Academic degree

An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The most common undergraduate degree is the bachelor's degree, although some educational systems offer lower-level undergraduate degrees such as associate and foundation degrees. Common postgraduate degrees include engineer's degrees, master's degrees and doctorates.

In the UK and countries whose educational systems are based on the British system, honours degrees are divided into classes: first, second (broken into upper second, or 2.1, and lower second, or 2.2) and third class.