Double degree

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A double-degree program, sometimes called a conjoint degree, dual degree, or simultaneous degree program, involves a student working for two different university degrees in parallel, either at the same institution or at different institutions (sometimes in different countries), completing them in less time than it would take to earn them separately. The two degrees might be in the same subject area (especially when the course is split between countries), or in two different subjects. Undergraduate double-degree programs are more common in some countries than others, and are generally found in countries whose higher-education systems follow the British model. Master's double-degree program are more wide-spread. Interest in double-degree programs between member nations has spread in the European Union, as the gaining of qualifications from more than one country is seen as an advantage in the European labor market.

Typically in a double-degree program both of the participating institutions reduce the amount of time required to be spent at each. For example, a joint Master of Business Administration/J.D. typically takes four years rather than the five years it would take to complete each program individually. Common postgraduate double degrees are M.B.A./J.D. degrees, as well as M.B.A. and J.D. degrees combined with M.A. fields such as politics, economics, urban planning, and international relations. Many medical schools also offer joint M.D. degrees with J.D. and M.B.A. programs, as well as with a range of M.A. programs.

Double degrees should not be confused with double-honours, double-major, or joint degrees, nor with the occasional practice of awarding a further qualification with a worked-for (especially research) degree, nor with the awarding of a single degree by multiple institutions. Double majors or dual majors consist of two majors attached to a single degree, as opposed to two separate degrees each with its own field of study.

In Canada, many teacher candidates study simultaneously for a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. These are known as "concurrent-education" programs.

 

3-2 Programs

In the United States, a 3-2 program is a formal double degree undergraduate program run by two separate colleges or universities. In such a program, a student studies for three years at one school followed by two years at the other school. The student is awarded two bachelor's degrees at the end of the five-year period, one from each school, and generally of different types (e.g., a B.A. and a B.S.). Typically the first school is a liberal arts college and the second is a university offering an engineering program.

The term is occasionally applied to a situation wherein a person earns two degrees from separate colleges of the same university. A fifth year of study is usually required in such a case, but the student spends all five years at one institution.

Sample institutions

The following is a short sample of universities (ordered alphabetically) offering double-degree programs, giving an idea of the variety of forms.

• Undergraduate degrees
  • Bard College, USA. Offers a dual-degree program in liberal arts and sciences, spread over 5 years. Unique to this college is the requirement that ALL conservatory students pursue a dual-degree. [www.bard.edu/conservatory]
  • Oberlin College, USA. Offers students a dual-degree program in the liberal arts and sciences. A student can graduate in five years with two bachelor's degrees. Most dual-degrees are between the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Oberlin College. [www.oberlin.edu]
  • Simon Fraser University, Canada. Offers students a dual-degree program offering a course which awards degrees from Simon Fraser and Zhejiang University in China.[1]
  • University of Santo Tomas, Philippines. Offers a "double-degree course that combines subject offerings for a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences, and a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education" PDF file
  • Singapore Management University. "Under the double degree program, a student can graduate in four years with two degrees".[2]
  • University of Stirling, Scotland, offers double degrees in which students work for degrees from Stirling and either Passau or IECS Strasbourg: "The two degrees are awarded simultaneously, when students have completed the requirements of both universities."[3]
  • University of Trento, Italy. Both undergraduate and graduate degrees. "The double degree program is founded on the principle of linkage between two different university systems in Europe [...] The double degree program also offers the student an opportunity to obtain two qualifications – an Italian degree (laurea, which corresponds to the bachelor) or specialist degree (laurea specialistica, which corresponds to the master) and the corresponding degree from the foreign university – and thereby acquire qualifications that facilitate access to the labour market." [4]
  • Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Their Web page gives a very clear explanation of the difference between double degrees and double-major degrees.[5]
  • University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. "Offers a unique joint double degree program that combines Honours Bachelor of Business Administration(WLU) and Honours Bachelor of Mathematics(UW)." [6] [7]
  • University of Wollongong, Australia. "A double degree is defined by the University of Wollongong Course Rules as 'an approved course leading to the conferral of two degrees as separate awards upon a candidate who has complied with the Course Requirements for double degrees and the two individual Course Requirements inclusively'." [8]

• Graduate degrees
  • Columbia Law School, USA. "In 1994, Columbia was the first U.S. Law School to establish a double degree program providing its participants with both a U.S. Juris Doctor and a foreign law degree."