Emergence of the doctor’s and master’s degrees and the licentiate

Academic dress[edit]

Main article: Academic dress

In most countries, gaining an academic degree entitles the holder to assume distinctive academic dress particular to the awarding institution, identifying the status of the individual wearing them.

Laws on granting and use of degrees[edit]

See also: Unaccredited institutions of higher education

In many countries degrees may only be awarded by institutions authorised to do so by the national or regional government. Frequently governments will also regulate the use of university in names of businesses. This approach is followed, for example, by Australia^[17] and the United Kingdom.^[18] The use of fake degrees by individuals, either obtained from a bogus institution or simply invented, is often covered by fraud laws.^[19][20]

Indicating earned degrees[edit]

Depending on culture and the degree earned, degrees may be indicated by a pre-nominal title, post-nominal letters, a choice of either or not indicated at all. In countries influenced by the UK, post-nominal letters are the norm, with only doctorates granting a title, while titles are the norm in many northern European countries.

Depending on the culture and the purpose of the listing, only the highest degree, a selection of degrees or all degrees might be listed. The awarding institution may also be shown and it might be specified if a degree was at honours level, particularly where the honours degree is a separate qualification from the ordinary bachelor's degree.^[21]

For member institutions of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, there is a standard list of abbreviations for university names given in the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook, but in practice many variations are used and the Yearbook notes that the abbreviations used may not match those used by the universities concerned.^[22] For some British universities it is traditional to use Latin abbreviations, notably 'Oxon' and 'Cantab' for the universities of Oxford and Cambridge respectively,^[23][24] in spite of these having been superseded by English 'Oxf' and 'Camb' in official university usage,^[25] particularly in order to distinguish the Oxbridge MA from an earned MA.^[26] Other Latin abbreviations commonly used include 'Cantuar' for Lambeth degrees (awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury),^[25] 'Dunelm' for Durham University,^[27][28] 'Ebor' for the University of York^[29] and 'Exon' for the University of Exeter.^[30] The Ancient universities of Scotland and the University of London have abbreviations that are the same in English and Latin. (See Universities in the United Kingdom § Post-nominal abbreviations for a more complete list and discussion of abbreviations for British universities.)

Confusion can result from universities sharing similar names, e.g. the University of York in the UK and York University in Canada or Newcastle University in the UK and the University of Newcastle in Australia. In this case, the convention is to include a country abbreviation with the university's name. For example, 'York (Can.)' and 'York (UK)' or 'Newc (UK)' and 'Newc (Aus.) are commonly used to denote degrees conferred by these universities where the potential for confusion exists,^[31] and institution names are given in this form in the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook.^[22]

Abbreviations used for degrees vary between countries and institutions, e.g. MS indicates Master of Science in the US and places following American usage, but Master of Surgery in the UK and most Commonwealth countries, where the standard abbreviation for Master of Science is MSc. Common abbreviations include BA and MA for Bachelor and Master of Arts, BS/BSc and MS/MSc for Bachelor and Master of Science, MD for Doctor of Medicine and PhD for Doctor of Philosophy.^[32][33]

Online degree[edit]

Main article: Online degree

An online degree is an academic degree (usually a college degree, but sometimes the term includes high school diplomas and non-degree certificate programs) that can be earned primarily or entirely on a distance learning basis through the use of an Internet-connected computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus setting. Improvements in technology, the increasing use of the Internet worldwide and the need for people to have flexible school schedules that enable them to work while attending school have led to a proliferation of online colleges that award associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.^[34]

Degree systems by regions[edit]