educational attainment
Highest degree earned
Educational attainment is the highest level of schooling a person has completed—high school diploma, bachelor's degree, doctorate, and so on.
The term appears most often in demographic studies, census data, and policy discussions: Educational attainment correlates strongly with lifetime earnings.
It measures credentials obtained, not knowledge gained.
Academic completion document
- degreeUnit of measurement
- bachelor'sFirst university degree
- master'sAdvanced graduate credential
- PhDHighest academic credential
doctorate · associate · thesis · dissertation · commencement · graduation · summa cum laude · magna cum laude
Attestation of qualification
- GEDAlternative diploma certification
- accreditationOfficial quality approval
- licenseFormal grant of permission
- certificateFormal written attestation
vocational · professional · apprenticeship · trade school · technical · credentialing · journeyman · bar exam
Ability to read, write
- numeracyAbility with figures
- comprehensionMental understanding of meaning
- proficiencySkilled performance level
- expertiseSkill from extensive practice
competency · mastery · fluency · skill acquisition · learning outcomes · critical thinking · subject matter · curriculum
Completing academic requirements formally
- commencementAct of starting
- achievementAccomplished goal or deed
- promotionRank increase or publicity
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
recognition · rite of passage · completion · convocation · conferral · pinning ceremony · hooding · capping
Educational funding or erudition
- bursaryEducational financial award
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
- grantBestow or award money
- tuitionPayment for instruction
merit-based · financial aid · endowment · Pell Grant · student loan · FAFSA · work-study · stipend
diploma
Academic completion document
- degreeUnit of measurement
- bachelor'sFirst university degree
- master'sAdvanced graduate credential
PhD · doctorate · associate · thesis · dissertation · commencement · graduation · summa cum laude · magna cum laude · cum laude
certification
Attestation of qualification
- GEDAlternative diploma certification
- accreditationOfficial quality approval
- licenseFormal grant of permission
certificate · vocational · professional · apprenticeship · trade school · technical · credentialing · journeyman · bar exam · CPA
literacy
Ability to read, write
- numeracyAbility with figures
- comprehensionMental understanding of meaning
- proficiencySkilled performance level
expertise · competency · mastery · fluency · skill acquisition · learning outcomes · critical thinking · subject matter · curriculum · pedagogy
graduation
Completing academic requirements formally
- commencementAct of starting
- achievementAccomplished goal or deed
- promotionRank increase or publicity
ceremony · recognition · rite of passage · completion · convocation · conferral · pinning ceremony · hooding · capping · first-generation
scholarship
Educational funding or erudition
- bursaryEducational financial award
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
- grantBestow or award money
tuition · merit-based · financial aid · endowment · Pell Grant · student loan · FAFSA · work-study · stipend · tuition waiver
- school gendergender gap, gender equity, gender bias, Title IX, coeducation
- educationschool, schools, teachers, students, learning
- demographicspopulation density, population growth, age distribution, population, gender ratio
- literacyliteracy, reading, spelling, alphabet, writing
- motivationmotivation, drive, motivate, inspire, encouragement
- social classupper class, middle class, lower class, working class, social class
educational attainmentautodidacticism
Practice of self-instruction
street smarts · on-the-job training · school of hard knocks · life experience · self-education
education, educate, instruction, educated, educator, educational, attain, instructive, educating