Bachelor degree (1 Viewer)

[Testme68]

What is the difference between a 3 year and 4 year bachelors degree?

 

[jazz519]

Depends on what degree you are talking about, as there is different requirements. A lot of degrees the 4th year is some kind of honours project/research activity you undertake. This is quite common in engineering and science degrees

 

[quickoats]

Some degrees are just 4 years in length because there are 4 years of content (e.g. physio, podiatry), with some taking up to 5-6 years (BDS, MBBS)

In the US there is some distinction between 3 and 4 year degrees, but I’m not sure why, since undergrad for them tends to be a general studies degree (BA and BSc).

There’s this thing called the Bologna accord which aims to standardise the nature of degrees around the world - here, 3 year degrees are standard at a bachelor level, so it could be said that a 3 year degree is the‘norm’.

 

[dasfas]

They're 4 years either cuz they have an extra honours year or cuz they're a double degree.

 

[brent012]

Most undergrad degrees in the US are 4 year programs. If you want to apply for grad school, you need a 4 year degree. Many schools over there do not even recognise 3 year degrees.

Can confirm, my program has a strict requirement of a 4 year degree. They don't care that 3 years is typical in Aus, UK etc., if you have a 3 year program you won't meet the requirements.

For something like commerce or computer science, generally doing honours (3 + 1) will count as equivalent to a 4 year degree in the US. When I did my undergrad degree (Eng/Business) that was one of the points used to promote Finance honours - eligibility for certain US MBA programs. I believe many honours programs will let you apply after graduation, or from other universities, so it's probably not worth doing honours just to keep your options open.