Degrees from around the world
In the US educational system, bachelor's degree recipients have 16 years of formal education — 12 years of elementary and secondary education plus four years of post-secondary study — which qualify them for admission to advanced degree programs.
Degrees typically considered equivalent to a US bachelor's degree include the following:
- Bachelor's degrees based on at least 4 years of study from Japan, Korea, People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and Thailand.
- Bachelor's degrees representing 4 or more years of study, such as the B.Eng. or B.Tech. degrees from Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan.
- Honours bachelor's degrees from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and British-Style schools and universities.
- Bakalar, Diplom or Diploma, Inzenýr, Licenta, Magister, or Oklevél from East European states.
- Bakalavr, Inzenýr, Magister, or Specialista requiring a minimum of 4 years of study from former Soviet republics.
- Diplôme, Maîtrise, or a professional title such as the Ingénieur from France or French-style schools and universities.
- Diplom or Magister Artium from Germany.
- Licenciado or Titulo degrees from Central and Latin America, Mexico, Portugal, Spain.
When reviewing academic records from a school outside the US, we assess whether the applicant has reached an academic level equivalent to a US bachelor's degree. Our admissions staff has many years of experience reviewing academic records from different educational systems around the world.
In rare cases when our admissions staff is unable to verify the nature or authenticity of foreign academic documents, the applicant may be asked to provide supplemental information or obtain an evaluation from a foreign credential evaluation service.
In some educational systems, the first university degree may be obtained after three years of post-secondary study. Holders of such degrees may be eligible for graduate admission depending upon several factors, including an evaluation of the degree by Graduate Studies, a recommendation regarding degree equivalence from the Graduate Committee of the UNL program, and the Graduate Committee's evaluation of the application as a whole.
