College Degree Types

The four college degree types are associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctor of philosophy. Each of these degrees is based on different curricula and educational programs. These degrees play their own set of significant roles for career preparation and advancement, personal satisfaction and intellectual fulfillment for different people.

Types of College Degrees Offered by Most Institutions

Associate's Degree
This two-year degree with around 60 credit hours, is offered by community or junior colleges, career schools and universities. These institutions follow a set pattern of rewarding degrees such as the associate's degree. In the United States this degree is considered equivalent to the first two years of a four-year college or university degree. This degree represents pre-professional areas of study and works towards preparing graduates to continue their education and pursue entry-level jobs in their field of study. Associate of Arts degree, Associate of Applied Science degree and Associate of Science degree are the primary types of an associate's degree. Most people prefer going for an associate degree for the reason of receiving higher education in an inexpensive way. Attending a junior or a community college, costs less before for the first two years of their post-secondary career. Its shorter program length than a typical bachelor's degree, also makes it a preference for most students.

Bachelor's Degree
After students complete a 4 year undergraduate degree program, they are conferred upon by a bachelor's degree. Also known as baccalaureate in some countries, this degree comprises about 120 credit hours of full classes. These classes again, are divided between general education requirements and core degree classes. In the United States, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) are the primary types of bachelor's degrees. Other than these, other degrees which are also well-known are Bachelor of Applied Science degree, the Bachelor of Economics degree, the Bachelor of Business degree, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and the Bachelor of Medicine degree.

Master's Degree
Students who have completed their bachelor's degree are the eligible candidates for pursuing another two years of study, to obtain a master's degree; a more difficult level than the bachelor's. The primary types of degree are Master of Arts (M.A) or Master of Science (M.S). In this 60 credit hours of study, students get involved in many specialized courses in their field of interest.

Doctor of Philosophy
After having obtained a master's degree, some students may further pursue their studies in another two years of more fieldwork and research and receive what is known as the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree. Here the students are required to demonstrate extensive knowledge of a subject, through original research. This degree is commonly achieved by lawyers, professors, therapists and the like.

In this throat cutting competition of jobs and the eligibility to qualify for a certain profession, such degrees do play a crucial role. It is obvious that organizations cannot offer opportunities to each and every individual. Their selection criteria is governed by a particular degree that has been obtained by the candidate. So, the more the number of degrees mentioned on one's resume, the greater are the chances for being selected for a high-profiled job. However, simply holding the degrees should not be all. One must also be able enough to have a practical understanding of all that he/she has come across during his academic career, so that he/she can apply the knowledge well and produce fruitful results and desirable outputs for his/her working career. I suggest that teachers and people who have gone through achieving such degrees are the best source of information on this subject, in case you are inquisitive for more.