Universities (6 public and 49 private institutions) offer an academic education, from bachelor to PhD. Students are admitted based on their performance at the WASSCE - a maximum of 24 points is generally required in order to apply to a Bachelor's degree programme (see "Grading system" below). A bachelor's degree is usually completed after four years of majoring in a specific field. Master's degrees are of two sorts: a one-year programme concluded with a final paper based on a literature study, or a two-year programme, concluded with a final paper based on one year of independent research. Both can lead to a Ph.D., usually achieved in three years within a doctoral programme.