Academic degree
Doctoral degrees or doctorates, such as the Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD or DPhil) or Doctor of Education (EdD or DEd) are awarded following a programme of original research that contributes new knowledge within the context of the student's discipline. Doctoral degrees usually take three years full-time. Therefore, in the UK it may only take seven years to progress from undergraduate to doctoral level – in some cases six, since having a Master's is not always a precondition for embarking on a doctoral degree. This contrasts with nine years in the United States, reflecting differences in the educational systems.
Bachelor's degree
The Magister degree, a graduate degree, was awarded after five years of study. In 1899, a second graduate degree, the Diplom, was introduced when the "Technische Hochschulen" (TH) received university status. With the introduction of the Universities of Applied Sciences, a shortened version of the latter, referred to as "Diplom (FH)" and designed to take three to four years, was phased in between 1969 and 1972.