|
One very common and important
punctuation
mark
( .
) looks like
a small, dark circle.
When this mark is
used with
numbers, it's called a point. When it's used
in e-mail and WWW addresses,
it's called a dot. In
other
situations, it's called a
period.
In American English, there
are many common
uses
for the period. One use is for abbreviations.
Here are some commonly used
abbreviations for
academic
degrees:
Associate's
Degrees
|
A.A.
(Associate of Arts)
|
|
A.S.
(Associate of Science)
|
These degrees are normally
granted by community
colleges. They show that a two-year program of
study
has been completed.
People with these degrees
usually
continue their studies at a four-year
college
or university.
Bachelor's
Degrees
|
B.A.
(Bachelor of Arts)
|
|
B.S.
(Bachelor of Science)
|
These degrees are normally
granted by four-year
colleges or universities. They show that a
four-year
program of study
has been completed. A Bachelor's
degree is usually
considered to be the minimum
qualification for a
professional field.
There are actually many variations
on the basic
B.A.
and B.S. degrees--for example, B.F.A. (Bachelor
of
Fine Arts), B.M.
(Bachelor of Music), LL.B.
(Bachelor
of Laws), B.S.W. (Bachelor of Social
Work),
B.S. in
Ed.
(Bachelor of Science in Education), and so on.
Master's Degrees
|
M.A.
(Master of Arts)
|
|
M.S.
(Master of Science)
|
These degrees are normally
granted by universities.
They show that one or more years of advanced
study
beyond a Bachelor's
degree has been completed.
For
many specialist-level positions, a Master's degree
is the
minimum
requirement.
As with Bachelor's degrees,
there are actually
many
variations on the basic M.A. and M.S. degrees--for
example, M.B.A. (Master of Business
Administration),
M.P.A. (Master of Public Administration), M.M.
(Master
of Music), M.S. in
Ed. (Master of Science in
Education),
and so on.
Doctor's
Degrees
|
Ph.D.
(Doctor of Philosophy)
M.D.
(Doctor of Medicine)
|
|
Ed.D.
(Doctor of Education)
|
These degrees are normally
granted by universities.
They show that additional advanced study beyond
a Master's degree
has been completed. For most
university-level teaching and
research and for positions
requiring highly
advanced
training, a Doctor's degree
is required.
The basic academic doctoral
degrees are the Ph.D.
and the Ed.D., but (as with Bachelor's and
Master's
degrees), there are
many variations. There are
also
numerous professional doctoral degrees--such as
M.D.
(Doctor of Medicine), D.V.M. (Doctor
of
Veterinary
Medicine),
D.D.S. (Doctor of Dental
Surgery), LL.D.
(Doctor
of
Laws), and so on.
_____________________________________________
Special Notes:
|
1.
|
|
Academic degrees may be used
either
with
or
without periods:
B.S. in Ed. / BS in Ed
M.F.A. / MFA
Ph.D. / PhD
|
| |
|
|
| 2. |
|
Academic degrees are written
after names
and are preceded by commas:
Karl Heineman, Ed.D.
Julia A. Rodríguez,
Ph.D.
Ahmed A. Al-Badr, M.D.
|
| |
|
|
| 3. |
|
In
general, only abbreviations for doctoral
degrees are written
after names. |
|
