In a recent thread, it was mentioned that some universities in the USA continue to issue degrees with Latin and/or characteristic names despite the fact that the vast majority of US schools have (sensibly) standardized on a standard set of degree names. For example, UPenn issues the Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris (VMD) rather than the standard Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree despite the fact that it is equivalent to a DVM. Harvard also has degrees such as the Scientiae Baccalaureus (SB), equivalent to a BS, and the Artium Liberalium Magister (ALM), equivalent to an MA.
What are some other interesting cases of schools that still issue degrees with names that are uncharacteristic of the country in which they are situated but are considered equivalent to more common degrees? I am interested in examples both inside and outside the US.
This question is not primarily about unusual ways to earn a degree (though I might suspect that there could be a correlation), but about degrees that have unusual names that could make someone pause when reading about them. For example, is there a school where I can earn a master’s degree-equivalent “Epistemological Diplomate of Scientific Prowess” and then walk across the street and earn a “regular” MS or MA at a neighboring school?
I’m also not looking for a list of names of degrees in foreign countries if those names are otherwise standard in those countries. If there is an oddball German university that is issuing degrees that officially carry Spanish names, then that would be relevant.
In Trinity College, Dublin virtually every undergraduate degree, no matter how focussed or specialised, leads to a BA. I did a law degree, for example, and I have a BA, rather than an LL.B or a BCL, which is the equivalent degree from other Irish universities. Had I done natural science I would have a BA, not a BSc. And so forth. In the medical school you get a BA as well as the usual suite of medical degrees, so medical graduates are BA MB BAO BCh (the last three being degrees in medicine, obstetrics and surgery respectively).
And it gets odder. If you do a four-year degree course (which is nearly all of them) you get an honours degree, which is distinguished thus: BA (Mod). You might expect BA (Hons), but no. And, if you wait for (I think) two years after your BA (Mod) has been conferred, on application and on payment of a small fee you can have this upgraded to an MA. But if you actually study for a master’s degree you’ll be awarded an MSc or an MPhil or an MLitt or something vaguely appropriate to your area of study.
Thanks! Isn’t this (except for the Mod instead of the Hons) the standard practice at Oxford and Cambridge? That is, the basic standard degree is a BA regardless of major, the BA is automatically upgradeable to an MA for a fee after the passage of sufficient time, and further degrees get more characteristic names?
I suppose even if it is, it is still unusual for Ireland since Oxford and Cambridge are in the UK.
Harvard also has AB but “degrees such as” probably means that you already know that.
Maybe not ultra rare ones but:
Doctor of Dental Surgery and Doctor of Dental Medicine are equivalent degrees in the US. The former is a bit more common but the latter isn’t exactly rare.
NOT the same thing (training is different) but they are 99.99% similar in practice: 1) MD and DO (in the US), and 2) PhD in clinical psychology and PsyD. PsyD tends to be awarded by professional schools, not universities, and may not involve a thesis.
BA vs. BS and MA vs. MS in psychology is completely idiosyncratic. Some schools give one or the other (I think often depending on what college the school of psychology is in), while others might give one or the other depending on specialty.
Thanks! I do believe that PsyD’s tend to be more applied toward clinical practice while the PhD in Psychology is more research-oriented, but both are generally acceptable for clinical licensure. IME the PsyD is sometimes criticized as a diploma mill degree because it usually doesn’t require as much independent research, but I think a lot of that has to do with snottiness from actual PhD holders who think everyone should have to do a dissertation rather than actual problems with degree holders being incompetent psychologists.
I do wonder if there is some oddball university where you can get a piece of paper that literally says Bachelor of History (not Bachelor of Arts in History), Master of Chemistry, or Flute Master (not Master of Fine Arts in Flute).
The standard medical doctor degree is an MD but their is also a DO (Doctor of Osteopathy). They come from different medical traditions but are considered to be almost equivalent today in the U.S. because their standards have converged. The only real difference is that DO programs can be a little easier to be admitted to and their students get a little training in skeletal manipulation but they are all just fully qualified medical doctors for all practical purposes.
There are large amount of somewhat obscure degrees out there. An Ed.D. is a doctorate level degree in educational practice that focuses on practice rather than research but there is also a Ph.D. in education. It is similar to a PsyD in that practice is emphasized more than research but that distinction alone can’t tell you much about an individual with those degrees because they overlap a great deal.
Most people know about MD’s (doctors), PhD’s (academics), JD’s (lawyers) and MBA’s (business) but it isn’t nearly that simple. You can also get a PhD in any of those fields as well and almost anything else including nursing (that’s right; you can be a Dr. Nurse).
If you want real confusion, ask someone in the field what the difference is between a Physician’s Assistant and a Nurse Practitioner is. I have never gotten a very good answer other than they come from separate traditions and go through different training programs but their jobs are the same for all practical purposes.
I qualified “clinical PhD.” There are many, many, other psychology degrees which aren’t sufficient nor intended to allow for clinical practice. I mean I have a psychology degree but I don’t trust me to treat myself, let alone someone else, because that’s not what the degree is for.
It can be more expensive, I think.
So much that I’ve been seen by a DO and didn’t realize it until later while reviewing the paperwork.
Yeah, both are “subservient” to a doctor, but usually see patients on their own. It’s a philosophy difference, which might only come up in limited circumstances. NPs are more likely to be female.
Also, if you want a primary care practitioner, some are listed as internists and some are family care physicians. While this might imply a different emphasis, and indeed some of the latter are more likely to see children, the distinction is minor, and either will fine for your general medical needs.
If you think a Bachelor in History is oddball, I give you a complete list of academic degrees in Germany which will blow your mind (Google translation, which is good enough):
SUNY Albany used to have a Doctor of Arts program for creative writing. Usually, those programs lead to an MFA, but the faculty worked to make it a doctoral program.
It’s not exactly oddball, but I have a Bachelor of Journalism degree. Not a B.A. in journalism, or a B.S. in journalism, or a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, but an honest-to-goodness Bachelor of Journalism.
And I had to work for it, too. At the time I was in the School of Journalism (note: not a branch of the College of Arts and Sciences) the curriculum leading to a B.J. (don’t smirk!) was an underclass background in the humanities, followed by a heavy concentration of internships and workshop.
As far as journalism grads are concerned, Mass Communications students are fuzzy-thinking theorists who never have to meet a deadline.
Oxford University also abbreviates its Doctor of Philosophy degrees to D. Phil as opposed to the more-usual Ph. D. AFAIK the Universities of Sussex and York follow the same styling.
I know of a clinical psychologist whose degree is Ed.D. – Go figure. He told me that it happened because the psychology major happened to be within the Education Department at his college, so Ed.D. is the degree anyone in that program got. (ETA: This is in California, although I don’t know if that’s where he got that degree.)
How recently did he get the Ed.D and where? Cal States were forbidden from offering doctorates until recently, and IIRC Ed.D. was the degree that some offer now
Heh. My alma mater will grant you a BA in Psychology – unless you complete three extra science courses, in which case you can get a BS instead.
So if you’re a brain-biology-and-brain-chemistry type who takes additional classes in biology and chemistry – then, sure, that fits what you’re saying. But no matter how you specialize with your psychology coursework, you can get a BS so long as you also take three irrelevant classes in, like, geology or astronomy.
The University of Guelph in Canada offers a few unusual degrees. It’s one of a few to offer the unusual Bachelor of Computing degree (B.Comp), for example, instead of a more typical B.Sc. (Pure math majors get the B.Sc. though.
Even more unusual is the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA) and Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management (BBRM) degree. I’m not sure why these have a unique styling.
Oxford also has a postgraduate law degree called the Bachelor of Civil Law for people with a fist degree in the common law (as opposed to civil law, i.e., the continental European jurisdictions). This leads to the common joke at Oxford that the Bachelor of Civil Law is actually a Master of Common Law. For all practical purposes it’s an LL.M., but the name of the degree comes from a time before academic nomenclature was standardised the way it is today.
