You’re not dumb. I think most people who have not been to college don’t understand what a lot of these words mean. Here’s a quick glossary for you:

– Major: This is the main subject that you study. It’s what you want your degree to be in. So if you hear someone say “I’m going to college to be a nurse,” then their major is nursing.

– Minor: This is another subject that you’ve taken a lot of courses in, but not enough to get a degree. Sometimes a minor is in a field that is related to a major, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you might major in math, but just out of interest you end up taking enough courses in English that you have a minor in that.

– Associate’s degree: This is the lowest-ranking college degree. It can be completed in two years of full time college work. For some careers it’s all you need. Most people with an associate’s degree, though, go on to the next one which is a…

– Bachelor’s Degree. This is a 4-year degree. It’s what most people mean when they talk about a “college education.” Most professional careers require a bachelor’s degree. You study not only the subjects in your major, but lots of other things besides, so that you have a well-rounded education. For instance, if you’re majoring in physics, you also have to take subjects from other parts of the curriculum, like English and math and sociology and so forth.

– Master’s Degree: This is an additional degree that you can earn beyond a bachelor’s degree. These are referred to as “graduate degrees” because, technically, you’ve already graduated from college (with your bachelor’s) and now you’re back for more. You study ONLY the thing that you are majoring in. So, for example, if you are working on a master’s degree in Chemistry, you only take courses in, and related to, chemistry.

Doctorate: This is another graduate degree beyond the master’s level. It is referred to as a “terminal degree” because there is nothing higher. Again, you work on only your major subject and complete the degree by doing an original piece of research and defending the results to the public and to a committee of peers.

Hope this all helps!

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Graduate degrees are degrees that you get after you graduate a 4 year degree program. The MS or master’s degree usually takes about 2 years to complete, and a doctorate degree (sometimes a PhD or an EdD, but there are many others) usually takes between 2 and 7 years to complete.

An associates degree is a degree for completing a 2 year program. Typically from a trade school or junior college.

To major in something means the subject that you will be concentrating on in college and taking the majority of your courses in. For example if you major in history, you will have to take any prerequisite courses but you will be taking a large amount of history courses to complete your degree.