1. University people

AN ACADEMIC is a teacher at a College, Institute or University.

ACADEMIC PUPILS (or students) study theoretical courses, not practical courses.

AN ACADEMIC VISITOR is a person invited to teach or research from another university for a short period.

ADJUNCT FACULTY - part-time teaching staff.

BURSAR is the member of the staff of an educational institution in England who works with money.

THE CHANCELLOR is a famous person who is Head of the University in name, but not in fact. American Universities usually have Principals.

THE VICE CHANCELLOR is in charge of academic as well as administrative matters.

THE PRO-VICE CHANCELLOR is a deputy of the VICE-CHANCELLOR.

A DEAN at a university is responsible for a Faculty or a large group of students. Thus the Dean of the School of Engineering is in charge of the Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical and other Engineering Departments.

THE PRINCIPAL has the same job as a British Vice-Chancellor. Some American Universities have a Board of Regents, in which case the President of the Board of Regents roughly corresponds with the Chancellor of a British University.

A PROFESSOR is a university teacher who has been appointed to take this position. In England usually only the head of a department is a professor, so the title carries more prestige than in the United States, where many of the teachers in a department may be professors.

A VISITING PROFESSOR is a Professor who is normally based at one institution but who works for short periods of time at another, often on a regular basis.

A PROGRAM DIRECTOR is a person who is responsible for a curriculum and teaching materials for a certain subject or a cycle of disciplines.

'THE REGENTS of the State University of New York set examinations for New York High School students. These examinations are called “Regents”. Students sit for these examinations at about the age of 17 or 18.

THE REGISTRAR is the senior administrator of a British University.

AN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT is one who has not yet obtained a university degree, or one who is working for a bachelor's degree.

A GRADUATE STUDENT is one who has already obtained one university degree and is studying for another one. You can say “As a rule all our PhD students are graduate students”. Sometimes one says “postgraduate” instead of “graduate”.

A FULL-TIME STUDENT studies at a university all the time. It is also possible to study part-lime. Day-release and blockrelease students study part time.

A part-time course of study is done while the student also works somewhere else. Many part-time students are mothers or have other jobs.

1. University degrees

A DEGREE is the certificate awarded by a university to a student who has successfully completed a course of study which is recognised by other universities as being of the standard of a bachelor's' master's', or doctor's degree. Universities often award certificates for non-degree courses as well.

BACHELOR'S DEGREE is the lowest degree awarded by an English or American University. A BA is a bachelor of arts degree, а ВС is a bachelor of commerce degree, a BE is a bachelor of engineering degree, a BS is a bachelor of science degree. In England BSc (Eng) is also used for a BE.

MASTER'S DEGREE is a degree obtained after a bachelor's degree and before a doctor's degree. Many master's degrees are research degrees. This means that a thesis or dissertation must be written instead of taking examinations. Many masters degrees have both. MA means Master of Arts, ME and MEng mean Master of Engineering, MS and MSc mean Master of Science.

Ph.D is a doctor of philosophy degree. PhD's are awarded for major pieces of research by Universities in English speaking countries. At some universities examinations are also required. At the University of Oxford, in England, and at Waikato University in New Zealand, PhD is called a D Phil (Doctor of Philosophy). A DSc is a higher degree than a PhD, more like a doctor's degree in the Russian educational system.

A DOCTOR'S DEGREE or a doctoral degree, is usually one which requires the completion of a piece of original research, submitted in the form of a thesis. The most common such degree is a PhD. In America PhDs usually require written examinations as well as a thesis.

DR is the abbreviation for doctor. A physician is called Dr, even if she has not obtained a doctor's degree. In the United States dentists and surgeons are also called Or, but not in Britain.

ChEng (A “Chartered Engineer”) in Britain is roughly equivalent to a “Professional Engineer (PE)” in America, or a “Diping” in Germany.

HONOURS are awards for very good work. An Honours Degree is a University degree with very high marks or with very difficult courses, or both. The American equivalent of an honours degree is a degree “cum laude”.