Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin "baccalaureus") or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin "baccalaureatus") is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to seven years (depending on institution and academic discipline). In some institutions and educational systems, some bachelor's degrees can only be taken as graduate or postgraduate degrees after a first degree has been completed. In countries with qualifications frameworks, bachelor's degrees are normally one of the major levels in the framework (sometimes two levels where non-honours and honours bachelor's degrees are considered separately), although some qualifications titled bachelor's degrees may be at other levels (e.g. MBBS) and some qualifications with non-bachelor's titles may be classified as bachelor's degrees (e.g. the Scottish MA and Canadian MD).
Undergraduate education
In the traditional German system, there is a vocational degree (Diploma FH) that is similar in length, and is also considered an academic degree. Though it is designed as a specialist degree, in contrast to the Diplom degree at "University", which claims to be more generalist. Germany itself, however, is currently abolishing the legal distinction between Fachhochschule and University. They are both translated as university and they both provide bologna-compliant and equivalent postgraduate degrees.