Germany In Germany, university-level education usually happens in either a
Universität (plural:
Universitäten) or a (plural: ); both can be referred to as a
Hochschule, which is the generic term in Germany for all institutions awarding academic degrees. is often translated as "University of Applied Sciences".
Universitäten place greater emphasis on fundamental science and background in theory, while are generally designed with a focus on teaching professional skills. Degrees earned at
Universitäten and are legally equivalent. In Germany, the BA course normally lasts between three and three and a half years—six or seven semesters—and the degree is awarded after the student earns between 180 and 210
ECTS.
Netherlands In the Netherlands, the BA and Master of Arts (MA) degrees were introduced in 2002. Until then, a single program led to the
doctorandus degree (abbreviated drs.), which comprised the same course load as the bachelor's and master's programs combined. The title
doctorandus was used in almost all fields of study; other titles were used for legal studies (, Dutch for master, abbreviated
Mr.) and engineering (
ingenieur, abbreviated Ir. for academic masters level or ING. for higher vocational bachelor's level). Those who had already started the
doctorandus program could, on completing it, opt for the
doctorandus degree (entitling them to use "drs." in front of their name) or could use the master's degree (post-nominal letters) in accordance with the new standard. When attaining a master level/graduate degree, it is still customary to use either drs. pre-nominally or MA/MSc post-nominally at the discretion of the holder.
United Kingdom and Ireland In the United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) and Ireland, the first degree course normally lasts three years, but nomenclature varies: 19th-century and later universities usually distinguish between arts and sciences subjects by awarding either a BA or BSc degree. However, some older or
ancient universities, such as the
University of Oxford,
University of Cambridge, and
Trinity College Dublin traditionally award BAs to undergraduates having completed the final examinations, e.g., Part II
Tripos (Cambridge), Final Honour Schools (Oxford), Moderator-ship (Dublin), in most subjects including the sciences. Some new
plate glass universities established in the 1960s, such as
York and
Lancaster, originally followed the practice of Oxford and Cambridge by awarding BAs in all subjects, but have since changed to awarding BSc degrees in science subjects. At Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin the degree of
MA can be claimed, usually twenty-one terms after
matriculation, without any further study. For many centuries, the bachelor's degree was an intermediate step and was awarded for much of the work carried out in later times at secondary schools. The names of the final secondary school exams in France and Spain (and of the
International Baccalaureate) come from this: and , respectively. The
ancient universities of Scotland award a
Master of Arts degree to humanities or arts graduates, but a BSc to science graduates. This course takes four years for an honours degree and three for an ordinary. In Scotland, one can opt to take an ordinary degree, which ranks below a third class honours degree (for example, BA with distinction, merit or pass). A Bachelor of Arts is entitled to the
post-nominal letters BA for an ordinary or pass degree and BA (Hons) for an honours degree. The
academic dress worn by honours and non-honours graduates is identical. An honours degree is always awarded in one of four classes, depending upon the marks gained in the final assessments and examinations. The top students are awarded a first-class degree, followed by an upper second-class degree (usually referred to as a 2:1), a lower second-class degree (usually referred to as a 2:2), and those who pass with the lowest marks gain a third-class degree. An ordinary, pass or unclassified degree (which does not give the graduate the right to add "Hons") may be awarded if a student has completed (i) followed a non-honours program, or (b) attempted an honours course but marginally failed to achieve third-class standard. ==Degrees in North America==