What are Your College Degree Options?

There are many college degree options available to prospective students, and it's important to understand the difference between them. The most common type of a degree is a bachelor's degree, which is also referred to as an undergraduate degree. A bachelor's degree generally takes four or five years to complete, but that is based on full-time school attendance.

Many colleges and universities allow students to take courses at night or on weekends, earning their bachelor's degrees over a longer period of time. In some cases, students use Advanced Placement exam scores to accelerate their degree and earn a bachelor's in less than four years. Bachelor's degrees are usually awarded in one of three broad areas: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), but there are several other types of bachelor's degrees available.

A bachelor's degree from an accredited university is all that is needed to find a good job in most sectors, however some fields require specialized graduate degrees. For instance, many professions require students to complete in-depth training before entering the field. Doctors are required to get an M.D. (Medical Doctor) degree from an accredited medical school, and lawyers are required to get a J.D. (Juris Doctor) degree from an accredited law school. The same goes for many other professions, including dentistry, nursing, accounting, business management and more. Every type of professional school takes a different amount of time to complete, usually ranging from two to four years.

Other popular types of graduate degrees include the Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) and the Master's Degree. Master's degrees can be professional or academic in nature, but Ph.D. degrees are generally conferred only upon those who intend to enter academic fields, or who wish to teach at colleges and universities. Examples of professional master's degrees include the M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration), M.S.W. (Master of Social Work), and M.Ed. (Master of Education) degrees, among many others.

Several other kinds of degrees are available, especially for part time students, including many types of associate's degrees. Many colleges and universities also offer programs that allow students to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees concurrently. At the beginning of your college search, it's important to identify which type of degree you want to earn, and then to contact your top choice colleges and universities to make sure that they offer a program for that degree.