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Academic degree

A degree is the name of one of a wide range of awards made by institutions
of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of
successfully completing a programme of study.

Universities started to be set up in Europe in the 12th and 13th century or
so. Teaching in universities was only carried out by people who were
properly qualified, as with other professions - or guilds: faculties in
universities were organised as guilds. In the same way that a carpenter
would attain the guild status of a "master carpenter" when fully qualified,
a teacher would become a "master" when he had been licensed by his
profession - the teaching guild.

A degree was a step on the way to becoming a master, and therefore a
qualified teacher. "Graduate" is based on the Latin word "gradus" for a step
- it was a step on the way to becoming qualified. Originally the only
qualification was the master's degree: the bachelor's degree only marked the
completion of a stage in the training. It was awarded to a candidate who had
studied the prescribed texts in the trivium (grammar, rhetoric and logic)
for three or four years and had successfully passed examinations held by his
masters.

Today the terms master, doctor and professor signify different levels of
academic achievement, but initially 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, and awarded similar degrees in other subjects including medicine.
(It is interesting to note that it is only in medicine that the term
"doctor" is still used by students who have obtained their first academic
qualification - a throwback to these times.)

Other universities went down a different line. The University of Paris used
the term "master" for its graduates, and the English universities of Oxford
and Cambridge adopted the Parisian system.

The practice developed along these lines, and 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. The hierarchy that we know today -
the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degree being more advanced than the Master
of Arts (M. A.) degree - was being developed. The German universities
developed the practice of using the term "doctor" for all advanced degrees,
and this usage spread across the academic world.

The French system and terminology shows very strong links with the past and
the original meaning of the academic terms. The baccalaurŽat ( cf.
"bachelor" ) is conferred upon French students who have successfully
completed secondary studies and admits the student to the university. When
students qualify from university, they are awarded "licence", - very much as
the medieval teaching guilds would have done, and the students are qualified
to teach in secondary schools or to go on to higher-level studies.

In Germany, the doctorate is still the only higher degree granted, but with
additions to specify the area of study - such as Dr.rer.nat. (Doktor rerum
naturalium) in natural sciences and Dr.Ing. (Doktor-Ingenieur) in engineering.

Types of degree:

   * Associate's degrees: AA, AS
   * Bachelor's degrees: BA, BS, BSc, BFA
   * Master's degrees: MA, MSc, MS, MPhil, MMath, MPhys, MChem, MFA
   * Doctorates: PhD, EdD, MD, JD, DD, DMA
   * PGCE

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