BSc, MA, MBChB? I’m so confused!
Whenever I hear a university presentation in a school, I am struck by just how much jargon we use. Listen to any presentation about studying Medicine, and you’ll hear them talk about MBChBs as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
The reality, of course, is that while a select few people know that an MBChB is shorthand for a degree in Medicine, the number of people who know what it actually stands for is vanishingly small.
If you are one of those people, you have no need to read any further. However, if you are currently starting out your search on UCAS and are finding yourself baffled by the weird and wonderful array of degree titles and wonder what they all mean, this article is for you!
While I cannot hope to include all of the different terms in one short article, I’ll do my best to explain the different types of university degree as clearly as I can.
Note also that I won’t be covering pre-university courses, such as foundation or access courses. You can read all about them in newsletter #41 (go to the “Did You Know?” section).
Undergraduate Bachelor’s degrees
A Bachelor’s degree is the basic, straightforward degree that you are likely to take after school. It is also commonly known as an undergraduate degree.
Bachelor’s degrees normally take three years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and four years in Scotland. The full degree will normally be called an ‘Honours’ degree; the exceptions to this are generally for pretty poor performance, or in Scotland, where some students can leave after three years and attain an ‘Ordinary’ degree.
The degree you get will generally have a ‘B’ in the title, which stands for Bachelor’s. This could be a BA (Bachelor of Arts), BSc (Bachelor of Science), LLB (Bachelor of Laws), BAcc (Bachelor of Accounting), BEng (Bachelor of Engineering), BEd (Bachelor of Education) etc.
Some Bachelor's degrees are longer, including subjects such as Medicine (MBChB) which is normally five years, but sometimes allows students to do an additional year and obtain another degree (a BSc) in the middle!
In case you are wondering how a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery becomes MBChB, it’s because MBChB is actually a latin acronym: Medicinae Baccalaureus Chirurgiae Baccalaureus. Simple!
In case you are wondering why the LLB has two Ls, it is simply a signal that it's a Bachelor of Laws, Laws being a plural!
You might have also spotted that the ‘B’ comes after the subject in these two cases, but not in most of the others. This is because these two degrees retain the Latin word order, rather than the English.
Why? That’s anyone’s guess!
Sandwich degrees and study abroad
Some other Bachelor’s degrees that are longer include those that allow you to do a full year work placement in the middle. These degrees are typically two years study, one year work, plus one final year’s study, and they are often referred to as sandwich degrees.
Degrees including time spent studying abroad are sometimes a year longer, and sometimes not. This depends on whether the courses you study when abroad are counted as part of your degree or not.
Single honours degrees
Most students take what is called a single honours degree. This means that you focus your studies on one specific discipline. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland this generally means you spend all of your time on that subject. Meanwhile in Scotland, it is more usual to take some ‘outside’ courses in your first couple of years, generally in a similar or related subject within the same Faculty.
Joint or combined honours degrees
An alternative to the single honours degree is a joint honours, or combined honours, degree. These are degrees where you study two, or even three different subjects throughout your time at university. You don’t do more courses than in a single honours degree, you just split the same number of courses across different subjects. Study may be split evenly between two subjects, or may be split roughly two-thirds to one-third (sometimes referred to as a major/minor degree).
I have worked at several universities who offer such degrees and no two had the exactly the same definitions or rules for joint or combined degrees. If you are considering one of these, look closely at each university to see how they work and what flexibility you have to choose options in each subject.
The weird exceptions
There are some weird exceptions to the BA title. In Scotland, if you study a degree in the arts at one of five universities (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow or St Andrews), they will grant you an MA (Master of Arts), for reasons best known to themselves!
Similarly Oxford and Cambridge will allow you to apply to be granted an MA a few years after you graduate, with no further exams required.
Neither of these are regarded as an actual academic MA.
Undergraduate Master’s degrees
Some undergraduate degrees are longer because they actually DO include Master’s level study.
The most common example of this is an MEng (a Master of Engineering).
This will typically be a four or five year programme, which gives you a single degree that has the breadth and depth of both an undergraduate degree and a masters degree.
They are often favoured by the professional bodies (such as the various Institutes for Engineering), and are increasingly being offered in the pure sciences too, such as MMaths (Master or Mathematics) or MPhys (Master of Physics).
Postgraduate Taught degrees
A Master’s degree is a higher level degree than a Bachelor’s, and most will take one year of full-time study, or two or three years of part-time study, after your undergraduate Bachelor’s.
They are generally known as postgraduate taught degrees and include MA (Master of Arts), MSc (Master of Science), LLM (Master of Laws), MEd (Master of Education) etc.
Some are about extending the knowledge you have from your Bachelor’s, while others will be about learning a new discipline.
Some postgraduate Master’s degrees are longer, notably an MBA (Masters in Business Administration), which will normally be two years.
Smaller, shorter postgraduate courses are also available, leading to the award of a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) or a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip).
Postgraduate Research degrees
Postgraduate degrees can also be achieved through research. There may be no classes at all, and instead you spend your time researching a new area of knowledge, writing this up into a large piece of work called a thesis.
An MPhil (Master of Philosophy) can be awarded (normally after two years), or where the research is both original and substantial (which normally takes three to fours years), you may be awarded a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy).
You'll be known as ‘Doctor’, but no, you are not a medical doctor!
Foundation degrees
Foundation degrees are generally run as a partnership between colleges, universities and employers. They take two years of full-time study, and lead to an FdA (Foundation Arts) or FdSc (Foundation Science), regarded as two-thirds of a Bachelor’s degree.
Normally you have the flexibility to continue working while you study, typically in the form of an extended placement that you do as part of the course. Or you work full-time and study part-time (taking longer). Some foundation degrees offer the potential to ‘top-up’ to a full degree.
Foundation Degrees are not offered in Scotland, but many students study Higher National Certificates (HNC) and Higher National Diplomas (HND), which offer a similar route and outcome, but with less direct employer input.
Degree apprenticeships
Degree apprenticeships are essentially a job, with studying for a degree built in. They are offered by a range of employers in conjunction with universities, and the degree you complete will be exactly the same level of qualification as if you had studied directly with the university.
These can be any of the different types of Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees that we’ve covered, and the length of work and study will vary. The key is that you apply to the employer, not the university.
How does this all apply to you?
Whilst it all sounds pretty complicated, the reality is that for most of you reading this, you’ll almost certainly be looking to study an undergraduate Bachelor’s or Master’s degree first. In order to find the right course that works for you, what you need to consider now is:
Can you go straight into the degree, or do you need to do a foundation or access course first?
Do you want to do a single or combined honours?
Do you want to take a sandwich course, with a work placement built in, or would a year study abroad suit you better?
Is there an undergraduate Masters degree in your subject, and should you study it?
If you are unsure as to whether a full undergraduate degree might be right for you, have you considered looking at Foundation Degrees or a Degree Apprenticeship where you can combine work and study?
All of these questions will take further research to find the right answer for you, but I hope I’ve helped demystify some of the weird and wonderful terminology!
