Three Year Undergraduate Degree Policies

Question

Universities differ in their treatment of 3-year undergraduate degrees. Please see the different schools included below.

1) Some schools accept 3-year undergrads as equivalent to a US 4 year BA/BS

2) Some require that students have one additional year of higher ed. but need not receive a master's degree

3) Some require that the student receive a full master's degree or equivalent if they hold a 3 year bachelor's

NOTE: The phrase "3 year degree" is a term of art that is often used to mean the 3 year Bachelors of Commerce degree in India and similar degrees in South Asia. It almost never refers to 3 year degrees in England, Australia, or Quebec. Thanks to the Bologna Accord, acceptance of three year first degrees from continental Europe as equivalent to the US BA/BS is increasing. 

Schools that accept 3 year BCom degrees:
ultra elite
Columbia (case by case)
Northwestern
Penn

elite
Dartmouth
Duke (generally)
NYU
Virginia


trans elite
Emory
Carnegie Mellon

NEF
Wake Forest

Schools that do not accept the 3 year BCom as eq. to US BA/BS
ultra elite
Chicago
Stanford

elite
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Michigan
Yale

trans elite
Texas

NE
Indiana
Vanderbilt

Hjort · Answer

Penn Wharton

"Q9: I earned an undergraduate degree that only took 3 years. Am I eligible to apply to Wharton?
A9: There are a number of universities around the world that offer 3-year undergraduate programs. If you have received a Bachelor's degree upon completion of such an undergraduate program, you are eligible to apply for our MBA program."

Hjort · Answer

Columbia Business School

"Will I qualify for admission with a three-year undergraduate degree?
We do accept applications from candidates with a three-year degree. We review such applications on a case-by-case basis."

https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/mba/home/faq

Hjort · Answer

UCLA Anderson

"India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar
Holders of a three-year bachelor's degree (e.g. Bachelor of Arts, Science, or Commerce) must also have completed a master's degree or Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) and have placed in the first-class or upper-second-class division. Accordingly, for example, holders of a three-year BCom degree are not eligible for admission unless they have also completed the MCom, PGDM, or other master's-level degree. Professional association memberships (such as the Institutes of Chartered Accountants) are not acceptable in lieu of the master's degree."

https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x252.xml

Hjort · Answer

Duke

"Q: Will you consider my application with a degree less than a 4-year Bachelor's Degree from the U.S.A.?

A: Generally, we will accept International Bachelor's degrees. Most of the degrees we see are at least four years. Three-year degrees are fairly common in all U.K. based systems. Level exams frequently are equal to the 1st year of college; therefore, a 3-year degree from England, Scotland, Wales and Australia are usually equivalent to a four-year program. There are two exceptions: In Germany, a 3-year degree is called the vordiplom; and a six-year degree is a diploma. Many students leave the University system with a vordiplom. This is not sufficient to apply for admission to Fuqua. A vordiplom plus an additional year at the University may be; however, each application will have to be evaluated individually. In India, the Bachelor's of Commerce degree is 3 years, but is usually the equivalent of a U.S. Business degree."

https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admin/daymba/ ... s/faq.html

Hjort · Answer

Carnegie Mellon

Do you accept 3-year undergraduate degrees (i.e. B.Com)?



We will consider applicants who hold a 3-year undergraduate degree. In general, due to the highly competitive nature of our applicant pool, candidates with additional education beyond their 3-year degree are more competitive."

coffeeloverfreak · Answer

In Quebec, most undergrad degrees are 3 years.

Following a question I posted earlier, I did additional research and noticed that most (but not all) universities understand that a 3-year bachelor's degree in Quebec is equivalent to a 4-year bachelor's degree in the rest of North America. That's because of our CEGEP system. It seems like this wouldn't be a problem, per se. 

But if anyone has any experience applying from Quebec, specifically related to what (if any) schools have a problem with a 3-year degree, and/or whether it's a good idea to submit CEGEP transcripts along with ugrad transcripts, please post. Thanks!

Hjort · Answer

Northwestern 

"I am an international student who graduated with an undergraduate degree from a 3-year program. Am I still eligible to apply? 

Weâ€™re familiar with various international educational systems and recognize that 3-year undergraduate programs are the norm in some countries. Many of our applicants have also completed an additional year of education in a master's program, but this is not a requirement."

Hjort · Answer

Stanford

"What are the educational requirements for admission for students educated outside the United States? I have a three-year degree; am I eligible?

We expect that applicants have completed the equivalent of a U.S. bachelorâ€™s degree (at least 16 years of education, including primary and secondary schooling). Many of our applicants with degrees from international universities that offer only three-year baccalaureate degrees have earned a masterâ€™s degree as well, but this is not a requirement."

Hjort · Answer

Dartmouth 

"I hold a three-year bachelor's degree. Is that acceptable for admission to the MBA program?

Yes. We require that applicants hold a bachelor's degree (university level) or equivalent. It is of no consequence to the admissions committee whether the degree was completed in more or fewer than four years."

Hjort · Answer

Chicago 

"Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka: 
Applicants must have completed a master's degree. One year of a two-year master's program is not sufficient. The B.Com., B.A., B.Tech., B.Eng., or B.Sc., or other similar degrees alone are not acceptable."

Hjort · Answer

Yale SOM

"Does Yale SOM offer admission to students with a three-year degree?
International students need to have earned the equivalent of a four-year US bachelor's degree. Applicants who have completed a three-year degree, can complete one of the following to meet this requirement: 

Post Graduate Diploma: the area of study must be the same as the bachelor's degree. 
Masters Degree: applicants must complete both years; one year of a two-year degree does not meet the requirement. 
Membership in the Institute of Chartered Accountancy. 
US bachelor's degree: applicants may transfer courses to a US college or university and complete the bachelor's degree requirements."

Hjort · Answer

Michigan Ross

 " â€“ Complete the equivalent of a four-year U.S. Bachelor's degree"

richardj · Answer

The UK system was slightly more complicated than that - and has probably evolved since they wrote it.

Instead of Level exams it should read "A Level exams", the standard exams for 18 year olds going to University in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not usually in Scotland.

Traditional three year bachelor degrees in England, Wales and N. Ireland were of the standard equivalent to a 4 year US bachelor degree. Scotland usually offered four year master of arts degrees, though the first year could be skipped with A Levels, and the standard was of a bachelor degree, even though the designation was MA. Also Oxford and Cambridge Universities may award MA degrees to those of bachelor of arts standing (even scientists may get arts degrees at Oxford and Cambridge !)

Many science and engineering subjects now have four year first degrees, of a standard at least as high as a bachelor degree, and these may be called masters. Most English degrees are very specialist, if you do maths, you will not just major in maths, it is all you will study, no history of art module to get your class (GPA) up.

I should think that admissions tutors that have a lot of UK applicants would be familiar with the practice here.

Hjort · Answer

I agree with you- it is a direct quotation from Duke.

As a generality, when US schools use the term "three year degree" it is essentially a term of art for the 3 year degree programs of south Asia. Even though other systems have 3 year degrees such as Quebec or England/Wales/Northern Ireland it is generally understood that these 3 year degrees are equivalent to the US BA/BS.

Hjort · Answer

Virginia (Darden)

"I earned an undergraduate degree that required only three years of study. Am I eligible to apply to Darden? 

There are a number of universities around the world that offer three-year undergraduate programs. If you received a Bachelor's degree from such a program, you are eligible to apply to Darden. Many candidates from these types of programs also have Master's degrees and/or one-year diplomas, but they are not required."

Hjort · Answer

UC Berkeley

"15. Am I eligible to apply to the MBA program if I received a bachelor's degree from India?
Minimum academic requirements for international applicants are a 4-year bachelor's degree or a master's degree (2 years after your bachelor's degree)."

Hjort · Answer

NYU

"Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
All three-year Bachelor's degree are sufficient to apply. Transcripts must be accompanied by a photocopy of the diploma and/or degree conferral. A degree conferral shows the date, location, and institution from which you received an official degree."

Hjort · Answer

Texas

"The equivalent of a four-year U.S. bachelor degree from an accredited institution. For applicants who attended undergraduate institutions in India, the University of Texas at Austin does not consider the Bachelorâ€™s of Communication equivalent to a U.S. bachelorâ€™s degree. Applicants holding this three-year degree are not eligible for admission to our graduate school programs. You must have already completed (and have been awarded) a masterâ€™s degree in India in addition to your bachelorâ€™s degree to be eligible for graduate study. Partial completion of the masterâ€™s program will not make you eligible for our graduate programs. Applicants who hold Associate memberships with the Institute of Chartered Accountancy in addition to their bachelorâ€™s degree are also eligible for graduate study at UT."

Hjort · Answer

Emory

"General Requirements for MBA Applicants from India
The completion of at least a 3-year Bachelor's degree with evidence of strong and consistent academic performance is required. Effective November 2000, the Admissions Office prefers that all transcripts be verified by United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI). If the USEFI does not have an office in the city of the applicant, Goizueta Business School will consider only transcripts verified by the issuing institution as satisfactory."

Three Year Undergraduate Degree Policies

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