Why are university degrees called a bachelor’s, a master’s and a doctorate? They were named after the people who were trying to get those degrees.
Universities have been around since the 9th century. The University of Al-Karaouine in Morocco is considered to be the first university in the world. Some people say that this university was just an educational institution, called a madrasa, and not necessarily a university. Either way, the way that they were run is said to have influenced the universities that sprang up in Europe.
The first university in Europe was the University of Bologna, in Italy, in 1088. It was followed eight years later by the University of Oxford. The phrase university came from the University of Bologna, but it didn’t mean then what it means today. It came from the Latin, universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which meant a “community of teachers and scholars”. And that is what the first universities were.
Universities didn’t give out degrees in the beginning. They were just places of learning. The only institution that could hand out degrees was the church. They could hand out something called a licentia docendi, which means “license to teach”. The word doctor comes from the Latin doceo, which means “I teach”. They were given to people who could teach and interpret the Bible. In order to get one, you had to take a test, take an oath of allegiance, and pay a fee.
In the 13th century, the universities wanted to be able to offer their own qualifications. The University of Paris received papal dispensation to issue their own degrees. They gave out a license to teach, called a licentia ubique docendi in 1231. In the beginning, it could only be used to teach at the university it was earned from, but the universities received permission to make the qualification universal in 1233.
So, where do the names for the degrees come from? In the very first days of the universities, there were three different levels. The lower level were the scholars. They attended classes and argued about the texts. The next level up were the bachelors. They were student-teachers and were looking to be able to teach in the future. The highest level were the masters, or the doctors, or the professors. All three of these terms meant the same thing. They all mean “teacher”. Master comes from the Latin magister. Somebody who received a master degree would have the responsibility to lecture.
The word bachelor didn’t mean an unmarried man, as it does today. The name could have been taken from the Knights Bachelor, who were the lowest ranking knights. They were knights, but basically trainee knights. “Bachelor” was taken from either the Latin word baccalaria, which meant “vassal farmer” or the word baculum, which meant stick. “Stick” because the knights bachelor were said to practice with sticks. Universities weren’t the only institutions to use the level of bachelor. It was used in most guilds as well. The bachelor would be the apprentice who was training to become a master. The master would be the teacher.
Universities taught seven liberal arts that they divided into two sections. The first section, called the trivium, consisted of grammar, rhetoric, and logic. When students passed the trivium, they were awarded a bachelor’s degree and they went on to study the next level, called the quadrivium. This consisted of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. Once they had passed these courses, the students would be given a master’s degree or a doctorate. They meant the same thing, but master’s were given out for people who studied grammar and arts, while doctorates would be given to people who studied law, medicine, or theology. Both masters and doctors were able to teach, so the ranks were considered equal. They were admitted to the guild and allowed to teach the bachelors.
Over time a hierarchy began to develop. Because it was necessary to study art and grammar before studying law, medicine, or theology, a doctorate began to be viewed as a more difficult step than a master’s degree. The bachelor’s degree was seen as the first step towards more serious learning. This is why they are called graduates and passing the steps is called graduation, It comes from the Latin word gradus, which means step.
The number of universities began to rapidly increase after the 14th century. Kings, queens, and nobles would build or found university colleges to make sure their names lasted. All of the new universities used the same system of bachelor, master, doctor. And this is what I learned today.
https://everything-everywhere.com/the-history-of-academic-degrees/
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