GLOSSARY

Program: Program of study which leads to the award of a degree.

Academic Transcript:  Record listing a student's study results year by year, containing subjects and grades.

Academic Year: About 34 weeks, September to June in the northern hemisphere and February to November in the southern hemisphere. 

Associate Degree: First two years at undergraduate level in the US. 

Bachelor Degree: Sometimes called an undergraduate degree.  It takes a minimum of 3 or 4 years of full-time study to complete a Bachelor's Degree.

COE - Confirmation of Enrollment:  Document you will receive from Australian and New Zealand institutions confirming your acceptance and essential to obtain a student visa.

Community College:  Two-year college providing a broad range of studies among which the first two years of the Bachelor Degree.  Interesting option for international students who wish to raise their GPA to transfer into competitive universities for the final two years.

Contact hours: Number of hours you are expected to attend classes, lectures, tutorials, or workshops.

Convalidation: System whereby studies are convalidated or recognized by the home country.  High school and undergraduate studies are convalidated in Spain by the Spanish Ministry of Education according to pre-established criteria http://www.mepsyd.es/educacion/titulos/convalidaciones.html (convalidación; homologación).

Credit:  Studies partially or fully completed at another university may be eligible for credit towards your degree.  If credit is awarded, subjects or courses successfully completed elsewhere need not be repeated.

Credit point (CP): Each course has a CP value giving its weighting towards the requirements of an academic programme. A CP indicates the amount of work a course may involve. A 10 CP course normally has 3-4 contact hours/week with an expected 6-7 hours/week of private study, research or assignment work.

Cross-institutional study:  When you are enrolled at one university and undertake courses from another for credit towards your degree.

Deadline:  Final date by which applications for admission must be received by the institution.

Degree offerings:  Choices you have regarding your academic programme such as courses, mode of study, campus location.

Diploma:  Qualification received following generally one or two years of study at undergraduate level. 

Discipline: Term used for areas of study.

Double Degree: Combined, dual or integrated studies designed to allow students to study in more than one area.  On successful completion they will be awarded two qualifications in less time than if they had taken the courses separately.

Electives:  Courses on the curriculum of certain degrees which students select to take as part of their studies.

GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test):  Test required by most Business Schools for access to MBA studies.

GPA (Grade Point Average): Average cumulative grade of student on a scale of 1-4.

Graduate:  A person who has been awarded a university degree.

Graduate Certificate:  Qualification gained normally from the equivalent of half an academic year study at graduate level.

Graduate Diploma:  Qualification gained normally from the equivalent of one year's full-time study at graduate level.

GRE (Graduate Record Examination):  Test required by most universities in the United States for graduate studies, with the exception of an MBA which requires a GMAT.

IELTS (International English Language Testing System):  English language test required for access into tertiary studies, preferred in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Internship: Training period for recent graduates.  Unpaid.

Load: Number of courses you take in one semester.

Major:  Specialization at undergraduate level.

Master Degree:  Qualification awarded following one or two years of full-time study at graduate level. 

Mature-age student:  Student aged 21 or over.

Mid-year enrollment:  Academic programmes with start date at mid-year.

Offer: Students who successfully meet the entry requirements are offered a place by the relevant university. This might be a "Conditional Offer"; that is, linked to English language test or completion of ongoing studies.

OSCH - Overseas Student Health Cover:  Health insurance taken out by student visa holders in Australia.

Portfolio:  Collection of personal artistic work to be submitted for assessment in order to gain admission to specific courses in creative disciplines.

Prerequisites: Requirements that you must complete to gain admission to a university degree. 

Professional Development Program:  Generally short-term graduate programs for young professionals wishing to upgrade, complement, internationalize or recycle.

SAT (Scolastic Aptitude Test):  Aptitude test required by the majority of American institutions for admission to Bachelor Degree studies and consists in two tests, the SAT reasoning test and the SAT subject tests.

Weeks:  Many courses are measured in weeks, particularly English language.

Work:  This refers to paid work. 

Term: Three or four/academic year depending on the system. 

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): English language test required for access into tertiary studies in the United States and Canada, recognized worldwide.

Top-Up Year: Final Bachelor Degree year.

Undergraduate: A person who is studying at university for a first degree is known as an undergraduate.