Academic Calendar

In academic calendars, the year usually starts in late summer or early fall – in both hemispheres – and it is usually subdivided into 2 to 6 terms of similar length: semesters, quadmesters, trimesters or quarters etc. A school calendar often includes long summer holidays between years and several shorter breaks throughout the year, often between terms and around national holidays, civil or religious. Holidays are mostly free recreational time in primary and secondary education, but in tertiary education, weeks without classes (i.e. lectures, seminars or other courses) are often intended for exams, test preparations, term papers, internships, excursions (field trips) and so on.

Note: There is a table with school lessons per day, week and year

Academic terms vary wildly between and even within countries. One problem of harmonization, among many, is whether the major break, usually summer holidays, is part of a division or stands on its own. Since academic schedules are usually primarily focused on weeks, not months, the international week calendar is used henceforth.

Academic Year

48 Study Weeks

Each calendrical quart of 13 (or 14) weeks contains one complete academic quarter or trimester and at least one holiday week. Free weeks are located where local holidays afford it; they may be split. If possible they should occur as 1st or after the 4th, 8th or 12th week. The trimester is then subdivided into 3 months or modules of 4 (consecutive) weeks each. 4 consecutive months are regrouped as a quadmester. 2 consecutive trimesters form a semester, this may span the year boundary.

Semesters of 6 months are labeled by the season they fully incorporate, i.e., on the Northern hemisphere, a winter semester contains Q4 and Q1 of the following year, spring semester Q1/Q2, summer semester Q2/Q3 and autumn or fall semester Q3/Q4. Trimesters of 3 months take the name from the season they begin in, i.e., again in the North, winter quadmester Q1, spring quadmester Q2, summer quadmester Q3 and autumn or fall quadmester Q4. Quadmesters of 4 months are named by the trimester they contain the major part of, or by the later part if both are equal.

Up to half the terms or months may be reserved for independent study, i.e. no mandatory lectures are held and rooms may be used otherwise (e.g. for exams or conferences). For winter and summer semesters, it’s customary to assign the final 2 months to such use (Feb+Mar, Aug+Sep), but for fall and spring semesters, it’s often the initial 2 months instead (Jul+Aug, Jan+Feb) – there’re just 32 weeks of classes then in both cases. No exams are held in break weeks.

Twelve 4-week blocks (months): quadmesters, semesters or trimesters (Northern hemisphere)

Period	Weeks	Description	Quart	Season	Trimester	Semester		Quadmester
W40/43	4	October	Q4	Fall	Fall, Michaelmas	Winter	Fall	Fall	Summer	Fall	Fall
W44/47	4	November							Winter
W48/51	4	December								Winter
W52/53	1–2	Christmas		Winter	break		break				break
W01/04	4	January	Q1		Winter, Hilary		Spring				Winter
W05/08	4	February						Spring
W09/12	4	March							Spring
W13	1	Easter		Spring	break	break				break
W14/17	4	April	Q2		Spring, Easter	Summer				Spring
W18/21	4	May									Summer
W22/25	4	June						Summer
W26	1	Pentecost		Summer	break		break		break
W27/30	4	July	Q3		Summer, Trinity		Fall		Summer
W31/34	4	August								Fall
W35/38	4	September									Fall
W39	1	Michaelmas		Fall	break	break		break

45 Study Weeks

The major Christian holiday of Easter (including Good Friday) actually falls in weeks W13–W17 and rarely W18, with the Monday of the week after that also being conisdered a holiday in many countries. The nominal date of “Easter break” at W11 in an academic calendar with 5 basic blocks of 9 continuous weeks each therefore probably would have to be adaptable into the “Spring term” in practice.

Five 9-week blocks: terms (Northern hemisphere)

Period	Weeks	Term / Break	Weeks	Semester
W33/41	9	Fall term	19	Fall semester
W42	1	Fall break
W43/51	9	Holiday term
W52/01	2–3	Christmas holiday
W02/10	9	Winter term	19	Spring semester
W11	1	Easter break
W12/20	9	Spring term
W21	1	Spring break	12 (7+5)	Summer
W22/30	9	Summer term
W31/32	2	Summer holiday

With 9 blocks of 5 weeks each, a collective term of 3 such blocks, i.e. 15 weeks, is between 3 and 4 months or ¼ and ⅓ year long, so it could reasonably be called either trimester or quadmester – or triterm.

Nine 5-week blocks: terms or trimesters (Northern hemisphere)

Period	Weeks	Term / Break	Weeks	Trimester	Weeks	Semester
W37/41	5	term 1	15	Fall trimester	22–23	Winter semester
W42/46	5	term 2
W47/51	5	term 3
W52/01	2–3	Christmas holiday
W02/06	5	term 4	15	Spring trimester
W07/11	5	term 5			5	Spring break
W12/16	5	term 6			22	Summer semester
W17/18	2	Spring holiday
W19/23	5	term 7	15	Summer trimester
W24/28	5	term 8
W29/33	5	term 9
W34/36	3	Summer holiday

42 Study Weeks

In about 40% of years, the “Easter holiday” of an academic calendar with 6 constituent blocks of 7 weeks each in W16 and W17 actually covers the current Western Christian date of Easter; otherwise it’s usually 1 to 3 weeks earlier, i.e. somewhere near the end of “Winter term 2” and “Winter trimester”.

The “trimesters” in this variant are of equal overall length, i.e. 15 weeks, as with 9 blocks of 5 weeks each (i.e. 45 study weeks), but they include a variable week-long break and are all offset by 1 week: W36–W50 vs. W37–W51, W01–W15 vs. W02–W16 and W18–W32 vs. W19–W33.

Six 7-week blocks: hexamesters, trimesters or semester (Northern hemisphere)

Period	Weeks	Term / Break	Weeks	Trimester	Weeks	Semester
W36/42	7	Fall term 1	15 (14+1)	Fall trimester	24–25 (21+3∨4)	Fall semester
W43	1	Fall half term break
W44/50	7	Fall term 2
W51/53	2–3	Christmas holiday
W01/07	7	Winter term 1	15 (14+1)	Winter trimester
W08	1	Winter half term break			1	Winter holiday
W09/15	7	Winter term 2			24 (21+3)	Spring semester
W16/17	2	Easter holiday
W18/24	7	Spring term 1	15 (14+1)	Spring trimester
W25	1	Spring half term break
W26/32	7	Spring term 2
W33/35	3	Summer holiday

With 7 constituent blocks of 6 weeks each, the resulting “Winter semester” (16 or 17 weeks) is considerably longer than the “Summer semester” (14 weeks). Its roughly 3-month trimesters are all exactly 13 weeks on the other hand. Its “Easter break” in weeks W14 and W15 covers the date of Catholic Easter in almost 50% of the years, but may be 1 week earlier or up to 3 weeks later in other years – “Pentecost term” and “Carnival term” are likewise only close to their actual dates.

Seven 6-week blocks: terms, trimesters or semesters (Northern hemisphere)

Period	Weeks	Term / Break	Weeks	Trimester	Weeks	Semester
W38/43	6	Fall term	13	Fall, Michaelmas	6	Fall break
W44	1	Halloween break			16–17	Winter
W45/50	6	Holiday term
W51/53	2–3	Christmas break
W01/06	6	Winter term	13	Winter, Epiphany/Hilary
W07	1	Carnival break
W08/13	6	Lent term			8	Winter exams
W14/15	2	Easter break				Spring break
W16/21	6	Pentecost term	13	Spring, Trinity	14	Summer
W22	1	Ascension break
W23/28	6	Spring term
W29	1	National break	9	Summer break
W30/35	6	Summer term			8	Summer exams
W36/37	2	Year break				Fall break

40 Study Weeks

Ten weeks are always less than 3 months or ¼ year (but also more than 2 months), so it’s not really appropriate to call it a trimester.

Four 10-week blocks: trimesters with guaranteed Easter break

Period	Weeks	Trimester / Break
W40/41	2	Fall break
W42/51	10	Fall term
W52/01	2–3	Christmas break
W02/11	10	Winter term
W12/18	7	Easter holidays
W19/28	10	Spring term
W29	1	Summer break
W30/39	10	Summer term

The summer term is optionally free of lectures, then this is a 30-week plan that would probably start the academic year in W40 or W42 with “Fall break” or “Fall term”, respectively.

36 Study Weeks

There are several useful patterns to spread 3 trimesters of exactly 12 study weeks with intervening breaks each across the year, two are shown here. The first has a convetional longer summer holiday, the second almost guarantees (over 99% of years) to cover Catholic Easter with the respective break and all 3 breaks are 5 or 6 weeks long exactly.

Three 12-week blocks: trimesters (Northern hemisphere)

Period	Weeks	Trimester / Break
W38/49	12	Fall trimester
W50/53	3–4	Christmas break
W01/12	12	Winter trimester
W13/15	3	Easter break
W16/27	12	Spring trimester
W29/37	9	Summer break

Three 12-week blocks: trimesters with guaranteed Easter break

Period	Weeks	Trimester / Break
W36/47	12	Fall trimester
W48/53	5–6	Christmas break
W01/12	12	Winter trimester
W13/17	5	Easter break
W18/29	12	Spring trimester
W30/35	6	Summer break

Holidays

Traditional English term names

Name	Fix date		Third, Quadmester	Quarter, Trimester
Michaelmas term	29 September	W39-3 thru W40-3	1st	4th
Hilary term	14 January	W02-4 thru W03-3	2nd	1st
Epiphany term	6 January	W01-3 thru W02-2	2nd	—
Lent term	6 weeks before Easter, usually in February	W06 thru W11	2nd	—
Easter term	variable date in March or April	W12 thru W17	3rd	2nd
Trinity term	8 weeks after Easter, in May or June	W20 thru W25	3rd	3rd
Summer term	21 June	W25-1 thru W26-1	3rd	(2nd/2 etc.)

Week days of some popular holidays

Dom.	Frequency	*-01-01	*-01-06	*-02-14	*-05-01	*-11-01	*-12-25
C	43 ⇒ 10¾%	W53-5	W01-3	W06-7	W17-6	W44-1	W51-6
CB	15 ⇒ 3¾%				W17-7	W44-2	W51-7
B*	13 ⇒ 3¼%	W53-6	W01-4	W07-1
B	30 ⇒ 7½%	W52-6
BA	13 ⇒ 3¼%				W18-1	W44-3	W52-1
A	43 ⇒ 10¾%	W52-7	W01-5	W07-2
AG	15 ⇒ 3¾%				W18-2	W44-4	W52-2
G	43 ⇒ 10¾%	W01-1	W01-6	W07-3
GF	13 ⇒ 3¼%				W18-3	W44-5	W52-3
F	44 ⇒ 11%	W01-2	W01-7	W07-4
FE	14 ⇒ 3½%				W18-4	W44-6	W52-4
E	43 ⇒ 10¾%	W01-3	W02-1	W07-5
ED	14 ⇒ 3½%				W18-5	W44-7	W52-5
D	44 ⇒ 11%	W01-4	W02-2	W07-6
DC	13 ⇒ 3¼%				W18-6	W45-1	W52-6

Week days of some national holidays, dow of original date highlighted

Dom.	Frequency	US	France	Germany
		1776-07-04	1789-07-14	1990-10-03
C	43 ⇒ 10¾%	W26-7	W28-3	W39-7
CB	15 ⇒ 3¾%	W27-1	W28-4	W40-1
B*	13 ⇒ 3¼%
B	30 ⇒ 7½%
BA	13 ⇒ 3¼%	W27-2	W28-5	W40-2
A	43 ⇒ 10¾%
AG	15 ⇒ 3¾%	W27-3	W28-6	W40-3
G	43 ⇒ 10¾%
GF	13 ⇒ 3¼%	W27-4	W28-7	W40-4
F	44 ⇒ 11%
FE	14 ⇒ 3½%	W27-5	W29-1	W40-5
E	43 ⇒ 10¾%
ED	14 ⇒ 3½%	W27-6	W29-2	W40-6
D	44 ⇒ 11%
DC	13 ⇒ 3¼%	W27-7	W29-3	W40-7

If Christmas Day, 25 December, is in week 51 it is always either on a Saturday or Sunday, hence week 52 can safely be assigned a holiday week at the end of the year. (In jurisdictions where christmas matters, that is of course.) If the first week of the year is also a holiday, 1 and 6 January are almost always included, too.

Probabilities for the weeks of Catholic holidays dependent on Easter

Week Name	12.1%	23.5%	23.2%	23.3%	17.6%	0.3%
Fat	W05	W06	W07	W08	W09	W10
Carnival	W06	W07	W08	W09	W10	W11
…	…
Passa	W11	W12	W13	W14	W15	W16
Holy	W12	W13	W14	W15	W16	W17
Easter	W13	W14	W15	W16	W17	W18
…	…
Ascension	W18	W19	W20	W21	W22	W23
Whit	W19	W20	W21	W22	W23	W24
Pentecost	W20	W21	W22	W23	W24	W25
Corpus	W21	W22	W23	W24	W25	W26
Heart	W22	W23	W24	W25	W26	W27

North-American holidays defined by week

Holiday		Definition	Primary date		Secondary date
USA	Canada
ML King Day	—	3rd Mon / Jan	W04-1	57%	W03-1
Presidents Day	Family Day	3rd Mon / Feb	W08-1	86%	W07-1
Mothers’ Day		2nd Sun / May	W19-7	64%	W18-7
—	Victoria Day	Mon < May 25	W21-1	96%	W22-1
Memorial Day	—	Last Mon / May	W22-1	96%	W23-1
Fathers’ Day		2rd Sun / Jun	W24-7	82%	W25-7
—	Civic Holiday	1st Mon / Aug	W32-1	75%	W31-1
Labor Day		1st Mon / Sep	W36-1	82%	W37-1
Columbus Day	Thanksgiving	2nd Mon / Oct	W41-1	54%	W42-1
Election Day	—	1st Tue > 1st Mon / Nov	W45-2	96%	W44-2
Thanksgiving	—	4th Thr / Nov	W47-4	53%	W48-4

Academic Day Schedule

Thirteen 1-hour lessons timetable (with three lunch groups)

Name	Period	Duration
Breakfast	07:15–08:00	00:45
1	08:00–08:45	00:45
	08:45–09:00	00:15
2	09:00–09:45	00:45
	09:45–10:00	00:15
3	10:00–10:45	00:45
	10:45–11:00	00:15
4	11:00–11:45	00:45
Early lunch	11:45–12:00	00:15	11:45–12:30	00:45
5	12:00–12:45	00:45	12:30–13:15	00:45
Lunch	12:45–13:30	00:45	13:15–13:30	00:15	12:45–13:00	00:15
6	13:30–14:15	00:45			13:00–13:45	00:45
Late lunch	14:15–14:30	00:15			13:45–14:30	00:45
7	14:30–15:15	00:45
	15:15–15:30	00:15
8	15:30–16:15	00:45
	16:15-16:30	00:15
9	16:30–17:15	00:45
	17:15-17:30	00:15
10	17:30–18:15	00:45
Dinner	18:15-19:00	00:45
11	19:00–19:45	00:45
	19:45-20:00	00:15
12	20:00–20:45	00:45
	20:45-21:00	00:15
13	21:00–21:45	00:45
Night	21:45–07:15	09:30

Primary and Secondary Education

Credit points and hours in secondary education

Period		credit points		hours		weeks
		ECTS	CATS	min	max	26⅔h	30h
	school	320	640	8000	9600	336	288
degree	license	320	640	8000	9600	336	288
	year	40	80	1000	1200	42	36
term	semester	20	40	500	600	21	18
	quadmester	13⅓	26⅔	333	400	14	12
	trimester	10	20	250	300	10½	9
unit	course	6	12	150	180	7	6
	module	3	6	75	90	3½	3
	block	2	4	50	60	2⅓	2
	credit point	1	2	25	30	1⅙	1

Credit points and hours in primary education

Period		credit points		hours		weeks
		ECTS	CATS	min	max	20h	23h
	year	30	60	750	900	42	36
term	semester	15	30	375	450	21	18
	quadmester	10	20	250	300	14	12
	trimester	7½	15	190	225	10½	9
	bimester	5	10	125	150	7	6
unit	course	4½–5	9–10	120	150	7	6
	module	2½	5	60	75	3½	3
	block	1½	3	40	50	2⅓	2
	credit point	1	2	25	30	1⅓	1¼

The amount of expected work in secondary education is two thirds and in primary education half that of tertiary education, but the value of credit points is the same, therefore pupils earn either 40 or 30 ECTS points per year instead of 60. As a rule of thumb, in ISCED level 1, a pupil is expected to have a ratio of roughly 3:1 attendance to preparation, in level 2 it is 2:1, in level 3 and 4 it is 1:1, in level 5a 1:2, in level 5b rather 1:3 and in level 6 at least 1:4.

Every child in the world is entitled to a basic education, which covers literacy and calculus, of at least 4 years free of charge. If this ISCED level 1 education ends after 4 years, the school type is called Primary School, whereas Elementary School lasts for 6 years and may be subdivided in equal parts into Junior and Senior years. Primary School may be followed by a 2-year Middle School. Consecutive options are then the same.

Every developed country must offer all of its youth a place in secondary education and even require them to attend school for an overall of 10 years. It should do so at no extra cost for the parents. Secondary education should include mandatory lessons in at least one non-native language. Whether secondary education begins at year 5 or 7 and whether or how pupils are separated by performance levels, is up to local governance.

Schools directly following Primary School (Aspirance) include the Gymnasium, Lyceum (both with special admission requirements) and High School, which all commonly lead to tertiary education (level 5a) qualification with Abitur, Matriculation and License, respectively. Only High School is subdivided into Junior and Senior years, where the first part may end with Graduation as it ends at the same stage as Grade School. Regular School, on the other hand, ends after 6 more years with Commendation and may be followed by 2-year Upper School (Matura) or any of Military, Career, Vocational, Trade and Preparatory School.

After Elementary or Middle School (i.e. Candidature or Transition), a 4-year Secondary School (Diploma) or a 2×3-year Grammar School (Baccalaureate or simply Laureate) follows, where a secondary language is mandatory.

Less frequent school types are the 2-part Comprehensive School of 10 years (first degree Warrant, second degree Qualification) and first-level schools that start later and hence are prepended not by Nursery School, but Infant School, First School or Preschool which also award Admission at the end. They are usually followed by alternative primary education schools: either 3-year Lower School, which ends with Aspirancy like Primary School and later usually leads to Regular and Upper School, or 2×3-year Grade School, where Senior Grade School ends up much like Junior High School.

After 12 years of primary and secondary education a pupil may attend level-4 Postschool in preparation for tertiary education degrees.

Schools and Degrees in Primary and Secondary Education

0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
Play, Nursery School	Fundamental School					Structural School
	Junior					Senior					Career School
	Comprehensive School										Military School
	Basic School			Main School			Advanced School			Sophistic School
	Junior			Senior			Junior			Senior
	Elementary School						Grammar School
	Junior		Senior		Middle School		Junior		Senior		Vocational School
							Secondary School				Preparatory School
					Junior			Senior			Trade School
	Primary School				Regular School						Examination School
					Sexta	Quinta	Quarta	Tertia	Secunda		Prima
					Gymnasium
					Lower-Level			Mid-Level			Higher-Level
					Lyceum
					Intermediary School				Upper School				Study School
					Junior				Senior				Post school
Infant School		Lower School											Pre-College
First School / Preschool			Junior			Senior			High School
			Grade School
0	ISCED 1				ISCED 2						3		4
Admission	Warrant					Qualification					Certificate
	Initiation			Confirmation			Affirmation			Ordination
	Candidature						(Bacca-)Laureate, Award
	Aspirance				Transition		Diploma				Matura
					Commendation
					Abitur
					Matriculation
					Graduation				License

Tertiary and Later Education

Credit points and hours in tertiary education

Period		credit points		hours		weeks
		ECTS	CATS	min	max	35h	37½h	40h	45h
study		300	600	7500	9000	240	225	210	180
degree	bachelor	240	480	6000	7200	192	180	168	144
		220	440	5500	6600	176	165	154	132
		210	420	5250	6300	168	157½	147	126
		200	400	5000	6000	160	150	140	120
		180	360	4500	5400	144	135	126	108
	master	120	240	3000	3600	96	90	84	72
		100	200	2500	3000	80	75	70	60
		90	180	2250	2700	72	67½	63	54
		80	160	2000	2400	64	60	56	48
		60	120	1500	1800	48	45	42	36
year		60	120	1500	1800	48	45	42	36
term	semester	30	60	750	900	24	22½	21	18
	quadmester	20	40	500	600	16	15	14	12
	trimester	15	30	375	450	12	11¼	10½	9
	bimester	10	20	250	300	8	7½	7	6
month		5	10	125	150	4	3–4	3–4	3
unit	course	9–10	20	225	300	8	7½	7	6
	module	5	10	125	150	4	3¾	3½	3
	block	3	5–6	75	90	2⅔	2½	2⅓	2
credit point		1	2	25	30	⅘	¾	¾	½

We will specify a default system that works well with International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) and European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System(ECTS) requirements, where 1 credit point (CP) accounts for 25 to 30 hours of work. This works out reasonably well with 42, 45 or 48 study weeks per year, not all of which will require attendance of lectures. It would of course also be possible to use 49 (= 7 × 7), 44 (= 4 × 11), 40 (= 4 × 10) or 39 (= 3 × 13 weeks/term) study weeks per year. A student will usually first earn a Bachelor degree, potentially followed by a Master degree and finally an academic Doctor degree. There are several kinds of bachelors, masters and doctors, though, and even preliminary degrees.

The most common kind of bachelor is a Honors or Honours Degree (BHon) which takes three years of study and a final thesis. An extra semester is requried for a Research Degree (BRes) and the maximum of four years may lead towards a Letters Degree (BLitt). All of these may be followed by a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) study programme usually lasting for as long as it takes to make a consecutive programme five years in total. An intermediary study of one year is possible, too, and awards either a Bachelor of Letters (BLitt) or a Master of Research (MRes) degree. After achieving a MPhil, a graduate may choose or may be requried to enrole in a Master of Letters (MLitt) study before starting doctoral studies.

If a student first receives a Certificate after one year, an Associate Degree after three semesters or four to five trimesters, a Foundation Degree after two years or a Pass Degree after five semesters or seven to eight trimesters, they must add another short degree including a thesis, often a Bachelor of Research (BRes), in order to get accepted into master programmes. Even then, they may be restricted to certain kinds of masters, especially the Master of Research, which may be suceeded by a Master of Philosophy and finally a Master of Letters or a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil). A Doctor of Science (DSci) usually requires at least a MPhil degree or even a MLitt, a MRes will not suffice.

Bachelors of Honors and Masters of Philosphy in most fields are labeled with a more specialised degree: Bachelor and Master of Arts (BArt, MArt) in the humanities, Bachelor and Master of Engineering (BEng, MEng) in the applied sciences, Bachelor and Master of Science (BSci, MSci) in the sciences, Bachelor and Master of Education (BEdu, MEdu) in teaching.

The Bachelor of Muse (BMus) in the liberal arts usually takes four years, hence is a Bachelor of Letters degree. It is followed by a one-year or two-year Master of Muse (MMus).

The studies of laws and medicine are unusual in that a Bachelor of Laws or Medicine (BLaw, BMed) takes three years as is the default, but the consecutive Master of Laws or Medicine (MLaw, MMed) also lasts three years, but the succeeding studies for a Doctor of Laws or Medicine (DLaw, DMed) degree take not as long as elsewhere.

Only Universities may offer study programmes at all levels. Colleges, sometimes split into Junior College and Senior College, are limited to bachelor degrees, but may also offer preparation courses. They may coopereate with a Doctoral College which offers matching master and doctor programmes. The strictest division is in Undergraduate, Graduate and Postgraduate Schools, which offer bachelor, master and doctor programmes, respectively. Preparatory Schools may not reward formal degrees that include a thesis, whereas Academies will only offer programmes concluding with a thesis. Vocational Schools focus on study on or close to the job and may be amended by Professional Schools which award bachelor and master degrees.

Tertiary and Quartary Education

Secondary		Tertiary										Quartary										Type
0		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10
0		30	60	90	120	150	180	210	240	270	300	330	360	390	420	450	480	510	540	570	600
License*		Certificate*		Foundation Degree*				MRes				MPhil		Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil)								1+2+2
								MRes		MPhil		Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil)										1+2+1+1
		Associate Degree*			Candidate Degree* (BPhil)			Master of Philosophy (MPhil)														1½+1½+2
		Foundation Degree*				BRes						Master of Letters (MLitt)				Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil)						2+1+2
		Pass Degree*					BRes															2½+½+2
		Bachelor (BArt, BSci, BEng, BEdu, BHum)						Master (MArt, …)				Doctor(ate) (Dr)										3+2
		Magister of Arts (Mag), Diploma Degree (Dipl)										Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), Doctor of Science (DSci)										5
		Research Degree (BRes)							MPhil													3½+1½
		Honors Degree* (BHon)						MPhil														3+2
								BLitt		MPhil												3+1+1
								MRes														3+1+1
		Bachelor of Letters (BLitt)																				4+1
										Master of Letters				Doctor of Science (DSci)								4(+2)
										MPhil		Master of Letters (MLitt)			Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil)							4+1
		Certificate*		Honors Degree* (BHon)																		1+3+1
		Foundation Degree*				BRes																2+2+1
		Bachelor of Laws* (BJur)						Master of Laws* (MJur)						practice		Doctor of Laws (DJur)						3+3
		Bachelor of Medicine* (BMed)						Master of Medicine* (MMed)								Doctor of Medicine (DMed)
ISCED 4		ISCED 5a						ISCED 5b				ISCED 6
—		Application School (Engineering / Education / Art / Music / Drama / Administration / Business / Ministry School)										—
		Conservatory														Elite School
		Undergrad(uate) School						Grad(uate) School								Postgrad(uate) School
		Medical College, Law College						Med(ical) School, Law School
		University
Prep(aratory) School						Academy
Junior						Senior				Doctoral College
College
Trade School						Craft School						Expert(ise) School				Guild
Vocational School				Proficiency School
				Professional School

• * lectures and exams only, without thesis or just optional

Sources

• Taxonomy of schools
• Academic term