English abbreviations: academic degrees in North America

Higher education abroad is certainly considered to be a prestigious and offers brilliant career prospects. What you need to know if you are thinking about studying in North America? First of all, speaking of North America usually refers to universities, institutes and colleges in the USA and Canada. According to the world’s top three rankings of universities, namely the rankings of the world by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), the Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai ranking) and the National University Rankings USA, US institutions occupy the first position, and schools in Canada are included in the top twenty Universities around the world. Impressive, is not it?

When watching foreign films and TV series you may pay attention to the fact that the main characters turn to the person as a «doctor», although the man has nothing to do with medicine. This is due to an academic degree that a person has received a higher education institution. I propose to see an excerpt from the television series «The Big Bang Theory» («The Big Bang Theory»), which shows this time.

So, 4 persons have a PhD, one — the master, so he «Mr. Volovitts.» Let’s look at these degrees and compare them with the Russian system of education for greater clarity and understanding.

Degrees in Russia

As we all know, in 2003, Russia joined the Bologna process. In short we can say that the Bologna Declaration and the accession of many countries to this process were the impetus for the «alignment» of higher education in different countries. Until 1999 (the year of the creation of the Bologna Declaration) higher education even in the neighboring country is very different. So people who have graduated from the university in one country could not work in a profession in another country due to the fact that the diploma of another country not recognized by the State. The Bologna process has been designed to make approximately the same level of education in different countries. Thus, the University of Bologna planned figures, on the one hand, to enable people to study abroad, and on the other — to make a standard diploma, so that we can work in a profession anywhere. Will it make a Diploma standard — a question for another article, but many aspects of our system of academic degrees coincide with the European and American systems.

In the West, there are 3 main types of degrees:

1. BA — Bachelor.
2. Master — Master.
3. Doctor of Philosophy — Doctor of Phylosophy (the word «philosophy» is used conventionally, in fact means all of science).

In Russia, there is still a mixed system, ie. E. We already have bachelors and masters, as well as specialists (from the old system of education), but instead of the PhD degree, we get PhDs.

Degrees in the US

The education system in the United States distinguishes 5 levels of degrees:

1. Associate degree — Associate Degree.
2. Bachelor’s degree — Bachelor’s Degree.
3. Professional degree — First-professional Degrees.
4. Master’s degree — Master’s Degree.
5. The degree of doctor — Doctoral Degree.

Before we take a closer look at each of the levels, I would like to offer you a fascinating view video from a native speaker Jonathan reductions (abbreviations) that are used in the names of professions, such as: BCE, BFA, M.Agr., Ph.D., etc. . d. This is exactly what we do not have, so we sometimes hard to identify and decipher who the person is by profession.

So now we know that the abbreviations are used solely to shorten the name to some extent, since English is quite compact language, so it is the pursuit of compactness is manifested in the names of academic degrees.

Now let’s look at each level of detail.

1. Associate degree (Associate Degree) — can be obtained at the end of the two-year basic higher education. Examples associate degree:
• Associate of Arts (AA) — ​​Associate humanities.
• Associate of Science (AS) — Associate of the exact sciences.
2. Bachelor’s degree (Bachelor’s Degree) — higher education, which can be obtained after 3-5 years of study (the most popular are four-year programs). Examples of a bachelor’s degree:
• Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE) — Bachelor of Civil Engineering.
• Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) — Bachelor of Fine Arts.
3. Professionalnayae degree (First-professional Degree). After receiving a bachelor’s degree is necessary to pass additional training for 3-4 years, but only in areas where to carry out professional activities require a license. Professional degree awarded in the following fields: chiropractic, dentistry, law, medicine, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, theology, veterinary medicine.

Area	Degrees	Translation into Russian
Chiropractic (chiropractic)	DC (Doctor of Chiropractic) DCM (Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine)	Doctor of Chiropractic The doctor of chiropractic medicine
Stomatology (dentistry)	DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine)	DDS
Law (Law)	LLB (Bachelor of Laws) JD (Juris Doctor)	B.L. Sjd.
Medicine (medicine)	MD (Doctor of Medicine)	MD
Occupational therapy (occupational therapy)	OTD (Doctor of Occupational Therapy)	Doctor of Occupational Therapy
Pharmacology (pharmacy)	Pharm.D. (Doctor of Pharmacy)	Doctor of Pharmacology
Theology (Theology)	M.Div. (Master of Divinity) MHL (Master of Hebrew Literature) BD (Bachelor of Divinity)	Master of Theology Master of Hebrew Literature Bachelor of Theology
Veterinary (veterinary medicine)	DVM / VMD (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)	Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

The names of some degree contain the term «doctor», but to get them do not need research or writing a thesis, so do not confuse them with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D. — Doctor of Philosophy), which roughly corresponds to the degree of candidate of sciences in Russia.

4. Master’s Degree (Master’s Degree) — postgraduate level, where training is generally 2 years. Examples of Master’s degree:
• Master of Social Work (MSW) — Master of Social Work.
• Master of Agriculture (M.Agr.) — Master of Agricultural Sciences.
5. Doctorate degree (Doctoral Degree) — The following degrees after the master’s degree is designed to prepare researchers and future teachers of colleges and universities. Examples doctorate:
• Doctor of Arts (DA) — Doctor of Humanities.
• Doctor of Literature (D.Lit.) — Doctor of Literature.

Degrees in Canada

Educational institutions in Canada offer students the following programs:

1. Secondary vocational education (1-3 years with a diploma or certificate);
2. Undergraduate (3-4 years, with the assignment of bachelor’s degree);
3. Master (1-3 years, with the assignment of a scientific degree of Master);
4. Doctoral degree (at least 3 years, with the assignment of the degree of Doctor).

Vocational education can be obtained at community colleges (Community Colleges) and institutions (Institutes). University College (University Colleges) and Universities (Universities) can receive a bachelor’s degree. Master’s degree and Ph.D. in general similar to the US.

So we looked at the variety of degrees in North America. For more information and the characteristics of the educational institution you will be introduced already immediately after it is determined to choose a profession and a specific academic institution.

Finally I suggest to watch the video, which we already know Dr. Cooper talks about his academic credentials and degrees. All degrees were able to make out?

 

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