The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Academic Degrees

ACADEMIC DEGREES. Academic degrees, whether earned of honorary, are titles conferred by colleges, universities and professional schools upon persons who, in the opinion of the authorities of these institutions, have exhibited special proficiency in any branch of knowledge. (See ). The difference between earned and honorary degrees is that the former are conferred upon students who have completed a certain proscribed course of study and all other requirements of the institution granting such degrees, whereas the latter are conferred upon individuals selected, without examination or other requirement, because they have attained eminence in some line of endeavor.

There is a woful lack of uniformity in the methods used in granting degrees by the educational institutions of the United States. Academic degrees are not and cannot be protected adequately by law. Institutions which claim the right to confer such degrees have increased so rapidly and their standards vary so widely that the value of a degree is greatly lessened. Some small and new institutions and some unauthorized agencies not only bestow the degrees that are properly honorary, for insufficient or no reason, but confer other degrees that should be won only after the completion of a definite course of study. There is a tendency toward uniformity of standards, however, and in 1908 a report was made by a committee of the National Association of State Universities “upon standards for the recognition of American universities and upon standards for the recognition of the A. B. degree and higher degrees.” The Carnegie Foundation (q. v.) is also using its influence to standardize degrees by giving the benefits of its pension fund only to those universities and colleges which adopt and enforce certain requirements for admission and study.

In general the lowest degrees, Bachelor of Arts (B. A. or A. B.) and Bachelor of Science (B. S. or S. B.), are given to students who have completed the non-professional four-year college course. There is considerable divergence in the significance of degrees even among the older colleges and universities, since the A. B. no longer indicates, as formerly, that the recipient had completed a definite amount of Greek, Latin and mathematics. The elective system and the tendency to replace the classics with modern languages have obliged the institutions either to change the requirements for the degree or else to substitute a new degree. The second or master's degree – Master of Arts (M. A. or A. M.) and Master of Science (M. S.) – are granted to holders of bachelor's degrees who have completed an additional year of study, although these degrees are often honorary. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) is usually bestowed upon those who have completed at least three years of graduate work and have prepared a thesis upon some subject approved by the faculty that will show ability to do original work. This degree is no longer given as an honorary degree by any institution of rank.

Among the more usual degrees, besides those above mentioned, conferred by professional schools are Bachelor of Laws (LL. B.), Doctor of Medicine (M. D.), Bachelor of Divinity (B. D.), Civil Engineer (C. E.), Electrical Engineer (E. E.), Mechanical Engineer (M. E.) and Bachelor of Literature in Journalism (B. Litt.). There are numerous other degrees, honorary and otherwise, such as Doctor of Science (Sc. D.), Doctor of Letters (Litt. D.), Doctor of Laws (LL. D.), Doctor of Divinity (D. D.), Bachelor of Civil Law (B. C. L.), Bachelor of Letters (B. L. or Litt. B.), Bachelor of Philosophy (B. P., B. Ph. or Ph. B.), Doctor of Medical Dentistry (D. M. D.), Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D. V. M.), Doctor of Law (J. D., Juris Doctor), Doctor of Civil and Canon Law (J. U. D., Juris Utriusque Doctor), Doctor of Letters or Humanities (L. H. D.), Bachelor of Music (Mus. B.), Master of Laws (L. L. M. or M. L., Legum Magister), Master of Civil Engineering (M. C. E.), Master of Mining Engineering (M. M. E.), Doctor of Music (Mus. D.), Graduate in Pharmacy (Ph. G.), Veterinary Surgeon (V. S.), and others which can found under the title. The United States Commissioner of Education reports yearly on the degrees granted by institutions, and the catalogues of the institutions will give the conditions attaching to the bestowal of degrees. Consult Paul Monroe (ed.), ‘Cyclopedia of Education’ (article “Degrees” 1911).