- Also called:
- baccalaureate
bachelor’s degree
-
What is a bachelor's degree?
A bachelor's degree is an academic degree conferred upon students after completing undergraduate coursework, typically taking three to six years, depending on the country and field of study. It is a prerequisite for further studies, such as a master's degree or doctorate. In the United States, common degree types include Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.). In the United Kingdom, degrees are differentiated by honors and non-honors, with honors requiring a higher academic standard.
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How long does it usually take to earn a bachelor's degree?
A bachelor's degree is an undergraduate academic degree conferred on students after completing coursework. The time it takes to earn a bachelor's degree is typically three to six years, depending on the country, field of study, and individual circumstances.
In the United States, most students complete a bachelor's degree in four years by accumulating course credits. In the United Kingdom, an honors degree, which entails a higher academic standard, may involve an additional year of study.
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What kinds of subjects can you study to earn a bachelor's degree?
A bachelor's degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to students who complete coursework at a college or university. Completing a bachelor’s program is usually a prerequisite for pursuing a master’s degree or a doctorate.
Common degree types include Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.), as well as Bachelor of Literature (B.Lit.), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), and Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech. or B.T.). Popular fields of study include business, health, social sciences, history, engineering, biological and biomedical science, and psychology.
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What is the difference between a bachelor's degree and other college degrees like an associate’s or master's degree?
A bachelor's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded to students who complete a course of study at a college or university, typically over three to six years. It is a prerequisite for those wishing to pursue a master's degree, which usually requires one or two years of additional study after the bachelor's. An associate degree is typically completed at a community or junior college in the U.S. after two years of study and has a relatively low status.
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What are some requirements you need to fulfill to get a bachelor's degree?
To get a bachelor's degree, you typically need to complete coursework over three to six years, though this varies by country and field of study. In the American system, you accumulate course credits with passing grades rather than passing a "finals" examination.
Typically, the first two years involve prescribed courses across subjects, plus electives. In the final two years, you specialize in a subject or two. A major is your primary field of study, while a minor is a secondary field that doesn't necessarily relate to your major. Upon completion of a course, learners will be awarded a grade. In the UK, bachelor’s degrees may involve exams and coursework, as well as a written dissertation.
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How can having a bachelor's degree affect your career opportunities?
Earning a bachelor's degree can greatly enhance career opportunities. By 2031, it's estimated that 72% of jobs in the U.S. will require postsecondary education or training.
College graduates benefit from increased networking, internships, and career services, leading to valuable job market experience. The unemployment rate in December 2024 for those aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree was 2.4%, much lower than the 7.7% for those without a high school education.
Additionally, college graduates often report higher job satisfaction and earnings. College-educated workers are also more likely to receive benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans.
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bachelor’s degree, undergraduate academic degree conferred on college or university students upon completing coursework, typically over a span of three to six years, depending on the country, field of study, and conditions of the learner. It is usually a prerequisite for those wishing to pursue further studies in order to obtain a postgraduate qualification such as a master’s degree or a doctorate.
A bachelor’s degree corresponds to the Japanese Gakushi Shogo, the Italian laurea triennale, the Greek ptychío, and the Brazilian graduação. It should not be confused with the French baccalauréat, an exam taken at the end of a student’s secondary education, or the Spanish bachillerato, referring to the final stage of secondary-school education. The French education system refers to the bachelor’s degree as a BAC+3, also called a licence.
During the Middle Ages, the bachelor’s degree was merely a stage in the education process, rather than a qualification such as master and doctor, which were already common at the time. This phase entailed the study of grammar, rhetoric, and logic during a period of three to four years, which ended with examinations. The term bachelor stems from the Latin word baccalārius, referring to people of low rank in the feudal hierarchy, but it was later used to refer to students who had passed the baccalaureate exam and were thus in the second stage of their studies.
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According to college graduation statistics, 2.038 million bachelor’s degrees were awarded in the United States in 2020, making them the most popular tertiary education qualifications. Degree types include the popular Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) as well as the Bachelor of Literature (B.Lit.), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), and Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech. or B.T.). The American education system distinguishes between the major, or primary, field of study and the minor field of study, which does not necessarily need to be related to the former. For instance, in a B.A. program, a student can major in English with a minor in physics. The leading fields of study are business, health, social sciences and history, engineering, biological and biomedical science, and psychology.
In the United Kingdom, a distinction is made between honours degrees and non-honours degrees, which are also known as ordinary or pass degrees. The honours degree entails a higher academic standard, which may involve an additional year of study and is expressed by adding “(Hons)” to the degree abbreviation, as exemplified by B.A. (Hons). Honours degrees are also awarded in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Singapore.
Methods of assessment may also vary from country to country. In the United Kingdom, for instance, bachelor’s degrees may involve both exams and coursework as well as a written dissertation in the final year of the course. Upon course completion, learners can be awarded first-class honours if they get an overall mark of 70 percent or above, upper second-class honours if it is between 60 and 69 percent, lower second-class honours if between 50 and 59 percent, third-class honours if between 40 and 49 percent, a pass if the 40 percent mark is missed by a small margin, or a fail. An upper second-class honours is the usual admission requirement for embarking on a master’s degree program. Such grades are also given when marking assessments throughout the course. The American grading system, on the other hand, consists of quality points from 0 to 4, which are equivalent to a grade ranging from F to A or a percentage.
In response to the differences between education systems, initiatives have been introduced to foster cooperation and mutual recognition. Under the Bologna Process, which was launched in 1998–99 in Europe, participants agreed that the length of their undergraduate programs would be at least three years and to further facilitate study-abroad programs such as Erasmus, in compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) and the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). The number of countries participating in the Bologna Process has grown from the original 26 to more than 40.
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