What’s the difference between a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree?

Assuming full-time enrollment, a bachelor’s degree is typically a four-year degree program that is earned at the undergraduate level, while a master’s degree is a graduate-level degree that usually takes two years to earn, on average.

The correct way to spell master’s degree is with the apostrophe . The s in master’s indicates a possessive (the degree of a master), not a plural. If you’re speaking of a specific degree, you should capitalize master and avoid creating a possessive: Master of Science. The same rules apply to a bachelor’s degree.

A Master’s Degree is a certification, awarded by an accredited university, recognizing that a person has mastered a well-established and generally-agreed set of knowledge within a specific area . Earning a Master’s typically requires about 40 credit hours of coursework with a minimum grade of 3.0 (or a B).

A master’s degree is an academic qualification granted at the postgraduate level to individuals who have successfully undergone study demonstrating a high level of expertise in a specific field of study or area of professional practice .