Unlike the United States or Bologna process model, Russian higher education was traditionally not divided into undergraduate (bachelor's) and graduate (master's) levels. Instead, tertiary education was undertaken in a single stage, typically five or six years in duration, which resulted in a specialist diploma. Specialist diplomas were perceived equal to Western MSc/MA qualification. A specialist graduate needed no further academic qualification to pursue a professional career, with the exception of some (but not all) branches of medical professions that required a post-graduate residency stage. Military college education lasted four years and was ranked as equivalent to "specialist" degree.