A Brief Guide to Academic Qualifications The higher education qualifications awarded by universities and colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are at five levels. In ascending order, these are the Certificate, Intermediate, Honours, Masters and Doctoral levels. Certificate
level The Certificate may be a first step towards obtaining higher level qualifications. Intermediate
level They will have the qualities necessary for employment in situations requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and decision-making. The intermediate level includes ordinary (non-Honours) degrees, the Foundation degree, Diplomas of Higher Education, and other higher diplomas. Honours
level An Honours graduate should have the qualities needed for employment in situations requiring the exercise of personal responsibility, and decision-making in complex and unpredictable circumstances. Honours degrees form the largest group of higher education qualifications. Typical courses last for three years (if taken full-time) and lead to a Bachelors degree with Honours, having a title such as Bachelor of Arts (BA(Hons)) or Bachelor of Science (BSc(Hons)). Also at this level are short courses and professional 'conversion' courses, based largely on undergraduate material, and taken usually by those who are already graduates in another discipline, leading to Graduate Certificates or Graduate Diplomas. Much of the study undertaken at Masters level will have been at, or informed by, the forefront of an academic or professional discipline. Students will have shown originality in the application of knowledge, and they will understand how the boundaries of knowledge are advanced through research. They will be able to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, and they will show originality in tackling and solving problems. They will have the qualities needed for employment in circumstances requiring sound judgment, personal responsibility and initiative, in complex and unpredictable professional environments. Masters degrees are awarded after completion of taught courses, programmes of research, or a mixture of both. Longer, research-based programmes often lead to the degree of MPhil. Most Masters courses last at least one year (if taken full-time), and are taken by persons with Honours degrees (or equivalent achievement). Some Masters degrees in science and engineering are awarded after extended undergraduate programmes that last, typically, a year longer than Honours degree programmes. Also at this level are advanced short courses, often forming parts of Continuing Professional Development programmes, leading to Postgraduate Certificates and Postgraduate Diplomas. (Note: the MAs granted by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are not academic qualifications.) Doctorates are awarded for the creation and interpretation of knowledge, which extends the forefront of a discipline, usually through original research. Holders of doctorates will be able to conceptualise, design and implement projects for the generation of significant new knowledge and/or understanding. Holders of doctorates will have the qualities needed for employment requiring the ability to make informed judgments on complex issues in specialist fields, and innovation in tackling and solving problems. The
titles PhD and DPhil are commonly used for doctorates awarded
on the basis of original research. Doctoral programmes, that
may include a research component, but which have a substantial
taught element lead usually to awards that include the name of
the discipline in their title (e.g. EdD for Doctor of Education).
A doctorate normally requires the equivalent of three years'
full-time study. Source: QAA
Postgraduate Education or graduate education involves studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree is required, and is normally considered to be part of tertiary or higher education. In North America this level is generally referred to as Graduate school. The organisation and structure of postgraduate education is very different in different countries, and also in different institutions within countries. This article sets out the basic types of course and of teaching and examination methods, with some explanation of their history. More detailed treatments of the different types of degree can be found at the relevant specific articles: Master's degree and Doctorate.
Degree ceremony at Cambridge.
A Master's Degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. In the United Kingdom it is sometimes awarded for an undergraduate student whose final year consists of higher-level courses and a major research project. The ancient universities of Scotland (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews) award an MA (Master of Arts) as their normal undergraduate degree after four years of study in Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences. In the recently standardized European system of higher education diplomas, it corresponds to a two-year graduate program to be entered after three years of undergraduate studies and in preparation for either high-qualification employment or for doctoral studies. Master's degrees are often prefixed with magister, which is Latin for master, teacher. In some languages, magister or its cognate is the word used for person who has the degree.
A Doctorate is an academic degree of the highest level. Traditionally, the award of a doctorate implies recognition of the candidate as an equal by the university faculty under which he or she studied.
Entrepreneurial Management Programme
The Master of Business Administration ( MBA ) is a master's degree in business administration , which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States , emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out scientific approaches to management . The MBA degree has since achieved worldwide recognition. Accreditation bodies exist specifically for MBA programs to ensure consistency and quality of graduate business education, and business schools in many countries offer MBA programs tailored to full-time, part-time, executive , and distance learning students, with specialized concentrations. Each year, well-known business publications such as Business Week , US News & World Report , Fortune , Financial Times , and the Wall Street Journal publish rankings of selected MBA programs that, while controversial in their methodology, nevertheless can directly influence the prestige of schools that achieve high scores.
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