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In the UK and Ireland (and I think it's a uniquely in these countries) there is such a thing as an integrated master's.

This is a course where one does an additional 1-2 years of study at the end of an undergraduate course and gains at the end a master's degree. The difference is that the student graduates only at the end and so never obtains a bachelor's degree. The course is designed such that the prerequisites for the 'advanced' material in the final year(s) are covered in the earlier years. Note also, the undergraduate degrees in the UK and Ireland are already quite specialised when compared to countries which try to provide a more rounded undergraduate degree.

This is distinct from the traditional master's degree which is separate from, and pursued after, a bachelor's.

How best should one describe this on a resume or CV in a country which does not have the concept of an integrated master's?

Some things I consider:

  • If one just indicates the master's, does an employer then wonder why the bachelor's is not given?
  • Integrated courses do allow students to leave early with a bachelor's after 3 years. In the case of an integrated master's, should this pseudo-bachelor's be listed for clarity? The problem here is that no degree certificate can be provided as evidence.

Of course, verbally this can be clarified easily - my question concerns the writing of resumes and CVs and the filling of web-forms that demand that all degrees be listed, where limited or no commentary can be provided.

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    5-year combined bachelor/masters programs are not unusual in USA engineering departments.
    – Jon Custer
    Dec 21, 2021 at 20:50
  • @JonCuster, ah interesting, thank you. I'm seeing such programs styled as "concurrent", and "dual-degree" programs, for future visitors from Google.
    – Conrad
    Dec 21, 2021 at 21:25
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    'The difference is that the student graduates only at the end and so never obtains a bachelor's degree.' In some cases (e.g. M.Sci. and M.Eng. at Cambridge), the student obtains a bachelor's degree simultaneously with the master's.
    – Daniel Hatton
    Dec 22, 2021 at 0:09
  • I've got an integrated Master's in astrophysics and I just write MPhys Astrophysics on my CV or when form-filling because that is my degree title. No one has ever questioned it (I did my PhD in the UK but I'm now employed in Spain).
    – astronat supports the strike
    Dec 22, 2021 at 11:38

1 Answer 1

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I doubt that you will find any meaningful problems with this situation. If you have no place to explain in a form, just list the degree(s) you have. Yes, people may wonder, and if they wonder enough then they are likely to ask and you can then explain.

The solution is not, of course, to suggest that you also have a bachelors when it hasn't been granted. List the degrees accurately as they were granted.

Some places will already understand. Others will wonder. Explain if and when it becomes possible and necessary.

I'm pretty sure there are a few people who hold earned doctorates, actually, but no lesser degree. Karl Witte may be one.

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