Undergraduate degree
In the United Kingdom, a bachelor's degree is the most common type of "undergraduate degree". Some master's degrees can be undertaken immediately after finishing secondary education; however, these courses are usually extended versions of bachelor's degree programs, taking an additional year to complete. Most bachelor's degrees take three years to complete, with some notable exceptions, such as Medicine taking five years. Often students can initially enroll in a 4-year program then leave after three years and be awarded a bachelor's degree.
Bachelor's degree
Up until 2009/2010, the system was split into three categories of degrees. There were the so-called first-cycle degrees: "Diplomado" or "Ingeniero Técnico", with nominal durations varying between three and four years; there were also second-cycle degrees: "Licenciado" or "Ingeniero" with nominal durations varying between four and six years; and finally the third-cycle degrees: "Doctor." The official first-cycle degrees are comparable in terms of duration, scope, and educational outcomes to an Anglo-Saxon bachelor's degree. Meanwhile, the second-cycle degrees are comparable in terms of duration, scope, and educational outcomes to an Anglo-Saxon bachelor's + Master's degrees combination if compared with the Anglo-Saxon system. In this traditional system the access to doctoral studies was granted only to the holders of "Licenciado", "Ingeniero" or "Arquitecto" (second-cycle) degrees, and the "Master" or "Magister" titles were unregulated (so, there coexisted so-called "Master" programs with different durations, from some months to two years, backed by universities or centers without any official recognition) and only the reputation of the program/institution could back them.