I am a person who don’t know much about the system in higher education
In: Other
A two year degree is called an Associates. It shows that you have experience in a field but nothing major.
A four year degree is a Bachelors. This is really what people look for on job applications.
Masters programs are more rigorous and harder to get into, and require a Bachelors degree in a related field and usually some work experience as well. Depending on the program, these will take 2-3 years.
Above that is a Doctorate, which is the highest degree one could really achieve. They can last between 3-8 years depending on the field.
A PhD is not a degree per say, but is sometimes rewarded when completing a Doctorate. It signifies that you make some discovery or breakthrough that furthered human knowledge in a specific field.
Bachelors. You learned the basics about a lot of subjects and a few high level things from a select few, ie your major.
Masters. You learned a lot of high level things from a very few specific subjects. And typically did a big thesis project, ie in depth review on a very specific thing.
PHD. You actually did novel research and added to the total body of knowledge for your very specific field. You didn’t just learn everything there is to know. You added something new for everyone else to learn.
This cartoon explains it well visually:
https://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/
A Bachelor’s degree typically takes about four years to complete and provides a foundational understanding of a particular subject. A Master’s degree, which usually lasts one to two years, allows for more in-depth exploration and specialization in that area. A PhD is the highest academic degree, requiring several years dedicated to research and a dissertation that adds original insights to the field. Each degree level builds on the last, with advanced degrees focusing more on specialization and research.
It can vary across countries so this will only refer to the American system here.
The obvious difference is just different levels of total education. A Bachelors degree, usually divided into either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science, generally takes 4 years of higher education traditionally, though can be completed in 3-5 or even faster or slower in rare circumstances. It is just a certificate to show that the institute you attended has decided that you have received and appropriate level of education in whatever subject the bachelors is for. This will usually involve both some amount of “general education” regardless of the subject you choose that tries to give you a solid foundation in all basic subjects, as well as more specific coursework related to that subject. There isn’t really effective much difference between a BA and BS these days, and it’s usually just dependent on the subject with BAs being associated with the liberal arts and a BS being associated with STEM subjects. If you REALLY want to squint you can say they focus on slightly different skill sets, but if you really care about the difference at all you probably got a BS.
Above that is a Master’s degree, which almost always wants you to already have a Bachelor’s degree before being accepted into the program. Programs that award Master’s degrees are usually designed to be 1-2 years long, but you can take longer. You are expected to already have a full understanding of the basic subject that course is for and this is when you get REALLY in-depth into that field, quite literally mastering it. This traditionally was the degree that showed you were qualified to teach others the subject at a University level. Masters degrees will usually involve a thesis or project at the end for you to demonstrate your mastery of the subject, but this isn’t universal. You can sorta consider this as a Bachelor’s plus, as it’s still somewhat similar, just much more in depth and complete. Someone with a Bachelor’s degree is primed to start in the field they studied, but with a Master’s, more is expected of you from the very beginning as you don’t need to learn as much (as a generality).
Finally, a PhD, JD, MD, EdD, etc, or a Doctorate, is the highest level degree you can get. These are usually divided into two categories, Professional Degrees and Research Degrees. The former includes things like Doctors of Law and Doctors of Medicine as the most common ones, where the field requires VERY intense and extensive specialized knowledge and usually exams or other proof of your education on top of the degree to even enter that field. These require at least 6 years of higher education total, some of which may count from your previous Bachelor’s education and you are generally expected to have a full Bachelor’s degree before even being admitted so they are often 2-4 additional years on top, 3 being the most common.
On the other side, research doctorates, the classic example is a Doctor of Philosophy or PhD, which has nothing to do with the subject of philosophy and can be in any subject. Like masters degrees, these were originally intended to display your competence to teach in higher education, but like the name says they are now associated mostly with submitting research in that chosen field. This is done by coming up with a Doctoral Dissertation where you are expected to submit a paper that is peer reviewed and actually advances the field you are in to some small degree. Thus unlike a masters, where you just show mastery of a subject being taught, to get a PhD you can’t just learn what is already known, you have to produce something new and improve the field you are in for future people. This can take a tremendously wide range of time because the courses you take aren’t the point, they exist to supplement your knowledge to the highest possible degree within a very narrow part of the field, and producing an adequate thesis can take years and years of study and hard work. They are usually 4-6 years or so on average, but really range from like 1-8 or so, and longer isn’t THAT rare. It’s really dictated by your own pace and the field you are in, with many different norms across different fields.
A final small note, there are also Associates degrees, which are 2 year degrees that Community Colleges traditionally award. They are simpler than Bachelors degrees and can either prepare you for certain fields that don’t require as much general education of even be a way to get your “general education” completed before you choose a field you want to actually study, as bachelors degrees tend to VERY ROUGHLY be divided into two years of general education and two years of more specialized focus on your subject.
so basically you start with a bachelor which is like getting your basics down then a master’s is like leveling up your skills and understanding. PhD is the big boss where you do research and contribute something new. it’s a long journey but totally worth it for the knowledge and opportunities you get
so basically a bachelor’s is like your starter pack for adulthood you learn the basics. then with a master’s you dive deeper into a subject like pro level. a phd is like the ultimate achievement where you become the expert and can even teach others but it takes a ton of work. it’s like leveling up in a video game but with books and stress. gotta love the grind
Bachelor’s: You’re qualified to have an opinion on the subject and teach it to others
Master’s: You’re qualified to write a textbook on the subject
PhD: You’re qualified to do original research on the subject and create new knowledge
Latest Answers