WORDS: graduates, degrees and Ph.Ds…

Diplomato, laureato, conseguire un dottorato: come si traducono questi termini in inglese? E che cosa è un Ph.D.? Il nostro Mark Worden tenta di fare chiarezza su questo intricato argomento… by Mark Worden – LANGUAGE LEVEL  B2 (UPPER INTERMEDIATE)

Mark Worden (Standard British accent)
If you go to university in an English-speaking country, you study for a degree (1). And when you complete your degree course you graduate (2). And a person who has graduated from a university is known as a graduate (3), which has slightly different proununciation.  You’ve probably seen the 1967 Dustin Hoffman movie The Graduate (4). In Italy, when you graduate from a university, you become a “dottore” but in order to become a doctor at an English-speaking university you must take your Ph.D. This stands for Philosophiae Doctor, although some universities, such as Oxford, Sussex and York in Britain, prefer to use the term D.Phil, which stands for the English translation, Doctor of Philosophy. A person who studies for a doctorate or indeed a Masters degree is known as a post-graduate. In Britain you can only graduate from university, but in the United States you can also graduate from high school (5). In Britain, if you leave school at the age of 16, you will take exams called GCSEs, which stands for General Certificate of Secondary of Education, and if you leave school at the age of 18, you will take exams called A levels, which stands for Advanced level. In Britain, however, the IB is catching on (6) as an alternative to A levels. IB stands for International Baccalaureate, and it offers students the chance to study six subjects rather than three, and it is becoming more popular because it offers a more balanced education (7).

GLOSSARY

1    degree: laurea
2    you graduate: ti laurei
3    graduate: laureato
4    The Graduate: in Italia: Il Laureato
5    high school: liceo, scuola superiore
6    is catching on: sta prendendo piede
7    a more balanced education: un’istruzione più equilibrata