Undergraduate
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
An undergraduate is a student completing a first degree. The word undergraduate is also used to describe things about first degrees.
The first degree of an undergraduate degree is normally named a Bachelor's degree. The undergradute normally studies in a university.
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[change] Differences in different places
[change] Brazil
In Brazil it normally takes four or five years to complete an "undergraduate" degree. Students need to choose their main subjects before they join the university by taking a test named a "vestibular".
[change] Europe
Undergraduate degrees are not like in the United States where students have general studies during the first years and only specialize in a "major" during the last years of college. European students enroll in a specific course of studies they want to do from the start. They are expected to have received a good general education already in the secondary level in a school (like a gymnasium or lycée). In many countries they go to university at 18 or 17. The degree normally takes four or five years. After completing the first degree students can move on to doctoral studies. In many countries, the English distinction between a bachelor's and master's degree is only now being introduced by the Bologna process. This means that the old first degree would be approximately equal to a master's degree in the US or the UK.
[change] United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom undergraduate normally means students studying to get a Bachelor's degree. Getting a Bachelor's degree normally takes three years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland it takes three years to obtain what is known as an "ordinary" degree, and four years to obtain a Scottish Masters degree. Some undergraduates in England do a masters degree as thier first degree in a similar manner to Scotland. The first three years are like a Bachelor's degree and the last year has research and more difficult subjects. In England, this is more common for degrees in science and engineering.
The only universities where it is possible to receive a Master's degree without even attending the university beyond the award of the Bachelor's degree are Oxford and Cambridge. Master's are generally awarded to Oxford and Cambridge graduates a short time after they have graduated with Bachelor's degrees.
[change] Ireland
In Ireland undergraduate study is like in the United Kingdom. It is like this because undergraduate education was first taught the same in both countries. In Ireland the undergraduate degree is closest to the Scottish type in the United Kingdom. They are four year undergraduate programmes.
[change] India
In India it takes three or four years to complete a undergraduate degree. The three year undergraduate degrees are mostly in academic disciplines of arts, humanities and science. The four year programs are mostly in fields of technology, engineering and it takes five years in the field of medicine.
[change] North America
In the United States and Canada most undergraduate education is done at four-year colleges or universities.
In the United States students in different years are often given different names:
- Students in the first year are named freshmen.
- Students in the second year are named sophomores.
- Students in the third year are named juniors.
- Students in the fourth year are named seniors.
In many women's colleges students in the first year are not named "freshmen". They are named "first-years." This is to be more gender-neutral.
Most universities also offer graduate study. Some institutions (e.g. liberal-arts colleges) only give undergraduate education or only give a small number another level of education. Getting an undergraduate degrees normally needs many courses to be completed. The courses have different subjects and different levesl of difficulty. The academic discipline of the most number of subjects taken is called a "major" or concentration. In the US law and medicine can only be taught a gradute subjects.
