Academic Degree - Degree Systems By Regions - North America - Canada and United States of America

Canada and United States of America

In the United States and Canada, since the late 19th century, the threefold degree system of bachelor, master and doctor has been in place, but follows a slightly different pattern of study from the European equivalents.

In the United States and Canada, most standard academic programs are based on the four-year bachelor's degree, most often Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), or Bachelor of Science ( B.S./B.Sc.), a one- or two-year master's degree (most often Master of Arts (M.A.), or Master of Science (M.S./M.Sc.); either of these programs might be as much as three years in length), and a further one or two years of coursework and research, culminating in "comprehensive" examinations in one or more fields, plus perhaps some teaching experience, and then the writing of a dissertation for the doctorate, most often Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), or other types such as Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Doctor of Theology, (Th.D.), for a total of ten or more years from starting the bachelor's degree (which is usually begun around age 18) to the awarding of the doctorate. This timetable is only approximate, however, as students in accelerated programs can sometimes earn a bachelor's degree in three years or, on the other hand, a particular dissertation project might take four or more years to complete. In addition, a graduate may wait an indeterminate time between degrees before candidacy in the next level, or even an additional degree at a level already completed. Therefore, there is no time-limit on the accumulation of academic degrees.

Some schools, mostly junior colleges and community colleges and some four-year schools, offer an associate's degree for two full years of study, often in pre-professional areas. This may stand alone, or sometimes be used as credit toward completion of the four-year bachelor's degree.

In Canada and the United States, there is also another class of degrees called "First Professional degree". These degree programs are designed for professional practice in various fields other than academic scholarship. Most professional degree programs require a prior bachelor's degree for admission, and so represent at least about five total years of study and as many as seven or eight. Some fields such as fine art, architecture, or divinity call their first professional degree a "master's degree" (e.g., M.Arch., M.B.A.) because most of these degrees require at least the completion of a bachelor's degree. There is currently some debate in the architectural community to rename the degree to a doctorate in the manner that was done for the law degree decades ago, however, this would also require increasing the length of their education.

In the United States and Canada, many colleges and universities offer a "honours bachelor's degree". This degree should not be confused with a Canadian bachelor's degree with honours, which can be completed only at certain universities, and requires a minimum of four years of education; it is an academic distinction awarded to students who achieve an honours bachelor's degree with a sufficiently high overall average and who, typically, fulfill a written research thesis requirement during a postgraduate year of studies. A student holding a Bachelor with Honours may choose to complete a Ph.D. program without the requirement to first complete a master's program.

In 21 US jurisdictions religious institutions can be authorized to grant religious-exempt (rel. exmpt., rel. expt. etc.) degrees without accreditation or government oversight. Such degrees are used primarily to attain church-related employment.

In Canada, professional degrees in medicine (the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.)) and law (the Juris Doctor (J.D.)) are considered to be undergraduate (first cycle) degrees whereas M.D., J.D., or D.O. are doctorates (third cycle degrees) in the United States.