Europe[edit]
United Kingdom[edit]
In the United Kingdom, a bachelor's degree is the most common type of undergraduate degree. Some master's degrees, known as integrated master's degrees, can be undertaken immediately after finishing secondary education; these courses are usually extended versions of bachelor's degree programs, taking an additional year to complete. Most bachelor's degrees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland take three years to complete, with some notable exceptions, such as Medicine taking five years (these, like integrated master's degrees, are master's-level qualifications that include study at bachelor's level).[3]
Italy[edit]
In Italy, the laurea[4] (formerly laurea triennale, meaning "three-year laurea") is the most common type of "undergraduate degree". It is equivalent to a bachelor's degree and its normative time to completion is three years (note that In Italy scuola secondaria superiore or Lyceum, high school, takes five years, so it ends at 19 years of age). Not to be confused with the old laurea—now called laurea magistrale—which typically used to last five or six years.[4] To earn a laurea, the student must complete a thesis, but a less demanding one than required for the old laurea (typically, a non-research thesis). There is not necessarily a laurea course for every discipline. For instance, for disciplines as Medicine or Jurisprudence only laurea magistrale courses are provided.