How to list my former affiliation when it changed name (and character)

Question

As the title suggests, the issue is as follows:

I finished my (4 year) Bachelor and my (2 years) MSc at department A. A few years ago, the department changed its name and also the character of its undergraduate studies. Now it's a department of Engineering (5 year studies) and it belongs to the Engineering division of the university, as opposed to the division of Natural Sciences where it was before.

Question: Does it matter how to list it? In any case, what is the best way to list it on my CV?

The most obvious thing would be to list it as it was formerly known. But this department does not exist anymore and, moreover, it changed division so there is a chance some people would be confused. Another option is to list the former name/division and in parentheses it's current name, but it's way too long and I do not like it, not only for aesthetic reasons. The option to list the current name/division is out of question for obvious reasons.

Thank you in advance.

Note: There is a possibly relevant question about changing the name of the university. I am not sure if it is the same as my issue because I am talking about the change of the name and character of a department. The context is possibly different and could generate different answers.

Answer 1

List it as the degree you earned, as it was called at the time you earned it, because that is an accurate reflection of what you studied, and it's what your degree says (or what a verification would say). If an employer gets to the stage of verifying your degree, you could let them know that the program changed name, but it's not strictly necessary (and they won't always tell you before doing a verification).

Programs come and go and change names, and whole universities open and close, but even closed programs/universities have alumni and their studies/degrees are still valuable for the knowledge gain (at that time) they represent.

Even in cases like this one, where credentials were called into question based in part by a school not conferring a particular type of degree claimed, the fact that they historically did (or didn't) could be answered by a simple question and there are opportunities to explain the name change.

Answer 2

This happened to me when the School that awarded my PhD changed its name after I received my degree (the larger university name is the same). I continue to list the School/degree title that it was when I completed it. The new name doesn't fully capture my coursework there. No one has ever asked about it for jobs, but if it came up I would explain to them that it changed.

Answer 3

I have actually had a similar experience with a couple of my qualifications. When I asked, I was advised of a few options:

Option 1: Very simple option, I only use this for qualifications earned a while ago and are not immediately relevant to my current research (I have 7 qualifications in 3 different fields):

[Degree]
[University name]

or:

[Degree]
[overarching Faculty name]
[University name]

Option 2: A bit more descriptive and possibly overly elaborate - as in my experience, I have never really been asked about the departments, rather, I have been asked about what I learned in the degree itself.

But, these are included here as suggestions.

[Degree]
[Current Department name]
formerly [Previous Department Name]
[University]

Option 3:

[Degree]
[Previous Department name]
currently [Current Department Name]
[University]

A key thing I was advised about the CV was to keep consistent in how the entries were listed.