Which degree is a 6 year or more university degree awarded to a person at the completion of a graduate study program?

• A. Bachelor's Degree
• B. Master's Degree
• C. Doctoral Degree
• D. Associate Degree

Answer: (B)

Graduate study that stretches six years or more after completing a bachelor’s degree is typically the doctoral level. Doctoral programs are built around substantial independent research and the creation of an original contribution to a field, usually culminating in a dissertation that must be defended before faculty. This level of study goes beyond coursework and often takes several years to complete because it involves designing, executing, and reporting novel research.

In contrast, master’s programs, while also graduate study, are generally shorter—about one to three years—and focus more on advanced coursework with a smaller-scale research project or thesis. Associate degrees are undergraduate credentials earned in roughly two years, and a bachelor’s degree is undergraduate as well, typically completed in about four years. So the degree associated with six years or more of graduate-level effort is the doctoral degree.