Undergraduate vs Graduate
The distinction between undergraduate and graduate is straightforward once you understand what each term represents. These terms are related to higher education and indicate the level a student is at in their journey to acquire knowledge in a particular subject and establish a career in their chosen field. Generally, undergraduate courses precede graduate courses, meaning a student can only pursue a master’s degree, a graduate degree program, after completing undergraduate courses. This article will discuss further differences between undergraduate and graduate courses.
What does Undergraduate mean?
Undergraduate courses are typically taken after completing the 10+2 level in most countries and are referred to as bachelor’s courses. These courses are categorized as BSc, BA, etc., depending on the subject chosen by the student, such as arts or sciences. Undergraduate courses aim to provide knowledge in various subjects and are mostly academic in nature, although science courses involve practical work in laboratories. A student pursuing a bachelor’s degree or first degree is referred to as an undergraduate, so the term can refer to either the course or the student following the course.
What is Graduate?
After successfully completing an undergraduate course (e.g., BS, BSc, BA, B.Tech, or BEng), a student can aspire to pursue higher education and enroll in a graduate course, such as a master’s degree program. Bachelor’s degrees usually take three to four years to complete, while graduate courses take two years. Graduate courses are known as MA, MSc, MTech, MS, etc. A student is referred to as a graduate student only after completing their bachelor’s course and enrolling in a master’s degree course. The highest graduate degree a student can pursue is a doctoral degree, which also involves research work. Generally, a doctoral degree can only be pursued after completing a master’s degree.
Key Takeaways
- Higher education begins with undergraduate courses, and the next step is graduate courses.
- One can only pursue a graduate course after successfully completing undergraduate courses.
- Undergraduate courses provide a foundational knowledge, while graduate courses offer in-depth knowledge about a subject.
