Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts three or four years. (Note that some postgraduate degrees are entitled Bachelor of ..., e.g. the University of Oxford's Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Philosophy.)

Honours degrees and academic distinctions

Under the British system, and those influenced by it such as the Irish, Indian, Singaporean, and Hong Kong systems, undergraduate degrees are differentiated either as pass degrees or as honours degrees, the latter denoted by the appearance of "(Hons)" after the degree abbreviation. Honours degrees are further ranked as first, second or third class. An honours degree generally requires a higher academic standard than a pass degree, and in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, and Canada an extra year of study which may involve independent research and the writing of a thesis. An honours degree is sometimes accepted in place of a Master's degree as prerequisite for Ph.D. study. In the University of Dublin, the equivalent of honours is known as moderatorship, abbreviated "(Mod)". Honours and moderatorships are often divided into first, second upper, second lower, third and (sometimes) fourth classes.

Related Topics:
British - Irish - India - Singapore - Hong Kong - Class - Australia - New Zealand - Scotland - South Africa - Canada - Research - Thesis - Master's degree - Ph.D. - University of Dublin - Moderatorship

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The term "double honours degree" is used to refer to an undergraduate degree in two subjects (not to be confused with a double degree), as opposed to a "single honours degree".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Under the American system, bachelor's degrees within a certain course of study are not ranked or differentiated since the undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) is usually used to measure performance. However, Latin honors are given at graduation based on class rank, with the highest ranked graduates (based on GPA) given the distinctions (in descending precedence), summa cum laude ("with highest praise"), magna cum laude ("with great praise"), and cum laude ("with praise"). These distinctions do not have the significance that honours degrees have under the British system.

Related Topics:
Grade Point Average - Latin honors

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~