Types Of Professional Degrees
Learn about the Types Of Professional Degrees. A professional degree commonly refers to an academic program that prepares a student for a particular professional career like an attorney or a medical doctor. They train students in different field so that they can be able to apply what they have learnt in their chosen careers or profession. There are so many types of professional degrees offered by different institutions. To be admitted into any of these types of professional degrees, you are required to have a bachelor’s degree as well as some other relevant qualifications in your desired course of pursuit. The major types of professional degrees offered by universities include Master’s degree (M.sc or MBA), Doctorate of Dental surgery, Psychology Doctorate, Optometry Doctorate, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy, Juris Doctorate, and Medical Doctorate. However, there might be a different academic level being utilized for some types of professional degrees by different universities. Also, professional degrees are not limited to the ones mentioned above as there are equally some others.
Courses offered at the professional level are usually more advanced than those offered at the postgraduate level. It provides students the opportunity to be more focused, self directed, and mature in their respective disciplines and careers.
Most universities in the United States offer two types of professional degrees: Master’s level and the Doctorate level. For the Master’s level, you are usually going to spend from 12 to 36 months to complete any of the programs, depending on the course and the university. However, a full time doctorate degree program covers a period of 5 to 8 years, also depending on the course of study.
All types of professional degrees normally require coursework and research. In the US and most other countries, your performance will be determined by your research, class participation, and exams.
Master’s Degree
A Master’s degree is one of the most common types of professional degrees. These days, most people with an undergraduate degree normally seek to obtain a Master’s degree before working in an organization. It prepares them for the professional challenge they are going to face in their chosen careers. There are two types of professional degrees: academic level and the professional or business level.
The Academic Master’s (M.Sc or M.A.): This is basically offered in arts and humanities, technical, as well as science fields (for instance Msc in agriculture, sociology, or engineering). These types of professional degrees usually emphasize more on field investigation and original research. The programs have duration of about 2 years and contain 35 to 60 credit units. Holders of this kind of certificate can further enroll into a doctorate program.
Professional Master’s Degrees: The most common of these types of professional degrees is the Master’s of Business Administration. This type prepares graduates to take up managerial positions in organizations. There are specializations in this field which include MBA in marketing, MBA in accountancy, MBA banking and finance, MBA in economics, and MBA in business management. These types of professional degrees are specifically for management positions and do not require in-depth research like the Msc. Again, unlike the Msc, you are not required to hold a specific undergraduate degree to be admitted for an MBA program. It requires longer time to complete than the Master’s program. Apart from the MBA, there are other types of professional degrees at the master’s level such as Master of social work (M.S.W) and Master of Education (M.Ed.).
