A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree earned for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts four years, but can range anywhere from three to seven years depending on the region of the world. In some exceptional cases, it may also be the name of a postgraduate degree, such as a bachelor of civil law, the bachelor of music, the bachelor of philosophy, or the bachelor of sacred theology degree.
During the Renaissance, those who received a doctorate, upon passing their final examinations, were decorated with berried branches of bay, an ancient symbol of highest honor. From this ancient custom derives the French word baccalauréat (from the Latin bacca, a berry, and laureus, of the bay laurel), and, by modification, the term "bachelor" in referring to one who holds a university degree.
Read more about Bachelor's Degree: Bachelor's Degree Variations, Types
Famous quotes containing the words bachelor and/or degree:
“‘I told him, Look at all those fightings and killings down there,
What’s the matter? Why don’t you put a stop to it?
‘I try, he said—That’s all he could do, he looked tired. He’s a bachelor so long, and he likes lentil soup.’”
—Allen Ginsberg (b. 1926)
“Need I explain to the inhabitants of England, for whom I chiefly write, how extreme are those sufferings, and how great the costliness of that old age which is unable in any degree to supply its own wants? Such old age should not, we Britannulists maintain, be allowed to be.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)