Bachelor's degree or higher is a commonly used term by the United States Census Bureau and other U.S. government agencies on the federal as well as state and local level. The term describes the portion of the population that has either a bachelor's degree or a higher degree such as a master's or doctorate degree. In 2003 27.2% of the population over 25 years old in the United States had an educational attainment described as "bachelor's degree or higher," meaning that 27.2% of the population had either a bachelor's or a higher degree.
The term is sometimes used as a synonym for "college graduate" as it includes not only those with a bachelor's degree but all others who have completed a degree requiring more than four years of credits. While the term is sometimes used interchangeably with the term college graduate, it excludes those with an associate's degree, as this college degree only requires two years' worth of units and is thus lower than bachelor's degree.
Famous quotes containing the words bachelor, degree and/or higher:
“The wonderful scope and variety of female loveliness, if too long suffered to sway us without decision, shall finally confound all power of selection. The confirmed bachelor is, in America, at least, quite as often the victim of a too profound appreciation of the infinite charmingness of woman, as made solitary for life by the legitimate empire of a cold and tasteless temperament.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“A certain degree of neurosis is of inestimable value as a drive, especially to a psychologist.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
“Reality has become so absorbing that the streets, the television, and the journals have confiscated the public interest and people are no longer thirsty for culture on a higher level.”
—Andre Plesu (b. 1948)