Major Difference Between Undergraduate And Graduate: Going to college is one of the most honoured and well-known means of getting formal education and a certificate to show for it. The terms undergraduate and graduate are joined with higher studies. In this article, we will show you the major difference between undergraduate and graduate.
In essence, an undergraduate is one who is presently taking up a course in a tertiary institution or simply a university student who has not yet taken a first degree. Whereas, a graduate as the name implies is one who has successfully completed his/her first degree.
Undergraduate and graduate portray the level at which a student is in his long and strenuous voyage to gain the knowledge about a subject and also to create a career for himself in his chosen field of study.
Who is an Undergraduate?
An undergraduate degree is for students who graduated excellently from high school and wants to study more by joining a college taking their preferred choice of subject. Undergraduate degree courses offer a very strong fundamental knowledge to the students through theory and practical application.
Undergraduate degree programs are in two categories in it. One is the bachelor’s degree program while the other is the associate degree program.
However, a bachelor’s degree program may go up to 4 years to complete it. An associate degree program takes only 2 years to complete it. A Bachelor’s degree is also considered far more knowledgeable than an associate degree. Students can also go to study bachelor’s after completing their associate program, this may also end in reduced duration and does not go beyond 2 more years to complete it.
Who is a Graduate?
A graduate degree is for students who have a bachelor’s degree from college who wants to study further in a certain area of his choice. Graduate degree courses are advanced courses that require a lot of research work on the chosen field.
Graduate degree programs are in two categories, Master’s degree, and Doctoral degree. A Master’s degree program lasts for only 2 years to complete it while Doctoral programs may take more than 6 years to complete it.
A graduate degree is a specified version of the study on the discipline chosen in the bachelor’s. The student gets to apply the basics learned in the bachelor’s and obtain more knowledge to implement something new.
Major Difference Between Undergraduate And Graduate
1. Higher studies begin with undergraduate courses and the next step in higher studies is graduate courses.
2. One can opt in for a graduate course only after successfully completing undergraduate courses.
3. Undergraduate courses lay the main foundation that is used as a foothold or springboard to obtain graduate courses later on.
4. Without an undergraduate degree, one cannot go for a graduate degree.
5. Undergraduate courses are of three years while graduate courses take two years duration. But sometimes, an undergraduate course can be more than three years.
6. An undergraduate has to study different subjects in his chosen field of study while at the graduate level in depth knowledge about a subject is provided.
7. When a student wants to obtain a bachelor’s degree, he is referred to as an undergraduate. It is only when he is through with his bachelor’s course that he is referred to as a graduate. So after graduating and enrolled in a master’s degree course he is referred to as a graduate student.
8. The former achievement of an undergraduate is secondary education. While the former achievement for a graduate can be a master’s (for someone following a doctoral degree) or a bachelor’s (for someone following a master’s degree).