How Well Do You Know Higher Education Degrees and Systems Around the World?

Summary Title: Understanding College and University Degrees

• Academic degrees are qualifications awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university.

• Institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

• The most common undergraduate degree is the bachelor's degree, although some educational systems offer lower level undergraduate degrees such as associate and foundation degrees.

• Common postgraduate degrees include master's degrees and doctorates.

• The doctorate appeared in medieval Europe as a license to teach at a medieval university.

• The University of Bologna in Italy was the first institution to confer the degree of Doctor in Civil Law in the late 12th century.

• In medieval European universities, candidates who had completed three or four years of study in the prescribed texts of the trivium and the quadrivium would be admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

• The naming of degrees eventually became linked with the subjects studied.

• Governments regulate the use of the word university in the names of businesses in many countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom.

• Depending on culture and the degree earned, degrees may be indicated by a pre-nominal title, post-nominal letters, a choice of either or not indicated at all.

• An online degree is an academic degree that can be earned primarily or entirely on a distance learning basis through the use of an internet-connected computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus setting.

• Degrees in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan mostly follow the colonial-era British system for the classification of degrees.Overview of Higher Education Degrees across the World

• The grading system in universities varies across countries.

• In South Africa, grades are presented as a percentage with anything below 50% considered a failure.

• The South African Qualifications Agency (SAQA) has developed a credit-based system for degrees, with different levels of NQF ratings corresponding to each degree level.

• In Kenya, the first undergraduate degree is pursued after students have completed four years of secondary school education and attained at least a C+ (55-59%) on the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

• The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was formally established in 2010 and, as of September 2016, has 50 members.

• Austria has currently two parallel systems of academic degrees: the new-style master programs and the old-style diploma.

• In Belgium, there are three types of degrees: Bachelor's degree, Advanced Bachelor's degree, and Master's degree. The third cycle is covered by the Doctorate degree.

• The Czech Republic has three degrees: Bachelor (3 years), Master (2 years after Bachelor), and Doctor (4 years after Master).

• In Denmark, academic degrees available at universities are Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, and PhD.

• In Finland, universities award Bachelor's degrees, Master's degrees, and doctoral degrees. Polytechnics have the right to award Bachelor's and Master's degrees.

• In France, there are three levels of recognized degrees: Licence (first cycle), Master (second cycle), and Doctorat (third cycle).

• In Germany, the Magister and Diplom awarded by universities, both of which require a final thesis, are considered equivalent to a master's degree. Since 1999, the traditional degrees have been replaced by bachelor's and master's degrees as part of the Bologna process.Academic qualifications and admission requirements vary across European countries, and some have undergone significant changes in recent years as a result of the Bologna Process. Germany has adopted the bachelor's and master's degree system, with doctorates issued in various designations, depending on the faculty. The Habilitation is a higher academic qualification that allows further teaching and research endorsement after a doctorate. In Greece, access to university is possible after national exams, and there are several academic degrees available. Ireland operates under a National Framework of Qualifications, with several levels of qualifications awarded by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council. In Italy, access to university is possible after gaining the Diploma di Maturità at 19 years of age. The Netherlands introduced a bachelor-master structure in 1982, and access to university education is granted after completing a six-year pre-university secondary education called "voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs" (vwo). Before the introduction of the bachelor-master structure, almost all academic studies in the Netherlands had the same length of four years and had two phases.Overview of Higher Education Degree Systems Around the World

• The Dutch higher education system offers three types of degrees: MSc, MA, and LLM, and graduates may use corresponding titles before their names.

• After obtaining a degree, students can pursue a promotion study (PhD) to eventually obtain a doctorate and the title "doctor".

• The Dutch academic education system follows the Anglo-Saxon bachelor/master structure, with three official academic bachelor titles and three official master titles.

• Dutch doctors may bear either the title "dr." before or the letter D following their name, but not both simultaneously.

• Stacking of titles is uncommon in the Netherlands, and combining different Dutch titles is allowed, but not with international titles.

• Dutch academic titles are legally protected and can only be used by graduates from Dutch institutions of higher education.

• In Norway, prior to 1980, there were around 50 different degrees and corresponding education programs within the higher education system.

• The reform of higher education in Norway introduced standard periods of study and the titles master and bachelor.

• In Russia, Ukraine, and some other former USSR republics, there are several levels of education, including Specialist and Magister degrees that require taking final state exams and a written thesis.

• The first level academic degree in Russia is called "Kandidat nauk" and requires extensive research efforts, classes, publications, exams, and a thesis.

• The highest degree in Russia is the "Doktor Nauk" degree, which is granted for contributions in a certain field.

• In Spain, accredited university study programs lead to degree qualifications with full academic and professional effects, including bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees.

• Universities in Spain may offer non-official study programs as an alternative to accredited study programs, but they have no academic or professional effects.

• University taught study programs in Spain are accredited through ANECA, a government-dependent quality assurance and accreditation provider, and all study programs must be accredited by ANECA prior to their inclusion in the RUCT.