College Degree Levels Overview - TheBestSchools.org

College degrees generally fall into four categories: associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral. Each college degree level varies in length, ... CollegeDegreeLevels — AnOverview byMelissaSartore June29,2022 Associate Bachelor's Master's Doctoral thebestschools.orgisanadvertising-supportedsite.Featuredortrustedpartnerprogramsandallschoolsearch,finder,ormatchresultsareforschoolsthatcompensateus.Thiscompensationdoesnotinfluenceourschoolrankings,resourceguides,orothereditorially-independentinformationpublishedonthissite. Areyoureadytodiscoveryourcollegeprogram? CollegeDegreesinOrderTheUltimateOverview Associate,bachelor's,master's,anddoctoraldegreesvaryintermsofprerequisites,lengths,andrequirements.Collegedegreesgenerallyfallintofourcategories:associate,bachelor's,master's,anddoctoral.Eachcollegedegreelevelvariesinlength,requirements,andoutcomes.Eachcollegedegreealignswithstudents'differentpersonalinterestsandprofessionalgoals. Understandingcollegedegreelevelscanhelpyoudecidewhichdegreewillmeetyourneeds,whilepotentiallysavingyoutimeandmoney. FeaturedOnlineDegrees CollegeDegreeLevels Mostundergraduatedegreesspanfouryearsorless.Graduateprogramscanrunfrom12monthsto10years.Collegedegreeshaveuniqueprerequisites,curricula,requirements,andoutcomes,allofwhichvarybylevel. — AssociateDegree TypicalLengthofTimetoComplete1-2years TypicalRequiredCredits60credithours Typicallyofferedbycommunityandtechnicalcolleges,anassociatedegreeincludesroughlytwoyearsofcoursework.Dependingonthediscipline,studentsmayalsocompletepracticalrequirements.Internshipsandpracticumsarecommoninhealthcareandtechnologyprograms. Applicantsneedatleastahighschooldiplomaorequivalent.Someschoolsmayrequireindividualstosubmittestscoresforadmission. Manyassociatedegreespreparestudentstoentertheworkforceimmediatelyuponcompletion.Anassociatedegreealsoservesasthefoundationforabachelor'sprogram. Anappliedassociatedegreeinaccounting,education,ortechnicalfieldscanleadtoentry-levelpositionsinfinance,teaching,orinformationandcomputertechnology.Anassociateofartsincludesfoundationalcourseworkforabachelorofarts,whileanassociateofsciencedegreeequipsstudentswithskillstopursueabachelorofsciencedegree. Associatedegreesfallintothreecategories: AssociateofAppliedScience(AAS) AssociateofArts(AA) AssociateofScience(AS) FeaturedOnlineAssociate'sDegrees — Bachelor'sDegree TypicalLengthofTimetoCompleteFouryears TypicalRequiredCredits120credithours Offeredbyprivateandpubliccollegesanduniversities,bachelor'sdegreesincluderoughly120credithoursofcoursework.Toenrollinabachelor'sdegreeprogram,studentsneedatleastahighschooldiplomaorequivalent.Dependingontheschool,applicantsmayneedtosubmitACTorSATscores.Individualswithanassociatedegreecanalsoenterabachelor'sprogram,oftentransferringasmanyas60credithoursintothedegree. Thefirsttwoyearsofabachelor'sdegreeconsistofgeneraleducationrequirementsandintroductoryclassesforastudent'smajor.Duringthesecondtwoyears,studentstakeadvancedcoursesintheirmajor.Learnersmaycompleteacumulativecapstoneproject,paper,orpracticalrequirement. Withabachelor'sdegree,learnerscanentercareersinbusiness,informationandcomputertechnology,education,andhealthcare.Dependingonthefield,abachelor'sdegreeissufficientformid-levelandmanagerialpositions. Severaltypesofbachelor'sdegreesexist: BachelorofAppliedScience(BAS) BachelorofArchitecture(B.Arch.) BachelorofArts(BA) BachelorofBusinessAdministration(BBA) BachelorofFineArts(BFA) BachelorofScience(BS) FeaturedOnlineBachelor'sDegrees — Master'sDegree TypicalLengthofTimetoComplete1-2years TypicalRequiredCredits30credithours Thevarietyofmaster'sdegreesatteststotheuniquerequirements,outcomes,andopportunitiesassociatedwithearningamaster'sdegree.Master'sprogramsblendcoursework,projects,andresearchrequirements.Programstypicallyendwithathesis,capstoneproject,orcumulativeexamination.Applicantstomaster'sprogramsneedatleastabachelor'sdegree.SomeschoolsrequireGREorGMATscoresforadmission. Workingprofessionalsandindividualswhowanttomoveintomanagerialandadministrativerolesbenefitfromearningamaster'sdegree.Amaster'sdegreealsoleadstodoctoralworkinaspecificdiscipline.Studentscanapplyforscholarshipstohelppayfortheirmaster'sdegree. Whilemaster'sprogramstypicallylasttwoyears,studentscancompleteaccelerateddegreesinasfewas12months. MasterofBusinessAdministration(MBA) MasterofEducation(M.Ed.) MasterofFineArts(MFA) MasterofLaws(LL.M.) MasterofPublicAdministration(MPA) MasterofPublicHealth(MPH) MasterofPublishing(M.Pub.) MasterofScience(MS) MasterofSocialWork(MSW) FeaturedOnlineMaster'sDegrees — DoctoralDegree TypicalLengthofTimetoComplete2-10years TypicalRequiredCreditsVaries Adoctorateisthehighestlevelofformaleducationavailable.Doctoralprogramsincludecoursework,comprehensiveexams,researchrequirements,andadissertation.Doctoralprogramsrequirestudentstohaveamaster'sdegree,althoughsomedoctoratesincorporateamaster'saspartofthecurriculum.Manydoctoralprogramssetaspecificscheduleforcompletion,butsomedoctoralprogramslastformanyyearsduetothesubjectivenatureofresearchandcompletionofthedissertation. Inmanyfields,aPh.D.meetstherequirementstoteachatinstitutionsofhighereducation.Withadoctorate,individualsworkinginbusinesscanexceltoexecutivepositions.LawyersneedaJD,physiciansneedanMDoradoctorofosteopathy(DO),andchiropractorsmusthaveaDCMtopractice. Belowaresomeofthedoctoraldegreesthatstudentscanearn. DoctorofBusinessAdministration(DBA) DoctorofDentalSurgery(DDS) DoctorofEducation(Ed.D.) DoctorofMedicine(MD) DoctorofPharmacy(Pharm.D.) DoctorofPhilosophy(Ph.D.) DoctorofPsychology(Psy.D.) JurisDoctor(JD) FeaturedOnlineDoctoralDegrees MelissaSartore MelissaSartoreholdsaPh.D.inhistoryfromtheUniversityofWisconsin-Madison.HerBAandMAinhistoryarefromWesternIllinoisUniversity.Amedievalistbytraining,shehaspublishedonoutlawryinmedievalEnglandwithadditionalpublicationsonoutlawsinpopularcultureandacrossgeographicandhistoricalboundaries. HeaderImageCredit:FatCamera|GettyImages Learnmore,domore. Moretopic-relevantresourcestoexpandyourknowledge. Popularwithourstudents. Highlyinformativeresourcestokeepyoureducationjourneyontrack. Takethenextsteptowardyourfuturewithonlinelearning. Discoverschoolswiththeprogramsandcoursesyou’reinterestedin,andstartlearningtoday.