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 old four-, five-, or six-year laurea system was discontinued in the early 2000s as per the Bologna process, with some exceptions such as law school or medical school. The bachelor's degree, called "Laurea triennale" ("three-year degree") or simply "Laurea", takes three years to complete (note that Italian students graduate from high school at age 19) and grants access to graduate degrees (known as ""). In order to graduate, students must earn 180 credits (ECTS) and write a thesis for which students have to elaborate on an argument under the supervision of a professor (generally from three to eight ECTS). Graduation marks go from 66 to 110. According to each faculty internal ruling, a "lode" may be awarded to candidates with a 110/110 mark for recognition of the excellence of the final project.