Bachelor vs Master

What are these qualifications?

"Bachelor" and "Master" are the names of the first and second academic degrees awarded to university students. As part of the "Bologna process", almost all study courses and qualifications are being converted to bachelor and master courses in 45 European countries. It is aimed to complete the process by 2010.

The first study course is for a bachelor's degree; it usually lasts three years and provides students with in-depth knowledge of their subject. Depending on the subject studied, students are awarded a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) or a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) – regardless of the type of university.

This degree qualifies graduates for a career and they are encouraged to look for suitable positions. Graduates wishing to go on to a master's degree can do this immediately after obtaining their bachelor's degree. The master's course usually lasts two years, either in the same subject or in a related one. Graduates can also start a master’s course after working for awhile. They collect credit points in a system uniform throughout Europe. The aim is to make study courses comparable and to make it easier for students to change universities on an international level.

Some two-thirds of university courses in Germany will have changed to the new system by winter term 2006/2007. The aim of the educational reformers is that in Germany, as in Anglo-Saxon countries, the majority of graduates will start work after obtaining a bachelor's degree.