Type of Degrees available at University & HE

There are many degrees and degree types on offer at university and further education so we thought it would be helpful to give you a quick summary of what all of those letters after your name will actually stand for.

The most common abbreviations:

• BSc (also known as SB ScB) – Bachelor of Science
• BA (also known as AB) – Bachelor of Arts

The above 2 are the most common degrees awarded in the UK.

• MA – Master of arts (postgraduate level course)
• MSc – Master of science (postgraduate level course)
• BA Econ (also known as BS, BEc, BSc(Econ), BEconSc) – Bachelor of Economics
• BEng (also known as BAI, BE, BSE, Bing, BESc, BASc, BTech, BSc(Eng)) – Bachelor of Engineering
• M.Eng – Masters of Engineering. This is actually an award for non postgraduate study and is the highest award for such in the UK
• MBA – Masters of Business Administration
• M.Ed (also known as MAEd or Ed.M) – Master of Education
• BM BS – Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. These are the two degrees awarded upon graduation of medical school, they are usually treated as one degree. Also known as (MB BChir, BM BCh , MB BCh, MB ChB, MB BS etc)
• Ph.D (or PhD) – Doctor of Philosophy. This has become the highest degree one can earn and is a postgraduate level degree

UK Degree Classifications

For a breakdown of degree classification awards, see our page on degree classification.