Job Discussion Forums

krkelly · Joined: 18 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

I read somewhere that a 3-year degree plus a solid TEFL cert such as CELTA would meet the visa requirement for a BA. Is this true at all, true in general, or only true for particular countries or regions?

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

A 3yr degree is a BA, certainly one from the UK (and I think Aus too)

krkelly · Joined: 18 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

Yes, the 3-year degree I'm talking about is a BA in Canada as well, but I thought the 4-year degree was generally required to qualify for a visa for TEFL.

If not, then great.

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

As far as I know...it should be fine...the vast majority of UK Ba/Bsc courses are over 3 years...very few run to 4 years...I know lots of people with degrees / honours degrees...dont know anyone who took 4 years to get it.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

You can teach overseas with a Canadian BA (as opposed to a four year honours BA). Lots of people do.

You don't need the CELTA to do it. The three year 'ordinary' degree is a university degree.

The problem is Americans who have a two year Associates Bachelors. Those aren't full degrees, and many Asian countries assume that other countries have the same education system as the US, so they say people say that you need a four year degree (because the US generally has only four year degrees and two year associates degrees). What you actually need is a real degree. Not a college diploma (some Canadians have apparently convinced people that their three year college diploma is a university degree) but a degree. In Canada (Australia etc as well) a degree is three years. Or four for an honours degree.

mozzar · Joined: 16 May 2009 Posts: 339 Location: France

This is an interesting topic because I went to an interview today to work for a school that works with universities. I�m currently residing in Spain and was told that my 3 year B.A. honours degree from a British University wasn�t actually good enough. It needed to be a four year degree in order to be able to qualify for �Homologacion a Grado Academico�, which is essentially the Spanish goverment saying it�s an official degree.

The interviewer was extremely helpful in the matter and said that it was probably illegal for the Spanish goverment to not recognise degrees from official universities, especially as the recgonition process takes 3 - 6 months after you have completed all the paper work. I now have to complete my masters before I can even apply to have my university degree recognised as official.

krkelly · Joined: 18 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

If I finish off my degree, I have the option of retiring early and roaming the world a bit while teaching decent gigs. A 3-year degree is much more attainable considering I work full time.

This is encouraging Smile

EDIT: Ack, now I see how I got my mistaken idea about the 3-year BA. I was reading about teaching in Taiwan some time back and encountered something like this:

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I think the prob might be that there are BA and BA HOns degrees, and in SOME countries, they only accept the latter because they're longer, I think. Please don't quote me.

What you could say is that you were smart and finished early. I did that, Knocked a five year degree down to 3.5 YOu don't have to specify the time, just say when you graduated and taht it's a BA.

krkelly · Joined: 18 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

I think I should just read the job postings and see what qualifications are required for the kind of job I want, even though I won't be applying for anything anytime soon.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

The OP has nothing to worry about if he's doing a Canadian three year degree. It's a degree. It's called a BA or a B.Sc (or possibly a BFA, or a B.Eng, B.Com, MusBac or a few other things too). All of these things are regular undergraduate degrees. At many schools, MOST people are graduating with three year degrees because to even be eligible for a four year degree you have to have a high average. At other schools a four year program is any twenty full course program (4 years X 5 full course equivalents). So it isn't about grade, but only duration of stay. Often people will combine two three year degrees (7 or 8 full course equivalents in the major subject) add in four or five full course equivalents in electives and have a four year honours degree (known as a double major).

What would not be okay is any of these (from wikipedia):

Associate degree

[edit]Types

Common types of associate degrees are:
AA (Associate of Arts)
AE (Associate of Engineering; or, in some cases, Associate in Electronics Engineering Technology)
AN (Associate of Nursing)
AS (Associate of Science)
AF (Associate of Forestry)
AT (Associate of Technology)
AAA (Associate of Applied Arts)
AAB (Associate of Applied Business)
AAS (Associate of Applied Science; or in some cases, Associate of Arts and Sciences)
AAT (Associate of Arts in Teaching)
ABA (Associate of Business Administration)
ABS (Associate of Baccalaureate Studies)
ADN (Associate Degree in Nursing)
AES (Associate of Engineering Science)
AET (Associate in Engineering Technology)
AFA (Associate of Fine Arts)
AGS (Associate of General Studies)
AIT (Associate of Industrial Technology)
AOS (Associate of Occupational Studies)
APE (Associate of Pre-Engineering)
APS (Associate of Political Science)
APS (Associate of Public Service)
ASPT-APT (Associate in Physical Therapy)
ASD (Associate of Software Development)
[edit]

Note that they ALL start with 'A'.

Jetgirly · Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Posts: 741

What schools in Canada have three-year Bachelors degrees? I thought that was something that was only common back when Ontario had Grade 13? The only person I know with a three-year degree is about eighty years old.

I did my undergrad BA at UVic. It was a four-year degree program but I did it in three years by taking extra classes each semester. I can't imagine how someone from outside the Canadian university system could look at my transcript and have a good understanding of my program. However, I don't think there is any planet on which the CELTA could be viewed as an equivalent to a year of university education. Whether you're looking at content or the length of the program, the two simply aren't equivalent.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

krkelly · Joined: 18 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

Chancellor · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:18 pm Post subject:

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

A 3 yr degree in the UK is an honours degree. This comes up quite a lot on the forum. 99.9% of UK BA/BSc courses are over 3 years ... the majority of them are also honours programs.

The link posted above does kinda show why. Here are the key points

UK degrees are more focused and professionally oriented than the US liberal arts education, which requires each student to learn a broader curriculum. For students who have a clear idea of what they want to study, a British degree is ideal as you are allowed to specialize in your subject area from the start.

UK undergraduate degrees are typically 3 years in length (4 in Scotland).

The UK style of education is particularly suitable for students who want to immerse themselves in a specific subject or combination of subjects straight out of high school e.g. Art and Design, Law, Business, Medicine (or Medical Related subjects) Psychology, Politics and Education are particularly suitable.