什麼是學位

學院和大學為了表示學者完成一門學業或表示學者的學術成就的水準而授予的頭銜。中世紀時，歐洲只有兩種學位：碩士（master，藝術和文法學者）和博士（docter，哲學、神學、醫學和法律學者）。學士學位（baccalaureate或 bachelor's degree）原是指邁向碩士學位前的一個階段。現今在英美國家的文學士（Bachelor of Arts，簡稱BA或AB），是授予在學院學習四年的學生；文學碩士（Master of Arts，簡稱MA）是授予那些再讀兩年的學生；哲學博士（Doctor of Philosophy，簡稱Ph.D.）則是授予在那些大學畢業後學習和研究多年的人。20世紀中葉，社群學院開始授予副文學士學位（Associate of Arts ，簡稱AA）。一般專科領域的學位有法學博士（JD）和醫學博士（MD）。榮譽學位是授予有突出貢獻的人，而不考慮其學術成就。在法國，業士學位（baccalaureat）是指完成中等教育的學生，學生在大學學習三年或四年後可獲得「准許證」（licence）。碩士學位（ma?trise）必須通過進階考試才能獲得。博士學位（doctorat）則要完成多年的進一步學術研究才能獲得。在德國，只授予博士學位，對那些不想拿博士學位的人則提供畢業文憑考試。

degree, academic

Title conferred by a college or university to indicate completion of a course of study or extent of academic achievement. In medieval Europe, there were only two degrees: master (a scholar of arts and grammar) and doctor (a scholar of philosophy, theology, medicine, or law). The baccalaureate, or bachelor's degree, was originally simply a stage toward mastership. Today in Anglo-American countries the Bachelor of Arts degree (BA or AB) is awarded after four years of college study, the Master of Arts (MA) after two additional years, and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) after several years of post-baccalaureate study and research. In the mid-20th century the Associate of Arts degree (AA) began to be awarded by U.S. community colleges. Common professional degrees are the Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) and the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). Honorary degrees are granted without regard to academic achievement. In France the baccalauréat is conferred on the completion of secondary education, the licence on completion of three or four years of university study, the ma?trise on the passing of advanced examinations, and the doctorat on completion of several years of advanced academic studies. In Germany the doctorate is the only degree granted, though diploma examinations are offered to students who forgo the doctoral requirements.