A master’s degree is a graduate degree. Graduate education comes after undergraduate education, and you must complete a bachelor’s degree before starting a master’s program. Graduate degrees include master’s degrees and doctoral degrees.
A bachelor’s degree is an undergraduate degree, usually completed in about four years. It gives you broad foundational knowledge in a major field plus general education courses. A master’s degree typically takes one to two years and goes deeper into a specialty, building advanced skills and expertise.
Doctoral degrees, or PhDs, are the highest level of education. They take several years of study and research and focus on producing original work that adds to the field. If you are considering graduate school, compare whether a master’s degree is better than a bachelor’s for your goals, review the skills a master’s degree builds, and check whether online master’s degrees are credible.

