The candidates who completed three or four years of study of texts prescribed in the Trivium (grammatical, rhetorical and logical), and that passed the examinations lead by their teachers, they received the bachelor rank. A degree was then a passage in the way to become a described teacher - of "the graduated" word there, based on Latin gradus ("step").
Nowadays the terms masterful, doctor and professor mean levels different from academic profit, but initially they were equivalent. The University of Boloña in Italy, considered oldest of Europe, was the first institution in in the last granting the title of Doctor in Civil Law years of century XII; also it granted similar degrees in other matters, including the medicine. Nótese that nowadays in medicine is only applied the term of doctor for the students who have completed their first level of academic formation.
The University of Paris used the term masters for graduated his, practical that it was adopted by the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
The names of the degrees possibly tied with the studied matters. The students of the faculties of arts or grammar were known like teachers, but those in philosophy, medicine and laws were known like doctors. The doctor degree assumed a position greater than the one of the teacher degree, since the study of the arts or the grammatical one was a prerequirement necessary to study philosophy, medicine and laws. This lead to the modern hierarchy in which more the title of Doctor in Philosophy (Ph.D) is an advanced degree than the one of Teacher in Artes (M.A.). The practice to use the term doctor for all the advanced degrees was developed in the German universities and it extended everywhere.
The French terminology is related close by to the meaning original of the terms. Baccalauréat (cf. loquacious) confers the French students who have completed successful their secondary education and serves to enter the university. When the students graduate as the university, a license is granted to them, which is very similar to which a professional league had done, and it qualifies them to teach in institutions of secondary education or to continue its studies.
In Germany, the doctorate still is the greater granted degree; additions to the title that specify the study area, like Dr.rer.nat can be included. (Doktor rerum naturalium) in natural sciences and Dr.Ing. (Doktor-Ingenieur) in engineering.
In Europe the degrees through the Process of Bolona are being harmonized, that is based on the hierarchy of three levels (Loquacious, Máster, Doctor) that is used at the moment in the United Kingdom and the United States. This system is gradually replacing the system of two levels that is used in some countries.
Types of academic degrees:
These are some examples of specific degrees. More information to see the article on the general term.
Associated degree of (the United States): AA, AS
Degree of foundation (United Kingdom): FdA, FdEd, FdEng, FdMus, FdSc, FdTech
Degree of bachelor: BA, BS, BSc, BFA, BCL, LLB, MB, BChir
Degree of Masters: MA, MSc, MS, MPhil, MRes, MFA, MTh, M.Div., MBA, MESci, MGeol, MTCM, MPA, MPAff, MPM, MPP, LLM, MEng, MSci, MChem, MPhys, MMath
Degree of specialty: EdS, B.Acc.
Degree of doctorate: PhD, EdD, EngD, DNursSci, JD, DBA, DD, DSc, DLitt, GIVE, DMA, DMus, DCL, ThD, PharmD, DPhil, SUNDAY, OMD, PsyD, DO, Md
