Associate's Degree (AA/AS): 2 years (usually a community college degree, can SOMETIMES be substituted for the first 2 years of your bachelor's degree)
Bachelor's Degree (BA/BS): 4 years (undergraduate degree, usually BROAD (lots of different subjects, history, English, science etc.) but with a major emphasis)
Graduate degrees
Master's Degree (MA/MS/MBA/MEd): 2 years (usually) (highly specialized in a single subject, not broad). If a master's degree is said the be "terminal" it is usually the highest level of study you can complete in that subject. For many years, the MFA (master of fine arts) was a terminal degree, but now places offer a Doctor of Fine Arts.
Doctoral Degree (PhD): 4 years (or longer depending on the subject/requirements, extremely specialized usually focusing on a single aspect of a single subject)
MD/DDS (and other medical degrees) are different and take a long time to explain.
Other pertinent information
AA = Associates of the Arts, AS = Associates of Science(s). Same with BA/BS and MA/MS. The difference here (greatly simplified) is that an ART is a theoretical thing, like philosophy and a SCIENCE is a practical thing, like education. At some schools/programs you can get a BA/MA in education OR an BS/MS in education depending on what you are focusing on. PhD stands for "Doctor of Philosophy" and applies to most subjects as a recognition of the highest level of study you can complete in that subject. Other non-medical doctoral degrees you'll see is the DD (doctor of divinity) and EdD (doctor of education). There are plenty of others, but those are probably the most common (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doctoral_degrees_in_the_US).
Not all counties work the same. For example, a law degree in the US is a 2 year graduate degree, but a 4 year undergraduate degree in other countries.
Source: Me. I've worked in education for 25+ years.
ScaryNeat t1_ja8w8on wrote
Reply to Eli5: what’s the difference between a graduate and undergraduate degree by deadpuppy101
In the USA:
Undergraduate degrees
Associate's Degree (AA/AS): 2 years (usually a community college degree, can SOMETIMES be substituted for the first 2 years of your bachelor's degree)
Bachelor's Degree (BA/BS): 4 years (undergraduate degree, usually BROAD (lots of different subjects, history, English, science etc.) but with a major emphasis)
Graduate degrees
Master's Degree (MA/MS/MBA/MEd): 2 years (usually) (highly specialized in a single subject, not broad). If a master's degree is said the be "terminal" it is usually the highest level of study you can complete in that subject. For many years, the MFA (master of fine arts) was a terminal degree, but now places offer a Doctor of Fine Arts.
Doctoral Degree (PhD): 4 years (or longer depending on the subject/requirements, extremely specialized usually focusing on a single aspect of a single subject)
MD/DDS (and other medical degrees) are different and take a long time to explain.
Other pertinent information
AA = Associates of the Arts, AS = Associates of Science(s). Same with BA/BS and MA/MS. The difference here (greatly simplified) is that an ART is a theoretical thing, like philosophy and a SCIENCE is a practical thing, like education. At some schools/programs you can get a BA/MA in education OR an BS/MS in education depending on what you are focusing on. PhD stands for "Doctor of Philosophy" and applies to most subjects as a recognition of the highest level of study you can complete in that subject. Other non-medical doctoral degrees you'll see is the DD (doctor of divinity) and EdD (doctor of education). There are plenty of others, but those are probably the most common (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doctoral_degrees_in_the_US).
Not all counties work the same. For example, a law degree in the US is a 2 year graduate degree, but a 4 year undergraduate degree in other countries.
Source: Me. I've worked in education for 25+ years.