Bachelor of Philosophy
The B.Phil.'s earliest form is as a University of Oxford graduate degree, first awarded in 1682. Originally, Oxford named its pre-doctoral graduate degrees the Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil.) (a two-year degree, partly taught and partly by research) and the Bachelor of Letters (B.Litt.) (a two-year research degree). After complaints, especially from overseas students, that this naming convention often meant that graduate degrees were not being recognised as such, the University renamed them Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Master of Letters (M.Litt.). However, the Philosophy Faculty (then a Sub-Faculty) argued that its B.Phil. degree had become so well known and respected in the philosophical world that it would be confusing to change the name. In philosophy, therefore, the degree continues to be called the B.Phil. Those who pass the degree are given the choice of taking a B.Phil. or an M.Phil.; few if any choose the latter. (Note that Oxford also offers a number of other graduate degrees labeled as baccalaureate degrees: the law faculty's BCL; and the music faculty's B.Mus)
Bachelor's degree
In Bangladesh, universities and colleges award three- and four-year degrees (three-year degrees courses are called pass courses and four-year degree courses are called honours courses) in science and business (B.Sc., B.B.S., B.B.A., , etc.) and three- and four-year degrees in arts (B.A., B.S.S., etc.). Engineering universities provide four-year degree programs for bachelor's degree courses of study (B.Sc. in Eng and B.Sc.). Medical colleges have five-year degree programmes (MBBS, BDS). In law education there is a two-year LL.B. degree after completing three years in a B.A. program for a total of five years of study. There is also a four-year LL.B. honours degree. The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) and Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm.) are professional degrees awarded to students who complete a five-year course of study in the field at some universities. All of these programs begin after achieving the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC—in total 12 years of school education).