Talking College: Types of Colleges & Degrees
Degree & College Options
Before we can start to look into colleges that are right for us, it is important that we are familiar with the different types of degrees and colleges that are available. Much of this language overlaps and intersects, so it is important to have a familiar understanding of each. Chapter 11 will review these terms as well as others.
Types of Colleges
- Community College: A two year program or associate degree offered at a lower cost, with the possibility of transferring those credits toward a four-year degree at a university or liberal arts college, or immediately entering the workforce with practical training in fields like health or technology.
- Vocational or Trade Schools: A program with hands-on training and certification in a particular field or occupation, such as automotive services, cosmetology, culinary arts or information technology. These programs can take weeks, months or years depending on the certification and, in some cases, can also earn you an associates in degree.
- Art, conservatory & design schools: Schools that offer 2 or 4 year degrees (bachelor and associate) in such areas as drawing, music, performance and often require an additional audition or portfolio in order to be considered for admission.
- Universities: Institutions of higher learning that consist of graduate schools, professional schools (medical, law, business, etc.) and undergraduate programs. A university awards both graduate degrees (masters and doctorate) and undergraduate degrees (bachelor of arts and bachelor of science) and tends to be larger and more research-oriented.
- Colleges: Typically smaller than universities, their emphasis is on undergraduate education. Liberal arts colleges offer a more traditional and general education in subjects such as literature, history, mathematics, natural science, social science, language, art and music.
Colleges that don’t refer to themselves as “liberal arts” will offer a curriculum with more specialized programs or majors that correlate with specific careers such as journalism, marketing, business, or nursing.
Colleges and universities can be further broken down into multiple categories, like public, private, for profit, Ivy League and highly selective, women’s, religiously affiliated, and historically black institutions. Public schools are state-supported institutions of learning that may offer incentives to in-state residents in terms of admission and funding. Private schools are independently funded and self-governing. There’s a major misconception out there that private schools are automatically more expensive than publics, but that’s not necessarily true, especially if you are a student applying to a college out of state. Don’t rule out private schools for cost reasons before doing some research about their actual affordability.
Associate’s Degree
To enter an associate’s degree program, students must have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Associate’s degree programs may be intended to help students enter a technical career field, such as automotive technology, graphic design, or entry-level nursing in some states. Such technical programs may be considered an Associate of Applied Arts (AAA) or Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees, though there are other titles as well.
Other associate’s degree programs are intended to prepare a student with the necessary coursework to transfer into a bachelor’s degree program upon graduation. These transfer-focused programs usually require similar general education and foundational courses that a student would need in the first half of a bachelor’s degree program. Transfer-focused associate’s degrees may be called Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS), or other titles, depending on the focus of study.
An associate’s degree is typically awarded when a student has completed a minimum of 60 credits, approximately 20 courses, meeting the requirements of a specific degree. Some technical associate’s degrees, such as nursing, may require additional credits in order to meet requirements for special certifications. You may find that your college or university does not offer associate’s degrees. Most associate’s degrees are offered by community or junior colleges, or by career and technical colleges.
Bachelor’s Degrees
When someone generally mentions “a college degree,” they are often referring to the bachelor’s degree, or baccalaureate degree. Because it takes four years of full-time attendance to complete a bachelor’s degree, this degree is also referred to as a “four-year degree.” Similar to an associate’s degree, to enter a bachelor’s degree program a student must have completed a high school diploma or its equivalent. Both associate’s degrees and bachelor’s degrees are considered undergraduate degrees, thus students working toward these degrees are often called undergraduates. A student with an associate’s degree may transfer that degree to meet some (usually half) of the requirements of a bachelor’s degree; however, completion of an associate’s degree is not necessary for entry into a bachelor’s degree program.
A bachelor’s degree is usually completed with a minimum of 120 credits, or approximately 40 courses. Some specialized degree programs may require more credits. (If an associate’s degree has been transferred, the number of credits from that degree usually counts toward the 120 credits. For example, if an associate’s degree was 60 credits, then a student must take 60 additional credits to achieve their bachelor’s degree.)
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) are the most popular degree titles at this level and differ primarily in their focus on exploring a broader range of subject areas, as with a BA, versus focusing in more depth on a particular subject, as with a BS, BSN, or BFA. Regardless of whether a student is pursuing a BA, BS, BSN, or BFA, each of these programs requires a balance of credits or courses in different subject areas. In the United States, a bachelor’s degree comprises courses from three categories: general education courses, major courses, and electives. A fourth category of courses would be those required for a minor, which we will discuss in more detail in the section on majors and minors.
Graduate Degrees
According to United States Census data published in 2018, 13.1 percent of the U.S. adult population have completed advanced degrees.3 Whereas associate’s and bachelor’s degrees are considered undergraduate degrees and require high school graduation for entry, advanced degrees called graduate degrees require prior completion of a bachelor’s degree. Some professions require graduate degrees as a minimum job qualification, such as pharmacists, lawyers, physical therapists, psychologists, and college professors. In other cases, students may be motivated to pursue a graduate degree to obtain a higher-level job or higher salary, or to be more competitive in their field. Some students are also interested in learning about some subject in greater depth than they did at the undergraduate level. Because graduate degrees do not include general education or free elective courses, they are very focused on career-specific knowledge and skills. Graduate degrees include master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees. Master’s degrees often require 30–60 credits and take one to two years of full-time attendance to complete. Some master’s degrees, like those for counselors, require supervised job experience as a component of the degree and therefore require more credits.
Doctorate and professional degrees are the highest level of advanced degrees. Approximately 3.5% of the U.S. adult population has completed a doctorate or professional degree. Very few careers require this level of education for entry, so fewer individuals pursue these degrees. Doctorates are offered in many subjects and primarily prepare students to become researchers in their field of study. This in-depth level of education often requires an additional 90–120 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree, and may or may not require a master’s degree prior to entry. (A master’s degree as an entry requirement may reduce the number of credits required to complete the doctoral degree.)
Professional degrees are a specific type of doctorate-level degree that focus on skills to be applied in a practical, or hands-on, career rather than as a researcher. The most common professional degrees are Doctor of Medicine (MD) for aspiring medical doctors, Juris Doctor (JD) for aspiring lawyers, Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) for aspiring pharmacists, and Doctor of Education (EdD) for aspiring school and college or university administrators. If the career you are pursuing requires a graduate degree, you should keep this end goal in mind as you plan for the timeline and finances required to meet your goals. You may also want to inquire about special agreements that your college or university may have to expedite admission into or completion of graduate degrees. For example, some universities offer 4+1 master’s programs, wherein students take both bachelor’s and master’s level courses during their last year as an undergraduate to accelerate the completion of both degrees.
Other Post-Baccalaureate Credentials
Post-baccalaureate refers to structured learning experiences pursued after a bachelor’s degree is achieved. While some such activities are structured into graduate degrees as described in the sections above, other fields value continuing education credits, competency badges, and additional certifications. These post-baccalaureate credentials may need to be completed prior to entering a career field, may be obtained as an option to gain competitive advantage for hiring, or may be achieved during the course of an individual’s career to stay current, maintain qualification, or be promoted. To determine if your field requires post-baccalaureate credentials, you may want to speak with an established professional in that career, review the qualifications section of related job descriptions, or visit with a career counselor on your campus. In a world that changes as rapidly as ours, engaging in lifelong learning is advisable regardless of the specific requirements of any particular career choice.
Thinking Ahead
While you are just beginning your college journey, it is important to think about all of the degrees that are available so you can understand what it takes in order to have a certain career. Consider the table below:
| Require Associate’s Degrees | Require Bachelor’s Degrees | Require Additional Certifications | Require Graduate Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radiology Technician | Nurse | Public School Teacher | Lawyer |
| Dental Hygienist | Computer/Information Systems Manager | Accountant | College or University Professor |
| Web Developer | Airline Pilot | Financial Advisor | Pharmacist |
| Graphic Designer | Electrical Engineer | Marriage and Family Therapist | |
| Automotive Technician | Construction Manager | Occupational Therapist |
While you don’t have to have it all figured out, or even know what you want to study, it is important to think about what it takes to have certain careers.
Remixed from:
Baldwin, Amy. College Success. OpenStax, 2020, OpenStax, https://openstax.org/details/books/college-success.
Shaw, Michael, and Jaye F. Fenderson. “First- Generation: A Guide to College.” First Generation Films LLC, 2015, https://gocollegenow.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/First-Generation-Companion-Curriculum.pdf.
