International Education Guide - Enterprise and Advanced Education ...

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION GUIDE for the assessment of education from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
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BA (Philosophy), BSc (Geology), BSc (Forestry), and so
on. There is no thesis requirement.
In addition to arts, commerce and science, three-year
bachelor’s (honours) degrees are also available in a few
other areas such as business administration (BBA), fine arts
(BFA), education (BEd), information technology (BIT) and
computer science (BCS).
A bachelor’s (honours) degree gives an individual access to
further education, such as a general master’s degree (for
example, MA, MCom or MSc), a postgraduate bachelor’s
degree (for example, BEd), or postgraduate certificate and
diploma programs. It takes holders of a three-year honours
degree one year to complete a general master’s degree
program (MA, MCom or MSc), compared to two years for
holders of a two-year pass degree.
The three-year bachelor’s (honours) degree programs are
being phased out and replaced by four-year degrees, as
described below.
Upgraded four-year bachelor’s (honours) degrees (4 or
2+2). In recent years, universities in Pakistan in both
the public and private sectors are adopting the North
American pattern of four-year general bachelor’s degrees
following completion of Grade 12. Two types of programs
are available to applicants depending on their previous
education:
• four-year bachelor’s (honours) degrees following
completion of Grade 12
• two-year bachelor’s (honours) degrees following
completion of a first two-year bachelor’s (pass) degree
Regardless of the route, the resulting bachelor’s degree
represents a total of 16 years of education. The credit system
is predominantly used, with about 120 to 140 minimum
credit hours required for graduation. For example, the
HEC-approved model curriculum for the four-year
BCom (honours) or BS Commerce (2006) requires 136
total credits. The weight of the research component in
the curriculum depends on the program; some consist of
coursework only with no thesis requirement, while others
list research methodology as a compulsory course and
require students to complete a thesis and attend a viva voce
(oral exam).
In addition to the BA, BCom and BSc, four-year upgraded
bachelor’s (honours) programs are available in a few other
areas such as business administration (BBA), fine arts
(BFA) and computer science (BCS).
The four-year bachelor’s degrees are considered equivalent
to traditional general master’s degrees for purposes of
employment and further education, as both represent 16
years of education. At institutions that offer both types
of programs, the Year 3 and Year 4 courses of the newly
upgraded four-year bachelor’s degree program may be
identical to the traditional two-year master’s program.
Students in the four-year bachelor’s degree program may
have the option to exit the program after two years and
receive a bachelor’s (pass) degree.
See Appendix D for sample program structures of four-year
bachelor’s (honours) degrees.
Bachelor’s degrees in many specialized and professional
areas, such as engineering and agriculture, are
traditionally four years in length. For more information,
refer to Programs and Credentials: Specialized and
Professional Education.
Postgraduate Bachelor’s Degrees
A few bachelor’s degrees in specialized or professional fields
require the completion of a previous bachelor’s degree (for
example, BA, BCom or BSc) for admission. Examples of
one-year courses include Bachelor of Education (BEd) and
Bachelor of Library Science (BLS) or the newer Bachelor of
Library and Information Science (BLibISc). A postgraduate
Bachelor of Law (LLB) involves three years of full-time
study.
For more information about some of the above programs,
refer to Programs and Credentials: Specialized and
Professional Education.
Postgraduate Certificates
and Diplomas
Universities offer a variety of certificates and diplomas,
called postgraduate certificates or diplomas, that require
at least a bachelor’s (pass) degree for admission. Programs
in certain fields (for example, engineering) and some newly
established programs require at least 16 years of education
for admission, for example a four-year bachelor’s degree
(12+4) or a traditional general master’s degree (12+2+2).