College vocabulary explained, in plain English

AA stands for Associate of Arts.

Some schools write it with periods (A.A.).

In a sentence: Dana put her AA on her school application and spelled out Associate of Arts beside it.

AAS stands for Associate of Applied Science.

Some schools write it with periods (A.A.S.).

In a sentence: The college page listed the AAS next to the AA and the AS, so Marcus looked up all three.

AS stands for Associate of Science.

Some schools write it with periods (A.S.).

In a sentence: Lena saw AS on a program page and checked that it meant Associate of Science.

BA stands for Bachelor of Arts.

Some schools write it with periods (B.A.).

In a sentence: Ruth wrote BA after her name on the alumni form, then added the year she finished.

BS stands for Bachelor of Science.

Some schools write it with periods (B.S.).

In a sentence: Tomas listed his BS in the education section of his school profile.

MA stands for Master of Arts.

Some schools write it with periods (M.A.).

In a sentence: Noor saw MA and MS side by side on a department page and wrote down what each stands for.

MS stands for Master of Science.

Some schools write it with periods (M.S.).

In a sentence: Elias kept a short list of abbreviations, and MS was next to Master of Science.

MBA stands for Master of Business Administration.

In a sentence: Keisha asked the school what the B in MBA covers before she read the course list.

MEd stands for Master of Education.

Some schools write it M.Ed.

In a sentence: Paul saw MEd on a college page and looked it up before emailing the department.

MSN stands for Master of Science in Nursing.

In a sentence: Priya saw MSN on a school page and wanted to know what it stood for before she read more.

MSW stands for Master of Social Work.

In a sentence: Gina made a flashcard that read MSW on one side and Master of Social Work on the other.

PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy.

Some schools write it with periods (Ph.D.). The Ohio State and Alaska Fairbanks lists we read both give Doctor of Philosophy.

In a sentence: Owen read PhD on a faculty page and looked up the words behind the letters.

JD stands for Juris Doctor.

In a sentence: Carla saw JD on a school page and checked its meaning before reading the rest.

MD stands for Doctor of Medicine.

In a sentence: Hank looked up MD on a college page to see how it is spelled out.

PharmD is a doctorate in pharmacy. Ohio State’s list spells it out as a Doctorate of Pharmacy.

In a sentence: Rosa copied PharmD into her notes next to its spelled-out name.

A unit that measures coursework: roughly how many hours a week you spend in a class and how many are required for a degree. One college page ties a credit hour to one hour of classroom instruction (50 minutes).

In a sentence: Ana’s statistics class is three credit hours, so she planned three hours of class time a week.

At the two colleges we read, full-time means taking at least 12 credit hours in a fall or spring term. One of them describes its average full-time load as 12 to 16 credit hours a term.

This is each school’s own rule, so check the catalog of the school you are looking at.

In a sentence: Jared signed up for 13 credit hours, which put him in the full-time group on his school’s page.

At one college, a student taking fewer than 12 credit hours is part-time.

Other schools may draw the line differently.

In a sentence: Mia takes two evening classes (6 credit hours), so she is part-time at her school.

The period at the start of a term when students may change their course schedules.

In a sentence: Sam swapped a morning class for an evening one during the add/drop period.

To attend a class without receiving a grade or credit.

In a sentence: Wendy audited a writing class just to hear the lectures and earned no credit for it.

A measure of a student’s overall academic performance.

In a sentence: Luis looked up what GPA stands for before reading his school’s catalog.

An asynchronous course is one where the instructor and students have no real time together.

In a sentence: Tanya works nights, so she looked for an asynchronous class she could do after her shift.

A synchronous course is one where the instructor and students meet virtually at set days and times.

In a sentence: Because the class was synchronous, Omar put the Tuesday 7 p.m. session on his calendar.

A hybrid class blends online and face-to-face meetings. The face-to-face meetings are held on site.

Schools define hybrid differently, for example how much of the class is online, so read the course listing.

In a sentence: Ines saw hybrid on the schedule and checked which days she had to be on campus.

A course where all the content is delivered online, with no required face-to-face meetings.

In a sentence: Kofi picked an online course so he would not need to drive to campus.

A requirement that must be completed before you enroll in a course.

In a sentence: Math 100 was the prerequisite for Hana’s statistics class, so she signed up for it first.

A requirement that must be completed at the same time as the course it is listed for.

In a sentence: The lab section was a corequisite, so Ben registered for it together with the lecture.

A course of interest taken for credit.

In a sentence: Shauna chose a photography elective because she wanted a break from her other classes.

A primary field of study.

In a sentence: Dev’s major is business, and he reads the course list for that major first.

A secondary field of study.

In a sentence: Alba added a Spanish minor next to her major.

Courses in a variety of subjects taken to gain a broad range of knowledge. One college calls these liberal education or general education requirements.

In a sentence: Chloe took a history class to meet a general education requirement.

The instructor’s plan for a class.

In a sentence: Jon read the syllabus on the first day to see when each assignment was due.

The compilation of courses taken and grades received during a student’s college career.

In a sentence: Fatima asked her old college to send a transcript to the school she was applying to.

The person who processes and keeps student records, including transcripts.

In a sentence: Greg emailed the registrar to ask where to order a transcript.

A faculty or staff member assigned to advise students individually on course choices.

In a sentence: Nia met her advisor to talk through which classes to take in her first term.

A short-term, practical experience where you observe and learn from professionals. The USC Career Center page says externships usually last a few days to a few weeks and that externs may shadow professionals.

The same page says externships are usually unpaid.

In a sentence: Rita spent two days shadowing a lab team to see what the work was like.

An extended work experience where you take part in tasks and projects within an organization. The USC page says internships can last from a few months to a year or more and can be paid or unpaid.

In a sentence: Jamal joined a three-month internship and was given his own small project.

The school, college or university a person attended or graduated from. It is a Latin phrase meaning “nurturing mother”. It can also mean a school’s song.

In a sentence: At the reunion, Beth wore a sweatshirt from her alma mater.