What is aa degree

Keep in mind tuition is separate from other living expenses, like housing and transportation. Private colleges, though, might have more institutional resources to give out as financial aid. In-state vs out-of-state tuition: Public schools may have lower tuition if you're an in-state resident. Online degrees eliminate relocation and transportation costs, and can offer enough flexibility for people who want to work full- or part-time.

Scholarships or financial aid: Financial aid and scholarships are available for many types of schools. High school students typically take standardized tests in their junior or senior year before they start applying to colleges.

Letters of recommendation: These can come from high school teachers who can speak to your good qualities and know you well. A course on essay writing on Coursera or elsewhere can help build your writing skills. Credits are acquired by passing classes for your major and other classes a school might require.

College degrees generally take four years to complete, but can take longer or shorter depending on the program you enroll in and the amount of classes you take each year.

Majoring in subjects like history, English, or communications will generally earn you a BA. A Bachelor of Arts may clear a path to careers that draw on attributes such as human connection and critical thinking—like teaching, human resources, advertising, or government work.

This means science and math degrees are generally categorized as BS degrees, making them good ways to launch a career in science or math-based fields.

You can earn a BS by majoring in subjects like finance , or computer science. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'degree. Send us feedback. See more words from the same century. Accessed 11 Nov. More Definitions for degree. See the full definition for degree in the English Language Learners Dictionary.

Note: Crimes are rated by degrees for the purpose of imposing more severe punishments for more serious crimes. Nglish: Translation of degree for Spanish Speakers.

Britannica English: Translation of degree for Arabic Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Log in Sign Up. Universities want to make sure that you receive a broad education that includes history, government, composition, natural sciences, ethics, and so on. Typically, you spend your first two years in college completing these General Education requirements. I completed all my general education classes like history and math, plus all the classes required in my college major like business law, economics, accounting, and so on.

So, your college major is biology and when you graduate in four years, your college degree will be: Bachelor of Science in Biology. Once you finish all your general education requirements, you get the opportunity to really focus on your college major.

Your college major is usually about 12 classes. Most classes are 3 credit hours, so your college major will be about 36 credit hours. A major is made up of 36 credit hours with a predetermined number of required courses in higher-level courses. These courses are usually numbered in the to range. For example, if your major was biology, the course BIO would be a high-level biology course that would fulfill one of the requirements of your Biology major. There are a wide variety of majors available to study during your undergraduate career, as you can see in this list below of some of the most popular majors.

A major sets the focus and direction of an undergraduate degree, with all the other courses aligning around this core. A degree and a major work hand-in-hand, with the major providing the focus while the degree provides an overarching structure and direction for your undergraduate studies. The admissions office will decide whether to accept your application based on your grades, standardized test scores and extracurricular activities.

Degrees typically provide individuals with a greater depth of knowledge than certificates. Certificate programs usually focus on teaching students specific and practical skills related to that career field. Someone in a radiologic technician certification program, for instance, is only going to learn about diagnostic imaging. Degrees provide a general education in several key subjects and require students to complete a certain number of classes or credits in subjects such as math, English and science.

Degrees include more courses than certificates, which is one of the reasons degrees take longer to earn. Related: Guide: How to Choose a Career. Base your decision to pursue a certificate vs.

When choosing between the two, consider the following questions:. If you simply need to learn the practical skills necessary for a certain job and want to learn them quickly, you might choose to earn a certificate. If you have several years to dedicate to your education, you might pursue a degree. If you are currently working full-time but want to earn a credential to improve your job opportunities and earning potential, you might choose a certificate.

You can continue working in your current position as a veterinary assistant, for instance, while earning your vet assistant certificate from a community college during the evenings or weekends. If you are passionate about styling hair or skilled at fixing HVAC systems, you can get a job faster and with less expense by earning your certificate in that field than by applying for a degree. If you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, however, you will need to earn one or more degrees to get hired.

Whether you pursue a certificate or a degree might depend on your education and career goals.