Undergraduate Degree Requirements Explained

Thinking about earning a college degree but unsure where to begin? A good first step is learning the main types of degrees and the opportunities each one can open. Different degrees set you up for different career paths. For example, you can’t become a licensed clinical therapist with only a bachelor’s degree - you’d need at least a master’s degree, too. Similarly, many business and engineering positions call for a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. Higher degrees generally come with higher earning potential and lower unemployment rates.

What are the Degree Types?

There are many types of degrees you can earn in college. College degree levels can be broken down into two categories: undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees. Within these, there are four primary degree levels: associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral. Each one offers different academic paths and career opportunities.

Here are the college degrees in order from lowest ranking to highest:

Associate degree (undergraduate)
Bachelor’s degree (undergraduate)
Master’s degree (graduate)
Doctoral degree (graduate)

While a doctorate is the highest education level, some fields may stop at a master’s. The phrase “terminal degree” refers to the highest degree in a field.

Associate Degrees

An associate degree is a two-year undergraduate program that gives you foundational knowledge and skills in a specific field. While these degrees offer fewer opportunities than bachelor’s degrees, they can qualify you for some entry-level positions, particularly in healthcare. Many people choose to earn their associate at a community college.

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Typical Program Length: 1-2 years

Typical Number of Credits: 60

An associate degree can also serve as the foundation for a bachelor’s program. You may even be able to transfer some of the credits you earned for your associate degree toward a four-year degree. Some associate degrees require you to complete an internship or practicum in addition to taking classes. This is particularly common among healthcare and tech degrees. To apply for an associate degree program, you’ll need a high school diploma or equivalent, like a GED certificate. Some schools may require you to submit standardized test scores, such as ACT or SAT scores, as well.

An associate degree prepares you for vocational, allied health, and support roles. For example, you can become a medical assistant, paralegal, or vet tech with an associate degree.

Colleges can offer three kinds of associate degrees:

Associate of Arts (AA)
Associate of Science (AS)
Associate of Applied Science (AAS)

Arts, humanities, and creative fields typically offer an AA, whereas social sciences and natural sciences often award an AS. Many applied and vocational programs offer an AAS degree. The type of degree matters if you’re planning to transfer into a bachelor’s program. Colleges normally offer fewer transfer credits for an AAS degree.

Popular Associate Degrees:

Accounting
Business Administration
Business Management
Computer Science
Criminal Justice
Cybersecurity
Early Childhood Education
Education
Graphic Design
Healthcare Management
Information Technology
Marketing
Medical Assisting
Medical Billing and Coding
Pre-Nursing
Psychology
Social Work

Bachelor’s Degrees

A bachelor’s degree is a four-year undergraduate degree offered by colleges and universities. You’ll complete general education courses along with classes in your chosen major. You can also add a minor, which is a secondary area of study. Bachelor’s degrees are widely seen as essential for many professional careers.

Typical Program Length: 4 years

Typical Number of Credits: 120

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A bachelor’s degree program prepares you for many career paths. You’ll generally spend four years earning a bachelor’s degree at a college or university. You’ll take general education classes, electives, and upper-level courses in your major, providing you with a well-rounded academic foundation. For admission to a bachelor’s degree program, you’ll need a high school diploma for admission, and you may also need to submit SAT or ACT scores.

In diverse industries like business, tech, and education, a bachelor’s degree can prepare you for many entry-level careers. Some of the highest-paying jobs with a bachelor’s degree include roles in finance, management, and tech. Graduates with a four-year degree can also benefit from the high demand that many well-paying fields see, like software development and engineering.

There are many types of bachelor’s degrees you can earn, depending on what your major is and what your school offers. Some of the most common types of bachelor’s degrees you’ll see include:

Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Bachelor of Applied Arts (BAA)
Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS)
Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.)
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

The two most popular degrees are a BA and a BS. These degrees cover all arts and sciences majors and some education and engineering degrees.

Popular Bachelor’s Degrees:

Business Administration
Business Management
Civil Engineering
Communication
Computer Programming
Computer Science
Counseling
Criminal Justice
Education
English
Film
Finance
Graphic Design
Health Informatics
Health Sciences
History
Human Resources
Information Technology
Marketing
Mathematics
Nursing
Organizational Psychology
Political Science
Public Policy
Social Work
Supply Chain and Logistics

General Education Requirements

Harvard’s Program in General Education provides a broad foundation that enables students to make meaningful connections across disciplines. The distribution requirement exposes students to the diversity of scholarly disciplines at Harvard. The QRD requirement introduces students to mathematical, statistical, and computational methods that will enable students to think critically about data as it is employed in fields of inquiry across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The writing requirement is a one-semester course offered by the Harvard College Writing Program that focuses on analytic composition and revision.

Language Requirements

Degree candidates must meet a language requirement in a language other than English that is taught at Harvard or for which an appropriate examination can be given. If after the second term of study a student has not met the language requirement, an advising hold will be placed on their record in my.harvard during each registration period until the language requirement has been met.

Declaring a Concentration

Students must declare a concentration in their third term at Harvard. The Harvard College Curriculum lays out the requirements that you need to fulfill in order to complete your program of study. Declaring a concentration is required while secondary fields are optional to study. The Exploring Fields of Study program takes place every Spring semester and provides first-year students with the opportunity to explore concentrations and secondaries through events hosted by concentrations and secondaries.

Additional Options

In addition to a concentration, students may complete one of the 49 secondary fields of study. Study of a foreign language to an advanced level at Harvard may be acknowledged by a language citation.

Credit Requirements

Of the 128 credits required to graduate, 84 must be taken for a letter-grade. Of the 128 credits, students must pass (with a letter graded C- or higher) at least 84 credits (96 credits for a degree with honors) to receive the degree awarded by the FAS. Beginning with the Class of 2029, all four General Education courses (Aesthetics & Culture; Ethics & Civics; Histories, Societies, Individuals; and Science & Technology in Society) must be letter-graded.

Academic Planning

Academic planning also involves introspection, goal-setting, and the careful selection of courses, activities, and co-curricular opportunities. If you want to speak to an advisor in the Advising Programs Office, advisors on our staff are happy to connect with you via drop-in advising. We are available to chat about anything-course selection and registration, concentration exploration, curricular requirements or academic policy, and more!

The Literacies, Disciplines and Engagements

The Literacies help you master vital skills and expand your capacity to understand and engage the world even more deeply. The Disciplines allow you to explore the different scholarly practices and disciplinary thinking manifest throughout the Arts & Sciences. Engagement courses meet for 7 weeks. Students in the Engagements Pathway must enroll in four EGMT classes in their first year. Students may not enroll in more than 2 Engagement courses (4 credits) in a given semester. In practice, this means students will enroll in two Engagement courses in the Fall and two Engagement courses in the Spring. Students in the College Curriculum must also complete the Literacies - three sets of courses with variable credit.

While the Engagements cultivate mindsets that are fundamental to learning in the Liberal Arts, the Literacies equip students with the necessary skills needed to succeed in a rapidly-transforming world. The Disciplines ask students in the New College Curriculum to explore the varied ways our faculty approach knowledge, learning, and discovery. Students in the College Curriculum must earn 3 credits in each of the seven Discipline categories. Courses taken to fulfill major requirements may count towards the Disciplines. Students enrolled in a Bachelor of Science degree may double-count one course (3 credits) towards fulfilling two of the following three categories: Cultures and Societies of the World, Historical Perspectives, Social and Economic Systems. The course in question must be listed in both categories for which it will count. External credit earned before your first semester at UVA may fulfill some College Curriculum requirements.

Additional Considerations for Undergraduate Degrees

All students typically take 16 credits each term (four courses, four credits per course). In the fall term, first-year students ordinarily take exactly 16 credits (four courses, four credits per course).
First-year students are discouraged from cross-registering for courses at other Harvard schools in the first term so that they may fully engage with the curriculum in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
The Student Handbook is the primary source for all campus policies and regulations, including academic requirements for graduation.

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