A certificate is a program offered by a college or university that typically takes less than two years of full-time study to complete, or less than 60 credit hours according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Certificate programs often focus on technical or professional backgrounds and some may require you to be a professional in the field before admitting you. Work toward a certificate typically does not count toward the earning of other degrees.
An associate degree typically requires two to four years of full-time study, or between 60 and 120 credit hours. Most community colleges, junior colleges and some four-year colleges and universities offer associate degrees. You can earn an associate in a variety of subjects, including engineering and business. Many community colleges have arrangements with four-year colleges and universities that allow credits earned toward an associate degree to count toward a bachelor's degree as well. This means you can earn an associate degree and then transfer to a bachelor's degree program as a third-year student.
A bachelor's degree requires four years of full-time study, or at least 120 credit hours. Four-year colleges and universities offer bachelor's degrees. You can earn a bachelor's degree in many different subjects, including sciences, engineering, business, literature or history. Some colleges and universities even allow you to design your own degree subjects.
To earn a master's degree, you must first obtain a bachelor's degree. Because of this, a master's degree is called a "postgraduate" degree. Traditionally, only universities offer postgraduate degrees, which separate universities from colleges. A master's degree typically requires two years of full-time study. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, almost a third (29 percent) of all master's degrees awarded are for education-related fields.
A doctorate degree is the terminal degree for a large number of subjects, including history and chemistry, meaning it is the highest degree achievable in the field. Like the master's degree, a doctorate is a postgraduate degree and therefore requires a bachelor's degree. Most doctorate degrees award doctorates of philosophy, or Ph.D.s, although some specialized fields offer different types of degrees, such as the M.D. awarded for a doctorate in medicine. Ph.D. programs typically consist of two to three years of study focused on a thesis consisting of original research. Many programs require doctoral candidates to earn a master's degree, which makes the total time needed to pursue a Ph.D. approximately four to five years or more.