University of London

I second that. Also, for most government jobs, they want to see that evaluation.

Abner

 

At a party recently I met someone who works at Duke University, and part of her job is evaluating applicants for a graduate program. She told me that they generally consider a Bachelors from a British university to be equivalent to a Masters from most American universities.

 

I believe this to be true. The reason being is that in the UK the gen ed courses required by most US undergraduate degrees are covered in high school and quantified by exams such as GCEs (usually required for university entrance). A UK undergrad degree often only covers course pertinent to the subject of the degree (e.g. engineering, psychology, chemistry) and to a more advanced level.

 

The University of London and its constituent colleges, being part of the British educational system, may well regard 'accreditation' as a strange and foreign concept! After all, educational institutions in the United Kingdom (and other Commonwealth countries like Canada) can also call themselves a 'university' and thus award academic degrees if they have received a Royal charter. We thus never ask the question as to whether a university is 'accredited' - to be styled 'university' the institution must be (anything else would be illegal). Working the other way, British universities tend to consider whether the overseas university is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, or of one the American regional accrediting agencies.

 

This is the case if the person earned a "first" (first-class honours degree). I can't imagine that an ordinary (or pass) degree would merit the same recognition and would be considered for direct admission into a U.S. doctoral program.

 

Yes, and, although (as I've mentioned already) all British university degrees are, by definition, 'accredited' (otherwise they'd be illegal), it is important to know the university from which they come in order to understand them. Thus, Bachelor of Divinity (BD) is the first (undergraduate) degree in theology in the University of London, whereas the BD at both Oxford and Cambridge is awarded as a significant post-graduate degree, after submission of a doctoral equivalent thesis! Similarly, Master of Arts (MA) at Oxford and Cambridge is the first degree (as it is at the 'ancient' Scottish universities - Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St Andrews), whereas in most other British universities it is a post-graduate degree. We also have the tradition here that one doesn't have a magisterial degree ('masters' in the USA) in a subject unless one already has a bachelor's degree in it. Thus (to take theology again) after one's BA or BSc undergraduate degree, one would go on to theological college ('seminary') to study for a BTh degree (which is equivalent to the American MDiv degree!). Medicine is even more confusing! In the United Kingdom the professional degree for medicine (after which one is entitled, by courtesy, to be styled 'Dr', though without a doctorate) is Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS) - Doctor of Medicine (MD) being a higher doctorate, often superior to a PhD!