List of College Degrees

The bachelor's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded at four-year colleges and universities throughout the United States. It is the degree of choice among ... Home HigherEducation DistanceLearning K12Education EarlyChildhood SpecialEducation Teacher'sCorner CollegeDegreesGuide:ListofCollegeDegrees Earningacollegedegreeisstillthemostreliablewaytoimproveyourcareeropportunitiesandearningpotential.Asthefollowingchartshows,collegegraduatesearnmorethannon-degreeworkersandexperiencelowerratesofunemployment. Onceyou'vemadethedecisiontopursueacollegeeducation,it'stimetofigureoutexactlywhattypeofdegreetopursue.Thereareavarietyofcollegedegreesandeachhasadvantagesanddisadvantages.Thereisn'tjustone"right"typeofcollegedegree.Thevalueofacollegedegreeisafunctionofwhatthecollegedegreeoffersyou.Yourjobistodeterminewhichcollegedegree,orcertificate,besthelpsyouachieveyourpersonal,educationalandcareerobjectives.Forexample,ifyouwanttobecomeadoctor,earningabachelorofartsinhistoryprobablyisn'tgoingtobeasbeneficialasanundergraduatedegreeinbiologythatwillprepareyoutotaketheMCAT.Butthenagain,ifyou'repassionishistory,maybeminoringinhistoryandmajoringinbiologyisthewinningcombination.Ifyouwanttopursueacareerinbusiness,thenaMastersofBusinessAdministration(MBA)wouldbethelogicalchoice,right?Surprisingly,manysuccessfulbusinessmenandentrepreneursneverearnedanMBA.Therearemanyeducationalpathsandchoicestoconsider.Belowwe'lloutlineanddiscussthedifferenttypesofcollegedegreesandhelpyoubeginexploringyouroptions. Tolearnmoreabouttypesofdegrees,selectacategorybelow: ProfessionalCertificates UndergraduateDegrees TransferDegrees AssociateDegrees BachelorDegrees GraduateDegrees MasterDegrees DoctoralDegrees ProfessionalDegrees SpecialistDegrees ProfessionalCertificatesandLicenses Earningacollegedegreeisn'talwaystheanswer.Sometimesaprofessionalcertificatemakesalotmoresense–especiallyifyourdecisiontopursueahighereducationisbasedoneconomics.Careersuccesscanoftenbeobtainedaseasilywithaprofessionalcertificationasitcanwithatraditionalcollegedegree–especiallyinhighlytechnicalfieldswhereemployersaremoreconcernedwithyourskillsetthanyourcollegecredential.Earningaprofessionalcertificationisalsoalotlessexpensive. Unlikeundergraduatedegreeprograms,manyofwhichfocusonliberalartseducation,professionalcertificationprogramsfocusalmostexclusivelyonskillsdevelopment–skillsthataredirectlyrelevanttoperformingaspecificjoborfunction.Onthedownside,somecertificationprogramsaresonarrowinfocusthattheymissthedepthandwell-roundededucationprovidedbyacollegedegree.Still,oneeducationalpathisnotnecessarilybetterthantheother–theysimplyofferdifferentbenefits.Ifyouwanttobecomeanelectricalengineer,acollegedegreemakesmoresensethanaprofessionalcertification.Ifyouwanttobecomeanelectrician,allyouneedisaprofessionalcertification. Aprofessionalcertificationistypicallyalotmoreeconomicalthanacollegedegree.Whereaprofessionalcertificationcanrunanywherefrom$5,000to$15,000,acollegedegreetypicallycoststwotothreetimesthatamount.Onadollarfordollarbasis,aprofessionalcertificationmaymakealotmoresense.Theeconomicsofearningaprofessionalcertificationmakeevenmoresensewhenyouconsiderthatmanyprofessionalcertificationsthesedayscanbecompletedinjustayearortwoandcanprepareyouforacareerjustaseffectivelyasamoreexpensive"traditional"four-yearcollegedegree. Inmanytrades,certificationor"licensing"isarequirementofemployment.Insomevocationaloccupations,professionalcertificationandlicensingaresynonymous.Certificationandlicensingrequirementsareregulatedonastatebystatebasis.Inmanystates,professionalcertificationisaprerequisiteforlicensing.Inothers,it'spartofthelicensingprocessitself.Beforedecidingonaprofessionalcertification,orcollegedegree,you'llwanttobeclearinyourownmindwhatyourcareerobjectivesareandthoroughlyinvestigatealleducational,certificationand/orlicensingrequirements. UndergraduateDegrees Whenpeoplelooselyrefertoa"college"degree,moreoftenthannotthey'rereferringtoafour-year,undergraduatebachelor'sdegree.However,thereareseveralcategoriesofundergraduatedegrees,whichalsoincludeassociatedegrees. Undergraduatedegreesarealsoreferredtoaspost-secondarydegrees.Thatis,theyaredegreesearnedaftercompletelyasecondaryeducation(ie.,highschooldiplomaorGED)butbeforeagraduatedegree.Undergraduatedegrees–bachelor'sdegreesinparticular–usuallyhaveageneraleducation,electiveandcore(major)component.Generaleducationcurriculumfocusesonabreadthofhighereducationsubjectsandskillsincludingwriting,mathematics,historyandscience.Corecurriculumincludesmajorcourseworkrequiredtobecomeproficientinaspecificareaofstudy.Electivecurriculum,whileinlinewithastudent'smajor,ischosenindependentlybyeachstudent.Undergraduatestudentsattendingthesamecollege,regardlessoftheirmajor,aretypicallyrequiredtocompletethesamegeneraleducationcourses.Majorcoursesaredeterminedbyindividualdepartmentsandacademiccolleges.Electivecoursesarechosenbyeachstudentundertheguidanceoftheirmajordepartmentandanacademicadvisor. TherearetwotypesofundergraduatedegreesrecognizedintheUnitedStates:AssociateandBachelor.Associatedegreesareofferedprimarilythroughcommunitycolleges.Therearehoweverafewvocationalschoolsandfour-yearcollegesthatalsoofferassociatedegrees.Earninganassociatedegreetypicallyrequirestwoyearsoffull-timestudy.Associatedegreesaredesignedtopreparestudentsforacareer,orqualifytopursueabachelor'sdegree.Associatedegreesdesignedtopreparestudentstopursueabachelor'sdegreeatafour-yearcollegeoruniversityareknownastransferdegrees(oracademicdegrees).Associatedegreesdesignedtopreparestudentstopursuecareeropportunitiesupongraduationaresometimesreferredtoasoccupationaldegrees.Bachelordegreesareofferedbymajorcollegesanduniversitiesandarefour-yearsinduration.Bachelor'sdegreescanbecareerfocusedordesignedtopreparestudentsforgraduateschool. TransferDegree Studentsoftenpursueanassociatedegreeforoneoftworeasons.First,toprepareforacareer.Second,topreparetoattendafour-yearcollegewheretheycanearnabachelor'sdegree.Anassociatedegreethatisusedasasteppingstoneintoabachelor'sdegreeprogramisoftenreferredtoasatransferdegree. Notallassociatedegreescanbeusedastransferdegrees,andnotallcollegesthatofferassociatedegreesoffertransferdegrees.Thekeytoatransferdegreeisthatittransfers.Regionallyaccreditedcollegesanduniversities(whichincludemostmajorcollegesanduniversitiesintheUnitedStates)typicallyonlyaccepttransfercreditsfromothercollegesandinstitutionsthatareregionallyaccredited.Thatmeansinorderforthecreditsearnedthroughanassociatedegreetobetransferable,theymustbeearnedataregionallyaccreditedcommunitycollege.Ifthereisanychanceyou'llpursueabachelor'sdegreeaftercompletingyourassociatedegree,you'llwanttomakesureyouearnyourassociatedegreefromaregionallyaccreditedhighereducationinstitution. Whenawardedbyaregionallyaccreditedcommunitycollege,thecreditsearnedthroughanassociatedegreewillusuallyfulfillmanyofthegeneraleducationrequirementsofa4-yearbachelor'sdegree.Whenselectingacommunitycollegetoearnatransferdegree,makesureitisregionallyaccreditedandthatyoucheckwiththe4-yearcollegeyouwanttoattendafteryougraduatetomakecertainthecreditsyouearnthroughyourassociatedegreewilltransfer. AssociateDegree Associatedegreesaretwo-yearundergraduatedegreesawardedbycommunitycolleges,vocationalschools,andasmallnumberoffour-yearcollegesanduniversities.Afewschoolsofferacceleratedassociatedegreeprogramsthatcanbecompletedinlesstime.Thereareseveralbenefitstoearninganassociatedegreebeforeearningabachelor'sdegree.Oneofthebiggestbenefitsisthelowercostofcredits.Manystudentswillcompleteanassociatedegreeandthenapplytheircreditstowardthecompletionofabachelor'sdegree,loweringtheiroverallcostofearningabachelor'sdegree.Aslongastheassociatedegreeisawardedbyaregionallyaccreditedcommunitycollege,thecreditsshouldtransfertoafour-yearcollegeoruniversity. Associatedegreesarealsoidealforstudentswhowanttoprepareforentry-levelcareerpositionsinastimelyafashionaspossible.Associatedegreesofferedatvocationalschoolsandtechnicaltrainingcentersareoftenveryskillsoriented.Theseprogramsarelaserfocusedonhelpingstudentsacquiretheknowledgeandskillsnecessarytoqualifyforentry-levelpositionsfollowinggraduation.Associatedegreesthatareintendedtohelpstudentsprepareforacareeraresometimesreferredtoasoccupationaldegrees. ThemostpopulartypesofassociatedegreesincludetheAssociateofArts(A.A.),AssociateofScience(A.S.)andAssociateofAppliedScience(A.A.S.).TheA.A.isanassociatedegreethatisdesignatedbymanycommunitycollegesasatransferdegree.A.A.degreesofferstudentsageneraleducationinpreparationforabachelor'sdegreeprogram.However,theA.A.mayalsobeanoccupationaldegreedependingontheschool.TheAssociateofScience(A.S.),liketheA.A.,mayalsoserveasatransferdegree.ManystudentswillearntheirA.S.andthentransfertoafour-yearcollegeoruniversitytocompleteabachelor'sdegree.However,unliketheA.S.thatoftenoffersaliberalartsbasededucation,theA.S.focusesonthesciences.ThethirdcommontypeofassociatedegreeistheAssociateofAppliedScience(A.A.S.).TheA.A.S.isalmostalwaysdesignatedasanoccupationaldegreeandisdesignedtohelpstudentsprepareforaspecifictradeoroccupation.Othertypesofassociatedegreesinclude: AA-AssociateofArts AAA-AssociateofAppliedArts AE-AssociateofEngineeringorAssociateinElectronicsEngineeringTechnology AS-AssociateofScience AGS-AssociateofGeneralStudies ASN-AssociateofScienceinNursing AF-AssociateofForestry AT-AssociateofTechnology AAB-AssociateofAppliedBusiness AAS-AssociateofAppliedScienceorAssociateofArtsandSciences AAT-AssociateofArtsinTeaching ABS-AssociateofBaccalaureateStudies ABA-AssociateofBusinessAdministration AES-AssociateofEngineeringScience ADN-AssociateDegreeinNursing AET-AssociateinEngineeringTechnology AFA-AssociateofFineArts APE-AssociateofPre-Engineering AIT-AssociateofIndustrialTechnology AOS-AssociateofOccupationalStudies ASPT-APT-AssociateinPhysicalTherapy APS-AssociateofPoliticalScienceorAssociateofPublicService Bachelor'sDegree Ninetimesoutoftenwhensomeonesaysthey'regoingtoearna"college"degree,they'retalkingaboutafour-yearbachelor'sdegree.Thebachelor'sdegreeisanundergraduatedegreeawardedatfour-yearcollegesanduniversitiesthroughouttheUnitedStates.Itisthedegreeofchoiceamongemployersseekingcollegeeducatedapplicantstofillentry-levelpositionsandthemostpopularofundergraduatedegrees. Atraditionalbachelor'sdegreehasthreecomponents:generaleducation,corecoursesandelectivecourses.Generaleducationcurriculumisusuallythesameforallstudentsattendingacollegeoruniversity,andoftenhasaliberalartsfocus.Corecoursesaremajorspecificanddesignedtohelpstudentsbecomeproficientisaspecificfieldofstudyordiscipline.Electivecourses,or"electives",areselectedbyeachindividualstudent–withtheassistanceofanacademicadvisor–andtypicallyfocusonastudent'smajor.Students'whohavecompletedanassociatedegreeataregionallyaccreditedcommunitycollege,areoftenexemptfromcompletingamajorityofthegeneraleducationrequirementsforabachelor'sdegree. Thereareseveraltypesofbachelor'sdegrees.ThetwomostcommonaretheBachelorofArts(B.A.)andBachelorofScience(B.S.)TheBachelorofArtstypicallyhasastrongliberalartsemphasis.TheBachelorofSciencefocusesmoreontechnicaldisciplinesandappliedsciences.However,theB.A.andB.S.designationsmayvaryfromonehighereducationinstitutiontothenext.WheremostschoolsawardengineeringdegreesasaB.S.,therearesomethatawardengineeringdegreesasaB.A.SomeschoolsofferaBachelorofArtsinEconomics.YetothersofferthesamedegreeasaBachelorofScienceinEconomics.Otherbachelor'sdegreeawardedbyU.S.collegesanduniversitiesinclude: BachelorofArchitecture(BArch) BachelorofArts(BA,AB,BS,BSc,SB,ScB) BachelorofAppliedArts(BAA) BachelorofAppliedArtsandScience(BAAS) BachelorofAppliedScienceinInformationTechnology(BAppSc(IT)) BachelorofDesign(BDes,orSDesinIndonesia) BachelorofEngineering(BEng,BE,BSE,BESc,BSEng,BASc,BTech,BSc(Eng),AMIE,GradIETE) BachelorofScienceinBusiness(BSBA) BachelorofEngineeringTechnology(BSET) BachelorofTechnology(B.Tech.orB.Tech.) InternationalBusinessEconomics(BIBE) BachelorofBusinessAdministration(BBA) BachelorofManagementStudies(BMS) BachelorofAdministrativeStudies BachelorofInternationalBusinessEconomics(BIBE) BachelorofCommerce(BCom,orBComm) BachelorofFineArts(BFA) BachelorofBusiness(BBusorBBus) BachelorofManagementandOrganizationalStudies(BMOS) BachelorofBusinessScience(BBusSc) BachelorofAccountancy(B.Acy.orB.Acc.orB.Accty) BachelorofComptrolling(B.Acc.Sci.orB.Compt.) BachelorofEconomics(BEc,BEconSc;sometimesBA(Econ)orBSc(Econ)) BachelorofArtsinOrganizationalManagement(BAOM) BachelorofComputerScience(BCompSc) BachelorofComputing(BComp) BachelorofScienceinInformationTechnology(BScIT) BachelorofComputerApplications(BCA) BachelorofBusinessInformationSystems(BBIS) IntercalatedBachelorofScience(BSc) BachelorofMedicalScience(BMedSci) BachelorofMedicalBiology(BMedBiol) BachelorofScienceinPublicHealth(BSPH) BachelorofScienceinNursing(BN,BNSc,BScN,BSN,BNurs,BSN,BHSc.) BachelorofHealthScience(BHS&BHSc) BachelorofKinesiology(BKin,BSc(Kin),BHK) BachelorofArtsforTeaching(BAT) BachelorofAviation(BAvn) BachelorofDivinity(BDorBDiv) BachelorofTheology(B.Th.;Th.B.orBTheol) BachelorofReligiousEducation(BRE) BachelorofReligiousStudies(BRS) BachelorofFilmandTelevision(BF&TV) BachelorofIntegratedstudies(BIS) BachelorofJournalism(BJ,BAJ,BSJorBJourn) BachelorofLandscapeArchitecture(BLArch) BachelorofLiberalArts(B.L.A.;occasionallyA.L.B.) BachelorofGeneralStudies(BGS,BSGS) BachelorofScienceinHumanBiology(BSc) BachelorofAppliedStudies(BAS) BachelorofLiberalStudies BachelorofProfessionalStudies(BPS) BachelorofLibraryScience(B.L.S.,B.Lib.) BachelorofLibraryandInformationScience(B.L.I.S.) BachelorofMusic(BMorBMus) BachelorofArtinMusic(BAinMusic) BachelorofMusicEducation(BME) BachelorofPhilosophy(BPhil,PhB) BachelorofArtsinPsychology(BAPSY) BachelorofMortuaryScience(BMS) BachelorofScienceinPsychology(BSc(Psych) BachelorofScienceinEducation(BSE,BSinEd) BachelorofScienceand/witheducationdegree(BScEd) BachelorofScienceinForestry(B.S.F.orB.Sc.F.) BachelorofAppliedScience(BASc) BachelorofScienceinLaw(BSL) BachelorofSocialScience(BSocSc) BachelorofArtsinSocialWork(BSWorBASW) BachelorofTalmudicLaw(BTL) BachelorofTechnology(B.Tech) BachelorofTourismStudies(BTS) BachelorofMathematics(BMath) BachelorofMathematicalSciences(BMathSc) BachelorofPublicAffairsandPolicyManagement(BPAPM) BachelorofUrbanandRegionalPlanning(BURPandBPlan) Atraditionalbachelor'sdegreeprogramtakes4to5yearstocomplete.Therearehowevermanybachelor'sdegreeprogramsthatcannowbecompletedinlesstime.Acceleratedbachelor'sdegreescanbecompletedinaslittleasthreeyears.Accelerateddegreesareoftenofferedviaonlinedistancelearning. Earningabachelor'sdegreeisusuallyaprerequisiteforattendingagraduateschoolorpost-graduateprofessionalprogram. GraduateDegrees Agraduatedegreeisanadvanceddegreethatfocusesonaspecificacademicfieldofstudyorprofessionaldiscipline(ie.,Law,Medicine,Business,etc.)Thegeneralprerequisiteformostgraduatedegreeprogramsisabachelor'sdegree–ofteninarelatedfieldofstudy.Historically,graduatedegreeswereacademicinnature,andresearchoriented.Today,mostgraduatedegreesfocusonappliedsciencesandareprofessionalinscopeandnature.Manygraduatedegreeshaveasplitfocusbetweenacademiaandindustry.Agraduatedegreecantakeasmanyaseightyearstocomplete,oraslittleastwo. Unlikeundergraduatedegreesthathaveageneraleducationcomponent,graduatedegreesofferamuchmoreindepthdisciplinaryfocus.Inaddition,theexpectationforgraduatestudentsismuchhigherthanitisforundergraduatestudents.Graduatestudentsareexpectedtoproduceamuchhigherstandardofacademicworkandperformindependentresearch.Graduateprogramsaremorecompetitivethanundergraduateprograms.Notonlyisgettingacceptedtoagraduateprogramcompetitive,theprogramsthemselvesarequitecompetitive. MasterDegree Amaster'sdegreeisagraduatedegreestudentsoftenpursuefollowingthecompletionofabachelor'sdegree.Eventhoughamaster'sdegreeismorerigorousthanabachelor'sdegree,ittypicallyonlytakestwoyearstocomplete,comparedtothefouryearsrequiredtocompleteabachelor'sdegree.Amaster'sdegreefocusesonaspecificdisciplineorareaofstudyanddoesnothaveageneraleducationrequirement.Mostmaster'sdegreesareprofessionalinnature,designedtohelpstudentsdevelopadvancedskillsthatwillhelpthemintheircareer.Moreandmoreemployersnowseekapplicantswithamaster'sdegree. Thereareseveralreasonstoearnamaster'sdegree.Theseinclude: Increasecareeradvancementopportunities Makeacareerchange Qualifyforentry-levelcareerpositions Transitionintoamanagerial/supervisoryrole Increaseearningpotential Becomemoremarketable Thereareoveronehundreddifferenttypesofmaster'sdegreesintheUnitedStates.Themostcommonmaster'sdegreesaretheMasterofArts(M.A.),MasterofScience(M.S.)andMasterofFineArts(M.F.A.).TheM.A.isaliberalartsfocuseddegreethatmayfocusonhistory,philosophy,humanitiesoroneofseveralsocialsciences.TheM.S.degree,asitsnamesuggests,focusesonthescience–afieldofappliedscience,suchasengineering.TheM.F.A.degreefocusesonthevisualandperformingarts.Otherpopularmaster'sdegreesinclude: MasterofAccountancy(MAcc,MAc,orMAcy) MasterofAdvancedStudy(MAS) MasterofEconomics(MEcon) MasterofArchitecture(MArch) MasterofAppliedScience(MASc,MAppSc,MApplSc,MAScandMAS) MasterofArts(MA,MA,AM,orAM) MasterofArtsinTeaching(MAT) MasterofArtsinLiberalStudies(MA,ALM,MLA,MLSorMALS) MasterofBusiness(MBus) MasterofBusinessAdministration(MBAorMBA) MasterofBusinessInformatics(MBI) MasterofCityPlanning MasterofChemistry(MChem) MasterofCommerce(MComorMComm) MasterofComputationalFinance(orQuantitativeFinance) MasterofComputerApplications(MCA) MasterinCreativeTechnologies MasterofCriminalJustice(MCJ) MasterofDesign(MDes,MDesorMDesign) MasterofDivinity(MDiv) MasterofEconomics(MEcon) MasterofEducation(MEd,MEd,EdM,MAEd,MSEd,MSE,orMEdL) MasterofEnterprise(MEnt) MasterofEngineering(MEng,MEorMEng) MasterofEngineeringManagement(MEM) MasterofEuropeanLaw(LLMEur) MasterofFinance(MFin) MasterofFinancialMathematics(MasterofQuantitativeFinance) MasterofFinancialEngineering(MasterofQuantitativeFinance) MasterofFinancialEconomics MasterofFineArts(MFA,MFA) MasterofHealthAdministration(MHA) MasterofHealthScience(MHS) MasterofHumanities(MH) MasterofIndustrialandLaborRelations(MILR) MasterofInternationalAffairs MasterofInternationalBusiness MasterofInternationalStudies(MIS) MastersinInternationalEconomics MasterofInformationSystemManagement(abbreviatedMISM,MSIM,MISorsimilar) MasterofIT(abbreviatedMSIT,MScIT,MScIT,MScITorMScIT) MasterofJurisprudence(MJorMJur) MasterofLaws(LLMorLLM) MasterofStudiesinLaw(MSL) MasterofLandscapeArchitecture(MArch) MasterofLetters(MLitt) MasterofLiberalArts(MA,ALM,MLA,MLSorMALS) MasterofLibraryandInformationScience(MLIS) MasterofManagement(MM) MasterofMathematics(orMMath) MasterofMathematicalFinance MasterofMedicalScience MasterofMusic(MMorMMus) MasterofOccupationalTherapy(OT) MasterofPharmacy(MPharmorMPharm) MasterofPhilosophy(MPhil) MasterofPhysics(MPhys) MasterofPhysicianAssistantStudies MasterofPoliticalScience MasterofProfessionalStudies(MPSorMPS) MasterofPublicAdministration(MPA) MasterofPublicAffairs(MPAff) MasterofPublicHealth(MPH) MasterofPublicManagement MasterofPublicPolicy(MPP) MasterofQuantitativeFinance MasterofRabbinicStudies(MRb) MasterofRealEstateDevelopment MasterofReligiousEducation MasterofResearch-MSc(R) MasterofSacredTheology(STM) MasterofSacredMusic(MSM) MasterofScience(MSc,MSc,MSci,MSi,ScM,MS,MSHS,MS,Mag,Mg,Mgr,SM,orSM) MasterofScienceinEducation MasterofScienceinEngineering(MSE) MasterofScienceinFinance(MFin) MasterofScienceinHumanResourceDevelopment(HRDorMSHRD) MasterofScienceinInformationSystemsManagement(MSMIS) MasterofScienceinInformationSystems(MSIS) MasterofScienceinInformationTechnology(MSIT,MScIT,MScIT,MScITorMScIT) MasterofScienceinNursing(MSN) MasterofScienceinProjectManagement(MSPM) MasterofScienceinManagement(MScorMSM) MasterofScienceinLeadership(MSL) MasterofScienceinSupplyChainManagement(SCMorMSSCM) MasterofScienceinTaxation MasterofScienceinTeaching(MST) MasterofSocialWork(MSW) MasterofSocialScience(MSSc) MasterofSurgery(ChMorMS,aswellasMChandMChir) MasterofStudies(MStorMSt) MasterofTheology(ThMorMTh) MasterofTheologicalStudies(MTS) MasterofUrbanPlanning MasterofVeterinaryScience(MVSCorMVSc) DoctoralDegree Adoctoraldegreeisagraduatedegree,somewhatsimilartoamaster'sdegree.However,wheremostmaster'sdegreestaketwoyearstocomplete,adoctoraldegreemaytakeanywherefromtwotosixyearstocomplete.Theprerequisiteformostdoctoralprogramsisamaster'sdegree.Thereareafewdoctoralprogramsthatwillalsoacceptstudentswithabachelor'sdegreeaslongastheymeetotheradmissioncriteria.Adoctoraldegreeisreferredtoasa"terminaldegree"whenitisthehighestdegreethatcanbeearnedwithinaparticularfieldofstudy.Mostdoctoralprogramsarechallenging,rigorous,andrequireafull-timecommitment.Historically,doctoraldegreeshavebeenacademicandresearchfocused.Today,mostdoctoralprogramsfocusonhelpingstudentsacquireadvancedskillssetsandknowledgetopreparethemforaspecificoccupationorspecialty. Thefourmostcommontypesofdoctoraldegreesinclude: ProfessionalDoctorate-Theprofessionaldoctorateisdesignedtohelpstudentsgainadvancedskillandknowledgeinpreparationforaspecificprofession.TheDoctorofBusinessAdministration(DBA),forexample,isapopularprofessionaldoctoratedegreedesignedtopreparestudentsforcareersinbusiness. ResearchDoctorate-Asitsnamesuggests,theresearchdoctoratefocusesonresearch.Studentswhoearnaresearchdoctoratetypicallygoontoperformresearchinacademia,forgovernment,orintheprivatesector.ThePh.D.andDoctorofPhilosophyarethetwomostpopularresearchdoctorates. HigherDoctorate-Thehigherdoctorateislesscommonthaneithertheprofessionaldoctorateorresearchdoctorate.Infact,thisdoctorateisnotcommonintheUnitedStates.ThehigherdoctorateisatieredresearchdegreecommonincountriesincludingtheUnitedKingdom,FranceandIreland,amongothers. HonoraryDoctorate-Thehonorarydoctoratedegreeisawardedtohonororrecognizeindividualsthathavedemonstratedsuperiorachievementorcontributionwithinaparticularfieldordiscipline.HonorarydoctoratesareonlyofferedbyafewuniversitiesintheUnitedStates. ProfessionalDegree Anothercommongraduatedegreeistheprofessionaldegree.Aprofessionaldegreeisagraduatedegreethatisaprerequisitetobecominglicensedtoworkinaspecificfield.Themostcommonexamplesofprofessionaldegreesincludemedicaldegreesrequiredtobecomeamedicaldoctorandlawdegreeswhicharerequiredtopracticelaw.Professionaldegreesarealsoofferedinseveralotherfields,includingpsychology,finance,businessandengineering.Abachelor'sdegreeisthestandardprerequisitetoentryintomostprofessionaldegreeprograms.Afewprofessionaldegreeprogramsrequireamaster'sdegree.Professionaldegreesarealsoknownas"FirstProfessionalDegrees". SpecialistDegree Aspecialistdegreeisagraduatedegreethatprofessionalspursueaftercompletingamaster'sdegree.Specialistdegreesservetwopurposes.Theyallowprofessionalstoobtainadditionalexpertiseandknowledgeinaspecificdiscipline.Theyalsoprovideprofessionalswithindustrylevelcertificationrequiredforstatelicensure.Inthepublicschoolsystem,aprincipalisoftenrequiredtoobtainanEd.S.degreeinordertopractice.AnEd.S.degreeisanexampleofaspecialistdegree. 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