Undergraduate and Graduate DegreesIn general, Associates and Bachelors degrees areconsidered undergraduate course work, while the Masters andDoctoral degrees are considered graduate course work. Graduatecourse work - in most cases - is very specific and particular toone field of study. Thus, the graduate study is advanced coursework which follows undergraduate course work.An undergraduate degree is awarded for the completion of 2 years(associates) or 4 years (bachelors) of college level study.A graduate degree is awarded after attending graduate school. Agraduate degree is a masters degree, which generally takes 2-3years of graduate school after college.Undergraduate coursework is a basic educational foundationwithin a given program of study following high school. The coursework includes a general cluster of knowledge that promotes a wellrounded education.
Graduate or ‘grad student’ is one who has obtained a bachelors degree and is now pursuing a master’s degree. An undergraduate, who is also known as ‘under grad’, is one who is only pursuing a bachelor’s degree. The graduate is in a much higher position than the undergraduate.
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Thus, the student is exposed to a variety ofareas, not just their chosen field of study. These areas wouldinclude general education courses to include, English, Math,History, Laboratory Science, courses in Humanities, and SocialSciences to mention a few. These would be tightly coupled with thestudents Major Requirements and Major Elective Requirements.In the UK, the descriptors as to what constitutes an Undergraduate/ Bachelors Degree and a Graduate (Master's or Doctoral) degree isset by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) intheir document 'The framework for higher education qualificationsin England, Wales and Northern Ireland'.In it they specify that a Bachelors Degree is a level 6 coursein the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ)system.Any course above this level is a graduate degree or equivalent(e.g.
Before posting.Make sure to.This subreddit is for asking for objective explanations. It is not a repository for any question you may have.E is for Explain - merely answering a question is not enough.LI5 means friendly, simplified and layperson-accessible explanations - not responses aimed at literal five-year-olds.Perform a keyword search, you may find good explanations in past threads. You should also consider looking for your question in the FAQ.Don't post to argue a point of view.Flair your question after you've submitted it.Category filters. Undergraduate students are typically working on their first tertiary degree (tertiary means 'after highschool,' which is typically referred to as 'secondary' education). In the U.S., undergraduates are pursuing either an Associates (2 years of study) or Bachelors (4 years) degree. Graduate students already have at least a bachelors, and are working on either a Masters or Doctorate.
A Masters degree usually involves an additional 2 years of study and may or may not include a research component, which is typically called a thesis. A doctorate also usually involves 2 years of classroom study, but also includes a lengthy research project called a dissertation. Dissertations often take several years to finish and can be equivalent in length to a book. It's actually pretty common in my field (political science) for recent Ph.Ds to polish up their dissertation and publish it as a book. Doctoral students also often teach some undergraduate classes as part of their training and to help offset the considerable cost of getting a graduate degree.None of this is hard and fast, program requirements vary widely. For example, a masters degree obtained from an online degree mill will not be anywhere near as rigorous as one that comes from a more established school and that includes a thesis.Also, to complicate things further, there are professional schools that are 'graduate' level in that you are required to have a bachelors degree to go to them, but are more focused on teaching their students a trade.
These are medical school, law school, MBA programs, etc. You should not confuse people who have the title 'medical doctor' or 'juris doctor' as having 'doctorate' degrees, they are different. Schooling, is like an onion.its got layers.That outside layer is something we all have (or at least are legally supposed to have) and that's your government paid for K-12 education.
This is the outside layer of the onion. Also on this layer is your General Educational Development test (GED). This is a 'equivalent' or the same, as graduating High School. Its for adults who dropped out or immigrants so they can get job that require completion of the standard K-12 curriculum (read almost all job ever anymore).One layer below that is something called an Associates Degree. This means you have completed at least 2 years of post K-12 education at an accredited college (community/state/private). As associates degree is usually career tract specific and not as general as the next level (a Bachelor's).
So if you wanted to be a paralegal, or pharmacy tech, medical billing specialist, most of these have career specific associates degrees.The next layer is your Bachelors, also known as your Undergraduate Degree. This means 4 years of course work at an accredited school (this just means the school is checked by an independent body to make sure they are really teaching things to the students). You don't need an associates to begin work for your bachelor's, but you do need K-12 or a GED. Most 'undergraduates' come straight from K-12, but some transfer in from associates or community college. You also have to take the SAT/ACT test for admission to most 4 year programs. All of this is the traditional 'College' education most people have these days. Any mid-level job that makes decent money usually requires at least a bachelors.Now there are two kinds of Bachelors, Arts and Science.
Typically all classes in a 4 year school are divided between these two broad divisions, Hard Sciences V. Liberal Arts, though many of the liberal arts are sciences too. So what major you choose will determine if you get a BA v a BS. Sometimes a major can have both a BA and BS tract, meaning you take different classes or have different requirements.
For example, my school had both a BA and BS in Biology. With the BS students mostly going into further post graduate education or medical school and the BA students mostly going into K-12 teaching (as the BA was a little lighter on how many pure science credits you needed).Ok so after that layer you get to the next layer, a Masters Degree, this is the first of two postgraduate tracts. You need a Bachelor's to begin this level, usually in the field you also want to get a masters degree in, but not always.
In addition to a BA or BS you also need to take the GRE (graduate record exam, like the SAT/ACT but for masters degrees). A masters program is usually 2 years but can be longer or shorter. You take the most advanced classes in a subject, usually work as a teaching assistant for a professor, or even teach yourself. You also usually have a Masters Thesis, or one big research paper project you work on throughout your whole time in the program.
There are also, in addition to masters degrees which are extensions of undergrad majors like biology, career specific masters programs. Physicians Assistants are considered a masters level education. A masters is supposed to signify some of the highest education you can achieve in a subject.Now we are down to our innermost, smallest later, that few achieve and are hard to get to, the other postgraduate tract, the Doctoral Degree. Now to get here you defiantly need a BA or BS. Some also require a masters first, some do not, some are joint programs so you keep working after you get a masters on your doctoral degree. Generally you also need a GRE score too, but like masters there are career specific doctoral degrees that have career specific application tests (LSAT for Lawyers, MCAT for Doctors, PCAT for pharmacists).A doctoral degree can be anyway from 3-8 years depending on the program. You take all the highest level classes, TA and teach the undergrads (help the professors run the program), and work on the big project, your Doctoral Dissertation.
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See, to earn a doctorate, it isn't enough to simply learn all the information about a subject, that's a masters. To earn a doctorate, specifically a PhD, you have to PRODUCE information, original research. This is your Doctoral Dissertation, and its a bitch to produce, usually under the guidance of a faculty member.
When you are done you do a defense, where a panel of doctors in that field read and then try to tear down your dissertation and research, and you have to defend it in front of them. Once completed you get awarded a PhD in your field, signifying you have completed the most advanced training but also have produced NEW learning in that field.This is slightly different for the Professional Doctoral Degrees (Doctors get MD/DOs, Lawyers get JDs, Pharmacists get PharmDs, Dentists get DDS/DMD, ect).
These have less emphasis on original research, but some still do, and more on learning the complex information required to do these difficult jobs. These are usually 4 year programs one does and are still doctorates, and called post graduate.Also caveat, also degree programs are categorized in years, 2 year v 4 year.
They are measured by credit hours, or how much credit your grade in a class gets per how much you actually spent in class. A lecture that meets three times a week with a few extra hours in a lab would be like 4 credits, while that once a week pottery seminar would be worth like 1 or even.5 credits. Schools have requirements you have to do a minimum of so many credits per year and need X number of credits to pass to the next year. So you could take a lot of classes, and finish a 4 year degree in less time (this is how some people get a 4 year bachelors in 3 or even 2 years time).TL:DR Undergrads are students at a 4 year school who haven't gotten a bachelor's degree yet. Postgraduates are students with a bachelors who are working on a Masters or Doctorate degree.