subject: A Piece of Information about the History of Degrees [print this page] A Complicated System of Degrees The system of types of postgraduate qualification may appear a real problem for a new applicant. The reason for it is that this system is rather complicated and tangled. To begin with it should be said there are two main types of postgraduate qualification. They are: academic and vocational degrees. The Etymology of "Degree" First of all let us sort out what the "degree" means. In simple words degree is a stage, and receiving a new degree is the process of moving higher. Firstly this term appeared in the thirteenth century. Of course you know the fact that the modern system of education originates from ancient counties such as: ancient Greece, India, China etc. But the case of postgraduate degrees is the phenomenon of Europe. It comes from medieval universities. The thing is that after the achieving a Bachelor degree one had to study about twelve years to receive Master and Doctor degrees. It is a very interesting fact that the curriculum is varied not only in terms of its time duration but also in the courses which students undertake. The students had to study seven liberal arts. They are: arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, music theory, grammar, logic, rhetoric. Those students who had already obtained a Bachelor degree, could choose one of the faculties. The number of faculties was not huge, only three: law, medicine, and theology. The Hierarchy of Degrees Theology was one of the main spheres of education. But on the other hand it was rather difficult. Take into consideration that in medieval period the major faculty was Theological. Imagine that nowadays the main subject in your college could be theology. It sounds really scaring. It has come from medieval period that the Doctor degree stands higher than Master degree.
A Piece of Information about the History of Degrees
