long to study for as a PhD course, often taking one to two years when studied full-time.
Professional degree award type
Professional degrees are essentially degrees that prepare the student for a specific career. These can include professions such as Law, Medicine and Architecture. They may be undergraduate or postgraduate, and the details of the course and exact award will usually depend on the country in which you are studying. Some of the most common awards you will come across include:
Bachelor of Laws
Common abbreviations include: LL.B LLB
An LL.B is an undergraduate degree awarded to students wishing to pursue a career in Law, and usually takes 3-4 years of full time study to complete.
Juris Doctor
Common abbreviations include: JD, LLM
A JD degree is the highest level of study towards becoming a lawyer, and can be considered a postgraduate degree, as a bachelor degree is required to enrol on a JD degree. A JD degree usually takes 3 years of full time study to complete.
Doctor of Medicine
Common abbreviations include: M.D., MD
The Doctor of Medicine is a degree in medicine, often a higher research degree to be taken by medical graduates and taking 2 years of full time study to complete.
Master of Pharmacy
Common abbreviations include: MPharm, M.Pharm
The Master of Pharmacy is generally a 4 year degree course for students who wish to become clinical pharmacists.
Doctor of Pharmacy
Common abbreviations include: Pharm.D., DPharm
The Doctor of Pharmacy (DPharm) in the UK is a professional doctorate degree for clinical pharmacists, roughly equivalent to a PhD course.
The Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) in the US is a professional degree that requires 2 academic years of pre-professional coursework followed by 4 academic years of professional study.
Bachelor of Engineering
Common abbreviations include: B.Eng, BEng, BE, BASc, B.A.Sc.
The Bachelor of Engineering is an undergraduate professional degree, similar to a Bachelor of Science, for students aiming for a career in the field of engineering. Typically it will take 3-4 years of full time study to complete a BEng degree.
Master of Engineering
Common abbreviations include: M.Eng, MEng, ME, M.E.
The Master of Engineering in Australia and the USA is generally a 2 year professional postgraduate degree with a focus on research for engineering students, to be taken after completion of a bachelor’s degree.
The Master of Engineering in the UK is generally a 4-5 year professional undergraduate degree course.
Dual degree and joint degree programs
Some universities offer students the chance to work in parallel on two different degrees at the same time, resulting in a joint degree. This can be at either undergraduate or postgraduate level, and for regular academic or professional courses.
These degrees will usually use common award titles, such as BA, BSc, LLB etc., but the student will end up with two degrees upon completion.
Most dual degree programmes involve studying at 2 universities, giving the international student even more new cultural experiences! Dual degree programmes typically take longer than single degree programmes to complete, for example a dual bachelor degree might take 1 year longer to complete than a regular bachelor degree.
As an example, the University of Portsmouth in the UK offers several dual degree programmes through partnerships with universities around the world such as Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia, Münster University of Applied Sciences in Germany and IDRAC Business School in France.
Joint degree programmes are similar to dual degree programmes in that they involve attending more than one university during your studies, however a joint degree leads to one single degree awarded.
An example of a joint degree programme in Europe is the joint masters programs run by Politecnico di Milano and Bocconi University.
Certificate and Diploma programs
Certificate and Diploma courses differ from degree programs in that they take less time to complete than a degree program and they cost less to take than a degree program. Certificate and Diploma programs are available at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Common award types include:
Undergraduate Certificate
Common abbreviation: UG Cert, UG:Cert
Undergraduate Diploma
Common abbreviation: UG Dip, UG:Dip
Postgraduate Certificate
Common abbreviation: PG Cert, PG:Cert
Postgraduate Diploma
Common abbreviation: PG Dip, PG:Dip
Conclusion
When choosing your university course, make sure that the type of course that you pick aligns with your career ambitions and don’t be overwhelmed by the variety of choices that are available.
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