Undergraduate education

Undergraduate education is the post-secondary educa-tion previous to the postgraduate education. It includesall the academic programs up to the level of a bachelor’sdegree. For example, in the United States an entry leveluniversity student is known as an undergraduate,[1] whilestudents of higher degrees are known as graduates.[2] Insome other educational systems and subjects, undergrad-uate education is post-secondary education up to the levelof a master’s degree; this is the case for some sciencecourses in Britain and some medicine courses in Europe.

1 Programs

1.1 Indian system

In India the Graduation system is classified into two parts:Undergraduation (UG) and Postgraduation (PG). It takesthree or four years to complete an “undergraduate” de-gree. The three-year undergraduate programs are mostlyin the fields of arts, commerce, science etc., and the four-year programs aremostly in the fields of technology, engi-neering, pharmaceutical sciences, agriculture etc. How-ever, for medicine, law and architecture, the period hasbeen five years.[3]

1.2 English, Welsh, and Northern Irishsystem

Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland mayusually enter university from the age of eighteen, oftenhaving studied A-levels and thus having had thirteen tofifteen years of schooling. Occasionally students who fin-ish A Level or equivalent qualifications early (after skip-ping a year in school on the grounds of academic gifted-ness) may enter below this age but large universities arenow setting lower age limits of 16 or 17 after a number ofwell publicised “child prodigies” were found to be emo-tionally and mentally unprepared for university life.Applications for undergraduate courses in UK higher ed-ucation are made through the Universities and CollegesAdmissions Service (UCAS).[4]

For their first degree, most students read for the degreeof bachelor, which usually takes three years, however inthe sciences and engineering integrated courses coveringboth undergraduate level and advanced degree level lead-ing to the degree of master,[5] usually taking four yearsand including a research project or dissertation are popu-

lar. Given the integrated nature of these programs some-one who gains a master’s degree via an integrated pro-gram is not admitted to the degree of bachelor.Master’s degrees conferred after extended programs arenot to be conflated with the degree of Master of Arts con-ferred at Oxbridge and Dublin, which is not a substan-tive qualification, but reflects the ancient practice of thosethree universities of promoting Bachelors of Arts to Mas-ters of Arts (and thus full membership of the University)six or seven years after matriculation.[6]

Honours degrees and integrated master’s degrees areawarded with 1st, upper 2nd, lower 2nd or 3rd class hon-ours. If a student passes the course but fails to do so suf-ficiently well for third class honours to be awarded he willbe awarded with an ordinary degree. It is possible to usethe abbreviation “Hons” after the degree postnominals toindicate that the degree has been passed with honours andis not an ordinary degree.Many universities offer sandwich courses or an extramu-ral year, which offer work placements for a short periodof time in a relevant industry before students completetheir studies. Taking a sandwich course may make thecourse last a year longer than it would otherwise.Apart from a single private university, Buckingham, alluniversities with the power to award degrees are heav-ily state financed. However, they also rely on tuition feesset by the government at a maximum index-linked level,repayable after graduation contingent on attaining a cer-tain level of income, and with the state paying all fees forstudents from the poorest backgrounds. UK students aregenerally entitled to student loans for maintenance withrepayment contingent on income.[7] Unlike in other Eu-ropean countries, the British government does not ownthe universities’ assets and university staff are not civilservants. United Kingdom universities are therefore bet-ter described as autonomous, intellectually-independentinstitutions with public funding, rather than public uni-versities per se. The crown does not control syllabi, withthe exception of teacher training. The crown restrictsthe power to award degrees to those with a royal char-ter, in the case of traditional universities, or authoriza-tion from the Secretary of State for Universities, in thecase of modern universities. Universities accredited inforeign countries, such as Richmond University are, how-ever, free to operate.Universities often use a CRM system to communicatewith prospective students from initial enquiry through toenrolment to increase their conversion and retention rates.

1

2 1 PROGRAMS

An increasingly popular choice of student recruitmentCRM is Student CRM by Data Harvesting in the UK.

1.3 Scottish system

Students in Scotland usually enter university in the yearthey turn eighteen (with many still being seventeen uponstarting), hence courses take an extra year compared toEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland.At the older universities the degree of Master of Arts isconferred in the arts subjects after four years while thenewer universities instead confer the degree of Bachelorof ArtsThe degree of Master of Arts conferred by theAncient Scottish Universities is equivalent to the degreeof Bachelor of Arts at other universities and does not re-quire the level of study necessitated for the other degreesof master awarded by these universities. The degree in-stead reflects the ancient traditions of these universities.[8]

In the sciences, students usually read for the degree ofbachelor, which usually takes four years. However, aswith the rest of the UK, integrated master’s degrees arepopular in science and engineering, although in Scotlandthey last for five years.Degree classification is as that of the rest of the UK.

1.4 European Bologna process systems

In many countries, the English distinction between abachelor’s and master’s degree is being introduced by theBologna process. Under the new Bologna reform, univer-sities in Europe are introducing the Bachelor level (BA orBS) degree, often by dividing a 5-year Master-level pro-gram into two parts (3-year Bachelor’s + 2-yearMaster’s),where students are not obligated to continue with the sec-ond Master’s-degree part. These new Bachelor’s degreesare similar in structure to British Bachelor’s degrees.If there is a separate undergraduate degree, higher de-grees (License, Master, Doctorat) can be gained aftercompleting the undergraduate degree. In the traditionalGerman system, there were no undergraduate degreesin some fields, such as engineering: students contin-ued to Master’s level education without any administra-tive breakpoints, and employers would not consider half-finished Master’s degrees.The Bachelor’s phase in The Netherlands can be ful-filled either at university or at the University of AppliedSciences. Except for some specific exceptions, only atuniversities students are able to graduate for their mas-ters or be promoted. These two institutions differ fromeach other in the level students learn abstract concepts.Whereas theories are created at the university, at the Uni-versity of Applied Sciences theories are taught to be ap-plied correctly.[9]

1.5 Other European systems

In many other, particularly continental European sys-tems, an “undergraduate” degree in the American sensedoes not exist. Because students are expected to have re-ceived a sound general education at the secondary level,in a school such as a gymnasium or lycee, students in Eu-rope enroll in a specific course of studies they wish to pur-sue upon entry into a University. In the US, students onlyspecialize in a “major” during the last years of college.Specializing in a field of study upon entry into a univer-sity means most students graduate after four to five yearsof study. The fields available include those only taught asgraduate degrees in the US, such as law or medicine.In the traditional German system, there is a vocationaldegree (Diploma FH) that is similar in length, and isalso considered an academic degree. Though it is de-signed as a specialist degree, in contrast to the Diplomdegree at University, which claims to be more gener-alist. Germany itself, however, is currently abolishingthe legal distinction between Fachhochschule and Univer-sity. They are both translated as university and they bothprovide bologna-compliant and equivalent postgraduatedegrees.[10]

Not obligatory and sometimes applied at Universities inthe Netherlands are the propaedeutic exams. The entirecurriculum of the first two semesters of the bachelorsprogramme is part of the propaedeutic exams. In mostbachelor’s studies, students are required to obtain theirpropaedeutic certificate within three semesters after start-ing the course. A propaedeutic certificate also counts as arequirement for participating in a university level bache-lor’s study. The propaedeutic exams have the purpose ofassessing whether a student has the appropriate capacitiesin order to complete the course.At some Swedish universities (such as the Royal Instituteof Technology), PhD courses are sometimes referred toas “graduate courses”, whereas courses for other students(up to master level) sometimes are referred to as “under-graduate courses”. The system at many Finnish universi-ties is similar.In the French system, the first degree of tertiary educationwas reached two years after the baccalauréat. Amongstthese degrees the university-delivered DEUG has disap-peared, whereas Diplôme universitaire de technologie,Brevet de Technicien Supérieur or classe préparatoire auxgrandes écoles still exist. According to the Bologna pro-cess, these two-years curriculum will be replaced by thethree years licence, yet existing.

1.6 American system

In the United States of America undergraduate refers tothose who are studying for a bachelor’s degree.[11] Themost common method consists of four years of studyleading to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), a Bachelor of Sci-

1.8 Brazilian system 3

ence (B.S.), or sometimes another bachelor’s degree suchas Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of SocialWork (B.S.W.), Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.), Bach-elor of Science in Public Affairs (B.S.P.A), Bachelor ofScience in Nursing (B.S.N.), or Bachelor of Philosophy(B.Phil.) Five-Year Professional Architecture programsoffer the Bachelor of Architecture Degree (B.Arch.) orsometimes Master of Architecture degree (M.Arch.).Unlike in the British model, degrees in law and medicineare not offered at the undergraduate level and are com-pleted as professional study after earning a bachelor’s de-gree. Neither field specifies or prefers any undergradu-ate major, though medical schools have set prerequisitecourses that must be taken before enrollment.Some students choose to attend a community college fortwo years prior to further study at another college or uni-versity. In most states, community colleges are operatedeither by a division of the state university or by localspecial districts subject to guidance from a state agency.Community colleges award associate degrees of differ-ent types, some intended to prepare students to transferto four-year schools (e.g. Associate of Arts (AA), As-sociate of Science (AS)), and others intended to providevocational skills and training for students wishing to enterinto or advance in a profession. Those seeking to con-tinue their education may transfer to a four-year collegeor university after applying through a similar admissionsprocess as those applying directly to the four-year institu-tion called articulation. Some community colleges haveautomatic enrollment agreements with a local four-yearcollege, where the community college provides the firsttwo years of study and the university provides the re-maining years of study, sometimes all on one campus.The community college awards the associate degree, andthe university awards the bachelor’s and master’s degrees.However, some community colleges, such as BrazosportCollege in Lake Jackson, Texas offer bachelor’s degreesalong with associate degrees.[12]

1.7 Pakistani Education System

Main article: Education in Pakistan

In Pakistan, it generally requires three years to completea Bachelor degree in Arts such as BA, four years in Sci-ences, Engineering or Business Administration such asBS, BE, B.Tech or BBA and five years for bachelor de-grees in Medicine (MBBS), Pharmacy (B.Pharm) andArchitecture (B.Arch) after successfully completing 12years of schooling. In addition to coursework, some de-grees necessarily require to complete full-time appren-ticeship after formal studies as in case of the MBBS de-gree which requires 1 year of Residency making the to-tal length of program 6 years. In addition to this, 4years Bachelor’s degree is offered in various universi-ties of Pakistan such as COMSATS Institute of Informa-

tion Technology, Lahore, University of Engineering andTechnology, Taxila, Lahore, NUST, LUMS, FAST etc.The modern educational system comprises the followingfive stages: The Primary school lasting five years for chil-dren 5 – 9 years old in grades one to five; a Middle schoolof three years for children 10- to 12-years-old, cover-ing grades six through eight; a two-year secondary, orMatriculation consists of grades nine and ten, for chil-dren 13- and 14-years-old; a two-year higher secondary,or Intermediate college, leading to an F.A. diploma in artsor F.Sc. in science; and a fifth stage covering collegeand university programs leading to baccalaureate, pro-fessional, and master’s and doctorate degrees. The pre-primary or preparatory classes, called kachi (literally, un-ripe) or Nursery school, were formally integrated into theeducation system in 1988. [13]

1.8 Brazilian system

See also: Universities and Higher Education in Brazil

Brazil follows the major traits of the continental Eu-ropean system; free public schools are available fromkindergarten up to postgraduation, both as a right estab-lished in Article 6, caput of the Brazilian Constitutionand as a duty of the State in Article 208, Items I, IV andV, of the Brazilian Constitution.[14] Students choose theirspecific course of studies before joining the university.Admission to university is obtained by means of a com-petitive entrance exam known as Vestibular (a conceptsomewhat similar to the Baccalauréat in France). There’sa new system, adopted by most federal universities, thatuses the high school national examination (ENEM) resultas part or a replacement of the Vestibular grade.[15] De-pending on the chosen course, upon graduating the stu-dent shall be granted: a technologist diploma, 3 yearsto complete, a bachelor’s degree's diploma, which usu-ally takes 4 or, in the case of Law, Veterinary, Geol-ogy and Engineering, 5 years to complete; or a profes-sional diploma, which normally require 5 or, in the caseof medicine, 6 years to complete.

1.9 South African system

The South African system usually has a three-year un-dergraduate Bachelor’s degree, with two or three majors.(There are exceptions, such as the medical qualification(MBChB), which is six years.) A fourth year, known asan Honours year, is considered a post-graduate degree. Itis usually course-driven, although may include a projector thesis.

4 3 NOTES

1.10 Nigerian system

In Nigeria, undergraduate degrees (excluding Medicine,Medical Laboratory Science, Nursing, Engineering, Lawand Architecture) are four-year-based courses. Medicine(MBBS) andArchitecture normally take six years to com-plete studies while Medical Laboratory Science, Nursing,Law and Engineering courses take five years to completestudies, usually, all six years are taken to improve theirchances.

1.11 Hong Kong system

In Hong Kong, the English system is followed. Studentssit for the Certificate of Education examinations at aroundsixteen years of age, and the Advanced-level, or A-levelexaminations at around eighteen, then follow by threeyears of undergraduate education, except for a few spe-cific fields, such as medicine, nursing and law. This isdue to be changed, with five-year secondary educationand two-year matriculation combined and shortened tosix years, and undergraduate education lengthened to fouryears. Students may be able to receive general educationin their first years in universities, more akin to the NorthAmerican system. The first batch of students under thenew system will enter universities in 2012.

2 See also

• Academic degree

• Bachelor’s degree

• Honours degree

• Undergraduate research

• Bologna process

• Doctorate

• Higher education

• Master’s degree

• Master’s degree in Europe

• Mature student

• Officer Candidate School

• Postgraduate education

• Post-secondary education

• Reserve Officers’ Training Corps

• Undergraduate degree

• University and college admissions

3 Notes[1] University of California, Los Angeles—an example of a

typical university entry level in the USA—"Division ofUndergraduate Education”.

[2] Harvard University Different learning levels in a universityin the USA

[3] http://csecduac.in/viewtopic.php?t=1325

[4] http://www.ucas.com/about_us/whoweare

[5] point 45 of The framework for higher education qualifi-cations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

[6] The note after point 46 in The framework for higher ed-ucation qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ire-land

[7] http://www.studentfinancedirect.co.uk/portal/page?_pageid=53,1262207&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

[8] FAQ 11 of Annex 1 of The national qualificationsframework for higher education qualifications in England,Wales and Northern Ireland - July 2000

[9] http://www.hbo-raad.nl/english

[10] Ländergemeinsame Strukturvorgaben - Beschluss derKultusministerkonferenz vom 10.10.2003 i.d.F. vom15.06.2007

[11] “Yale College”. Retrieved 21 January 2013.

[12] “Brazosport College - Bachelor of Applied Technology(BAT) program”. Brazosport College. Retrieved 14 June2013.

[13] http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1143/Pakistan-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html

[14] Constitution of Brazil (in Portuguese). Retrieved Novem-ber 26, 2012

[15] Brazilian Ministry of Education website (in Portuguese).Retrieved November 26, 2012

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