Professional student
Encyclopedia
The term Professional student has two uses in the university
setting:
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
setting:
- In the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, if not elsewhere, a professional student is a student majoringAcademic majorIn the United States and Canada, an academic major or major concentration is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits....
in what are considered the professional degreesFirst professional degreeA professional degree prepares the holder for a particular profession by emphasizing competency skills along with theory and analysis. These professions are typically licensed or otherwise regulated by a governmental or government-approved body...
. These include Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.VeterinarianA veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
), Law (J.D.Juris DoctorJuris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
or LL.B.), Medicine (M.D.Doctor of MedicineDoctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
), Engineering, Business Administration (M.B.A.), Nursing (B.Sc.N.), Pharmacy (Pharm.D. or B.Sc.Phm.) and more.
- "Professional student" is a slang term commonly used in colleges to describe a student who stays in school for many years rather than embarking on a career. To avoid these types, some four-year colleges have imposed limits on the length of time students can be enrolled in order to open up their limited slots to new students. However, the colleges allow for demonstrated exceptions (e.g., a student who holds down a full-time occupation or has a family to raise, who is clearly demonstrating progress toward a degree). See: perpetual studentPerpetual studentA perpetual student, also known as a professional student , is a college or university attendee who re-enrolls for several years, typically more than what is necessary to obtain a given degree....
.