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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.
