 | Bachelor's degree: Encyclopedia - Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three or four years. (Note that some postgraduate degrees are entitled Bachelor of ..., e.g. the University of Oxford's Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Philosophy.)
Bachelor's degree - Honours degrees and academic distinctions
Under the British system, and those influenced by it such as the Irish, Indian, Singaporean, and Hong Kong systems, undergraduate degrees are differentiated either as pass degrees or as honours degrees, the latter denoted by the appearance of "(Hons)" after the degree abbreviation. An honours degree generally requires a higher academic standard than a pass degree, and in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, and Canada an extra year of study.
Associate's degree, Master's degree, Engineer's degree, Doctorate, Bologna process - European harmonisation, Degrees of Oxford University
Bachelor's degree - Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees
Today, the most common undergraduate degrees given are the Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B.) and the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. in Commonwealth usage or B.S. in U.S. usage). Originally, in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge all undergraduate degrees were in the Faculty of Arts, hence the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Since the late 19th century, most universities in the English-speaking world have followed the practice of the University of London in dividing undergraduate degree subjects into the two broad categories of arts and sciences, awarding the degree of Bachelor of Science to students of the latter category of subjects.
Bachelor's degree - Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery
In countries following British tradition, (the University of Malta is an exception) medical graduates receive a Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery (MB BChir or MB ChB or MBBS). This was historically taken after the initial BA degree, and in Oxford the BA is still awarded for the initial three years of medical study, with the BM BCh being awarded for the subsequent clinical stage of training. Although in theory the MB and BChir are two degrees, they must be taken together, and by convention entitle the bearer to use the title of Doctor. In some Irish universities a third degree, Bachelor of Obstetrics (BAO), is often added.
Bachelor's degree - New bachelor's degrees
The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are perhaps alone today in awarding the B.A. for all undergraduate degrees. However, in most universities over the last hundred years the range of bachelor's degrees has expanded enormously, especially in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, where the B.A. degree is becoming increasingly uncommon.
Some of these new degrees and their abbreviations include:
- A.L.B. — Bachelor of Liberal Arts
- B.A.S. — Bachelor of Architectural Studies
- B.A.Sc. — Bachelor of Applied Science
- B.As. — Bachelor of Asian Studies
- B.A.Econ. — Bachelor of Economics
- B.Arch. — Bachelor of Architecture
- B.B.A. — Bachelor of Business Administration
- B.Ch. — Bachelor of Surgery (also the name of a postgraduate degree in some universities)
- B.Comm. or B.Com. — Bachelor of Commerce
- B.Comp. — Bachelor of Computing
- B.CompSc. or B.CS. — Bachelor of Computer Science
- B.D. — Bachelor of Divinity (also the name of a postgraduate degree in some universities)
- B.Des. — Bachelor of Design (Visual design discipline)
- B.Ec. — Bachelor of Economics
- B.Ed. — Bachelor of Education
- B.E.S. — Bachelor of Environmental Studies
- B.Eng. or B.E. — Bachelor of Engineering
- B.F.A. — Bachelor of Fine Arts
- B.G.S. — Bachelor of General Studies
- B.InfTech. — Bachelor of Information Technology
- B.InfSci. — Bachelor of Information Science
- B.J. — Bachelor of Journalism (see the University of Missouri-Columbia)
- B.Lang. — Bachelor of Languages
- B.M. or M.B. — Bachelor of Medicine (also the name of a postgraduate degree in some universities)
- B.Math. — Bachelor of Mathematics (also the name of a postgraduate degree in some universities)
- B.Mus. or Mus.B. — Bachelor of Music (also the name of a postgraduate degree in some universities)
- B.Ost — Bachelor of Osteopathy
- B.P.Ed. or B.P.E. — Bachelor of Physical Education
- B.Pharm. — Bachelor of Pharmacy
- B.Phil. — Bachelor of Philosophy (originally a postgraduate degree, but now often used as the name of an undergraduate degree)
- B.Psych — Bachelor of Psychology (Commonwealth Usage, Particuarly Australia)
- B.R.E. — Bachelor of Religious Education
- B.S. — Bachelor of Surgery (Commonwealth usage, usually as part of a MB BS)
- B.S.E. — Bachelor of Science in Engineering (may also refer to a Bachelor of Software Engineering, as used at McGill University and the University of Waterloo)
- B.S.B. — Bachelor of Science in Business
- B.S.E.E. — Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
- B.S.F. — Bachelor of Science in Forestry
- B.S.S.E. — Bachelor of Science in Science Education
- B.S.W. — Bachelor of Social Work
- B.Tech. — Bachelor of Technology
- B.Theol — Bachelor of Theology
- B.Tour. — Bachelor of Tourism
- LL.B. (or Ll.B.) — Bachelor of Laws (also the name of a postgraduate degree in some universities)
A full list of British degree abbreviations is also available.
See also
- Associate's degree
- Master's degree
- Engineer's degree
- Doctorate
- Bologna process - European harmonisation
- Degrees of Oxford University
Category: Bachelor's degrees
Other related archives19th century, Associate's degree, Australia, Bachelor of Applied Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Computer Science, Bachelor of Computing, Bachelor of Design, Bachelor of Divinity, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Environmental Studies, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Information Technology, Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Liberal Arts, Bachelor of Mathematics, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Religious Education, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Technology, Bachelor of Theology, Bachelor's degrees, Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery, Bologna process, British, British degree abbreviations, Cambridge, Canada, Degrees of Oxford University, Doctor, Doctorate, Engineer's degree, Hong Kong, Indian, Irish, Master's degree, McGill University, New Zealand, Oxford, Scotland, Singapore, Singaporean, South Africa, University of London, University of Malta, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Oxford, University of Waterloo, academic degree, arts, sciences, undergraduate
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