Undergraduate education is the first level of higher education completed after secondary schooling, typically leading to a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification [1][2][3][4]. It provides broad and disciplinary learning through structured coursework, academic advising, assessment, and, in many programs, research, practical training, or community-based experiences. Undergraduate education is characterized by progressive development of subject knowledge, academic skills, critical thinking, communication, and professional readiness over a defined program duration [1][2]. In policy and research contexts, the term refers specifically to tertiary education at the pre-master’s level, distinguishing it from both postsecondary non-degree training and graduate education [2][3][4].
- undergraduate education
- bachelor’s education
- tertiary education
- student learning outcomes
- higher education access
Higher Education Learning Practices • Education • Social Sciences • Social Sciences
References
- Pascarella, E. T.; Terenzini, P. T. How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research; Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA, 2005. Source: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/How+College+Affects+Students%3A+A+Third+Decade+of+Research-p-9780787910440.
- Kuh, G. D.; Kinzie, J.; Schuh, J. H.; Whitt, E. J. Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter; Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA, 2005. Source: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Student+Success+in+College%3A+Creating+Conditions+That+Matter-p-9780787980672.
- Arum, R.; Roksa, J. Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses; University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, 2011. Source: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo10327226.html.
- Mayhew, M. J.; Rockenbach, A. N.; Bowman, N. A.; Seifert, T. A.; Wolniak, G. C.; Pascarella, E. T.; Terenzini, P. T. How College Affects Students: 21st Century Evidence that Higher Education Works; Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA, 2016. Source: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/How+College+Affects+Students%3A+21st+Century+Evidence+that+Higher+Education+Works-p-9781118462683.