Have you ever looked at the alphabet soup on someone's business
card and wondered what it all meant? Here are some answers. Below I've
listed all the degree acronyms and abbreviations of which I'm aware.
I've organized them alphabetically; an asterisk marks degrees that are
usually honorary (such degrees are often followed by the words honoris
causa). Links from the abbreviations generally lead to information
about that degree. For simplicity, I exclude abbreviations that contain
parentheticals (so MS(Audiol), the Master of Science in Audiology
degree, is just MS). Also, this list does not contain professional
abbreviations (such as RD for registered dietician) mainly because I
couldn't possibly list them all. Feel free to /msg me with additions or
corrections.
- A -
AA -
Associate in
Arts
AM - Master of Arts
AS - Associate in
Science
AB -
Bachelor of Arts
- B -
BA - Bachelor of Arts
BABA - Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration
BD - Bachelor of Divinity
BEng - Bachelor of
Engineering
BFA - Bachelor of Fine Arts
BM - Bachelor of Music
BMus - Bachelor of Music
BS - Bachelor of Science
BSc - Bachelor of Science
BSE - Bachelor of Science in Engineering
BSN - Bachelor of Science in
Nursing
BSW - Bachelor of Social Work
- C -
ChB - Bachelor of
Surgery (a British medical degree)
- D -
DD -
Doctor of
Divinity
DDS - Doctor of Dental Surgery
DMD - Doctor of Medical Dentistry
DO - Doctor of Osteopathy
DPod - Doctor of Podiatry
DSc - Doctor of Science
DVM - Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
- E -
EdD - Doctor of
Education
- J -
JD - Juris Doctor
- L -
LHD - Doctor of Humane Letters
*
LittB - Bachelor of Letters
LittM -
Master of Letters
LittD - Doctor of Letters
*
LLB - Bachelor of
Laws
LLD - Doctor of Laws
*
LLM - Master of Laws
- M -
MA - Master of Arts
MALS - Master of Arts in
Liberal Studies
MAT - Master of Arts in
Teaching
MB - Bachelor of Medicine (a British medical degree)
MBA - Master of
Business Administration
MD - Medical Doctor
MDiv- Master of Divinity
MEd - Master of Education
MEM - Master of Environmental Management, Master of Engineering Management
MEng - Master of Engineering
MF - Master of Forestry
MFA - Master of Fine Arts
MHS - Master of Health Sciences
MLS - Master of Library Science
MM - Master of
Music
MPA - Master of Public Administration
MPH - Master of
Public Health
MPhil - Master of
Philosophy
MPP - Master of Public Policy
MS -
Master of Science
MSc -
Master of Science
MSN - Master of Science in Nursing
MSW - Master of Social Work
MTh - Master of Theology
- N -
ND - Doctor of
Naturopathy
- P -
PharmD - Doctor of Pharmacy
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
PsyD - Doctor of
Psychology
- S -
SB - Bachelor of Science
ScB - Bachelor of Science
ScM -
Master of Science
ScD - Doctor of Science
SJD - Doctor of Juridical Science
- T -
ThM - Master of Theology