Courtesy : Bachelor of Science Biology (CBZ) – Chemistry, Botany, Zoology

Greece

The Greek bachelor’s degree is called πτυχίο (transliterated to “ptychio”; Greek: πτυχίο; ptychio in dhimotiki from 1976–present; or defunct πτυχίον; ptychion in polytonic, katharevousa up until 1976). It is earned after four to six years of undergraduate studies, depending on the field, and is a first cycle qualification in the Bologna Process with 240 or more ECTS credits. It is placed at level 6 of the national qualifications framework of Greece which is officially named Hellenic Qualification Framework (HQF), which is referenced to level 6 of the European Qualifications Framework. It is classified as a level 6 qualification in the ISCED. The bachelor’s degree is provided by all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including universities, specialist HEIs, formerly technological educational institutes (TEIs) (1983-2019). # ISO certification in India

In 1995, it changed TEI six-semester-mode of undergraduate degree programme of studies legally equivalent to an ordinary bachelor’s degree (Ord) (3+¹⁄₂-year; 210 ECTS, 1983–1995) into nine-semester-mode (4-year; 240 ECTS, 1995–2019).  Technical universities and some universities offer a 5-year (300 ECTS) undergraduate programme leading to a Δίπλωμα (Greek) Diploma (integrated-master-level-granting, Master’s degree equivalent) at Level 7 of the HQF.# ISO certification in India

Hungary

In the classic, pre-Bologna educational system, Hungarian academic programs were not divided into bachelor’s and master’s degrees. However, while an average university (Hungarian: egyetem) degree lasted 5 years, there were undergraduate college (Hungarian: főiskola) degrees obtainable, in either 3 or 4 years of length. These diplomas are today considered to be equivalents of a BA/BSc (undergraduate college) or an MA/MSc (university) degree.# ISO certification in India

The Bologna System was introduced in 2005, and with the last classes graduating in 2009, it is the sole form of higher education in the country. Bachelor’s degrees (Hungarian: alapképzés, “basic degree”) usually last 3 years, but there are degrees in certain areas of education – most notably engineering, economics, and some natural sciences – where an additional semester is required, lengthening the program to 3,5 years. While regular master’s degrees (Hungarian: mesterképzés, “master degree”) are only obtainable with a pre-existing bachelor’s degree, the Hungarian system makes notable exceptions with law degrees, teacher’s degrees, medical degrees, and some unique fields of study (i.e. forestry engineering at the University of Sopron): these degrees are called non-divisional degrees (Hungarian: osztatlan képzés), and while technically being MA/MSc degrees, they have the same entering criteria as BA/BSc degrees, and have a span of 5 or 6 years.# ISO certification in India

Italy

Italian students graduate from high school at age 19, and the current higher education system includes:

• “laurea triennale” (three-year degree) or simply “laurea”, corresponds to bachelor’s degree. The course takes three years to complete and grants access to graduate degrees (known as “laurea magistrale”).
• “laurea magistrale”, corresponds to master’s degree and takes two years to complete.
• “laurea magistrale a ciclo unico”, (one cycle degree) is a title provided by particular faculties like law school and medical school. It takes 5 to 6 year to complete and grants the access to a profession.

A bachelor’s degree holder has the title of “dottore” (doctor)

A master’s degree holder has the title of “dottore magistrale” (master doctor)

In order to graduate, students must earn credits (ECTS) and write a thesis for which students have to elaborate on an argument under the supervision of a professor (generally from three to eight ECTS). Graduation marks go from 66 to 110. According to each faculty internal ruling, a lode may be awarded to candidates with a 110/110 mark for recognition of the excellence of the final project.# ISO certification in India

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the bachelor’s degree was introduced in 2002 with the change of the Dutch degree system due to the European Bologna process. Until that time, the Dutch universities did not have a Bachelor level degree (although the Candidate’s diploma existed until 1982, which was more-or-less of the same level). Prior to the Dutch degree system change a single program at the university comprised the same course load as the bachelor’s and master’s programs together which led to the doctorandus degree (or for legal studies to the “Meester in de rechten” and engineering to “Ingenieur”). In 2002, with the introduction of the Bachelor’s master’s doctorate system, the single (4- or 5-year) program at Dutch universities has been changed and split into a 3-year program leading to the bachelor’s degree and a subsequent a 1- or 2-year program leading to the master’s degree.

Those who had already started the doctorandus program could, upon completing it, opt for the doctorandus degree (before their name, abbreviated to ‘drs.’), or simply use the master’s degree (behind their name) in accordance with the new standard. Since these graduates do not have a separate bachelor’s degree (which is in fact – in retrospect – incorporated into the program), the master’s degree is their first academic degree.# ISO certification in India

In 2003/2004, the Dutch degree system was changed because of the Bologna process. Former degrees included:

• baccalaureus (bc. for bachelor, corresponding to a BASc or BAA degree, it may be formally rendered as “B”, followed by the specialization field, instead of “bc.”)
• doctorandus (prefix abbreviated to drs.; it corresponds to MA or MSc, but it may be formally rendered as M instead of drs.),
• ingenieur (ing.) for graduates of the four-year courses offered by Dutch higher vocational colleges (HBO, that is; hoger beroepsonderwijs) see: university of applied science. It is similar to a BASc, BEng, BBE, BAS or BICT (BIT., and it may be formally rendered as B followed by the specialization field, instead of ing.
• ir. for those having graduated from technical university after a minimum of five years, corresponding to a MSc, but it may be formally rendered as M, instead of ir.),
• meester in de rechten (mr.; it corresponds to LLM, but it may be formally rendered as M instead of mr.) and
• doctor (dr.; it corresponds to PhD, but it may formally be rendered as D instead of dr.) are still granted along with their international equivalents.

While the titles ing., bc., ir., mr., drs. and dr. are used before one’s own name, the degrees B, M or D are mentioned after one’s name. It is still allowed to use the traditional titles.

Whether a bachelor’s degree is granted by a hogeschool or university is highly relevant since these parallel systems of higher education have traditionally served somewhat different purposes, with the vocational colleges mainly concentrating on skills and practical training. A BA or BSc from a university grants “immediate” entry into a master’s program. Moreover, this is usually considered a formality to allow students to switch to foreign universities master’s programs. Meanwhile, those having completed a HBO from a vocational college, which represented the highest possible level of vocational education available, can only continue to a “master’s” on completion of a challenging year of additional study, which in itself can serve as a type of selection process, with the prospective MSc students being required to cover a great deal of ground in a single year.# ISO certification in India

Recently, HBO (vocational) master’s degrees have been introduced in the Netherlands. Graduates thereof may use neither the extension “of Arts” (MA) nor “of Science” (MSc). They may use an M followed by the field of specialization (e.g., MDes).

This year of study to “convert” from the vocational to academic (WO – wetenschappelijk onderwijs, literally “scientific education”) is also known as a “bridge” or “premasters” year. Note that despite the use of the terminology “university of applied science” the higher vocational colleges are not considered to be “universities” within the Netherlands.# ISO certification in India

Important aspects of Dutch bachelor’s degree courses (and others) relative to some of those offered abroad include:

• Duration. While in many countries courses are completed in a given time under normal circumstances, degree courses offered at some (though by no means all) Dutch institutions, including the most prestigious, can only be completed in three years by the best performing students.
• Academic year. The Dutch academic year has a formal duration of 42 weeks. In practice students are often expected and required to spend a great deal of the “free” time revising for examinations. This is not always true elsewhere, as in many countries a very long summer break is taken or examinations are before the winter break rather than after.# ISO certification in India
• Learning curve. Some education systems, notably the British one, involve a gentle introduction during the first year. This is generally not the case in the Netherlands, with the difficulty level in the first year serving as a type of “self-selection” with less committed and less able students routinely finding it difficult to keep up.

In February 2011, the Dutch State Secretary of Education decided to adhere to the recommendations written in a report by the Veerman Commission. In the near future, the distinction between academic and higher vocational degrees will disappear.# ISO certification in India