I’ve been trying to find out what it all means, like there’s Bachelor’s degree, Doctorate, Bachelor of Design and Master of Education. But what do they mean? Is a bachelor’s degree the lowest degree you can get and master’s is the highest or do different courses have different names for their degrees?
In: 5
The first part is your standing; the latter, your field.
Each level is divided into fields according to its standing.
Your undergraduate curriculum, or Bachelor’s degree, is delivered in the context of a particular field. Broadly these are divided into Arts and Science. Each field then splits into increasingly specific domains. Anything that isn’t a Science is an Art, hence “BSc” and “BA.”
The purpose of choosing a field is to sustain students’ interest long enough for them to learn how to function in academia without making fools of themselves. Results vary by institution.
Having established your initial credential, you may further specialize in your chosen field; or, apply your new skills by mastering another subject. Masters tend to follow the estates of Law, Language, History, Theology, a specific Scientific field, a specific Engineering field, Finance, etc. Masters may carry a variety of post-nomials, according to their field.
As a master in your (any) field, you command professional respect, due both to your knowledge, and for the manner in which you apply it. Masters programs often lead students to apply academic skills in a professional context. It would be appropriate for a Master to profess knowledge of their field to students who follow them.
A Doctor offers sound, fundamentally new knowledge to a field, thereby expanding its contribution to humanity.
The Doctor may add to Medicine, or Philosophy, hence the distinction between “MD” and “PhD.”
For peers in a field to accept as sound the new Doctor’s body of work, the student must successfully defend it against exhaustive scrutiny and criticism, leaving no doubt about the work’s value.
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