Degree systems in United States and Canada

In the United States and Canada, since the late 19th century, the threefold degree system of bachelor, master and doctor has been in place, but follows a slightly different pattern of study from the European equivalent.

In the United States and Canada, most standard academic programs are based on the four-year bachelor's degree, most often Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), or Bachelor of Science(B.S./B.Sc.), a one- or two-year master's degree (most often Master of Arts (M.A.), or Master of Science (M.S./M.Sc.); either of these programs might be as long as three years in length), and a further two to five years of coursework and research, culminating in "comprehensive" examinations in one or more fields, plus perhaps some teaching experience, and then the writing of a dissertation for the doctorate, most often Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), or other types such as Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Doctor of Psychology(Psy.D.), Doctor of Theology, (Th.D.), for a total of ten or more years from starting the bachelor's degree (which is usually begun around age 18) to the awarding of the doctorate. This timetable is only approximate, however, as students in accelerated programs can sometimes earn a bachelor's degree in three years or, on the other hand, a particular dissertation project might take four or more years to complete. In addition, a graduate may wait an indeterminate time between degrees before candidacy in the next level, or even an additional degree at a level already completed. Therefore, there is no time-limit on the accumulation of academic degrees.

Some schools, mostly junior colleges and community colleges and some four-year schools, offer an associate degree for two full years of study, often in pre-professional areas. These may stand alone, or sometimes be used as credit toward completion of the four-year bachelor's degree.

In Canada and the United States, there is also another class of degrees called "First Professional degree". These degree programs are designed for professional practice in various fields other than academic scholarship. Most professional degree programs require a prior bachelor's degree for admission, and so represent at least about six total years of study and as many as seven or eight. Some fields such as fine art, architecture, or divinity call their first professional degree a "master's degree" (e.g., M.Arch., M.B.A.) because most of these degrees require at least the completion of a bachelor's degree. There is currently some debate in the architectural community to rename the degree to a doctorate in the manner that was done for the law degree decades ago, however, this would also require increasing the length of their education

In the United States and Canada, many colleges and universities offer also an "honors bachelor's degree". The term "Honours" is an academic distinction, which indicates that students must achieve their bachelor's degree with a sufficiently high overall grade point average; in addition, some programs may require more education than non-honours programs. The honours degrees are sometimes designated with the abbreviation in brackets of '(Hon(s))'. It should not be confused with the Canadian consecutive bachelor's degree "with Honours", Latin "Baccalaureatus Cum Honore", abbr. e.g. 'BA hon.' de jure without brackets and with a dot. It is a "postgraduate" degree which is considered to be the equivalent of corresponding maîtrise degrees under the French influenced system e.g. in Québec. Going back in history, in Canada a three-year bachelor´s degree (also known e.g. in Québec as grade de bachelier) was also called a pass degree or general degree. A student who first achieve a general bachelor's degree with a sufficiently high overall average may be admitted to a "postgraduate" Baccalaureatus Cum Honrore degree in the same field; it requires a minimum of one years but may also take longer; it typically does not exceed two years. Students are required to undertake a long high quality research empirical thesis (Honours Seminar Thesis) combined with a selection of courses from the relevant field of studies. The consecutive degree is essential if students ultimate goal is to study towards a two- or three-year very high quality research masters´ degree qualification. A student holding a Baccalaureatus Cum Honore degree also may choose to complete a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program without the requirement to first complete a master's degree. Over the years, in some Canadian universities certain Baccalaureatus Cum Honore programs have been changed to corresponding master´s degrees.

In 21 US jurisdictions, religious institutions can be authorized to grant religious-exempt (rel. exmpt., rel. expt. etc.) degrees without accreditation or government oversight. Such degrees are used primarily to attain church-related employment.

In Canada, professional degrees in medicine (the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.)), law (the Juris Doctor (J.D.)), and pharmacy (the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)) are considered to be undergraduate (first cycle) degrees ^]whereas M.D., J.D., or D.O. are first professional doctorates (third cycle degrees) in the United States, whereas the Ph.D. is the highest degree offered in the United States and is a fourth cycle degree.

Perceptions of the Value of a degree in the US

Students, the media, and the general public have shown much concern over the value of getting a higher degree in the US ever since the Great Recession of 2007. A 2015 survey of 2,000 adults (900 of which were graduates), implemented by an education technology company called Greenwood Hall, reported that more than half of the graduates surveyed believe those getting their degree now will be receiving a lower return on their investment than their counterparts10-15 years ago. Media coverage of the rising costs of higher education and increased student debt have also affected the public’s perceptions of whether higher degrees are still worthwhile. Statistics citing that college graduates make around $1 million more in their lifetimes than those who didn’t attend college, and living longer, healthier lives work in favor of those who argue the continued value of higher degrees. Studies like the 2011 Learning Gains study by Arum and Roksa, on the other hand, reported that only 55% of students had any learning gains during their first two years of college, which favors the argument that investing in higher education may not still be worth it. As academics continue researching and dissecting these arguments, education remains a hot topic in the US as shown by President Obama recently setting a national goal for the US to once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.