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
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.