Undergraduate education
Undergraduate degrees are not like in the United States where students have general studies during the first years and only specialize in a "major" during the last years of college. European students enroll in a specific course of studies they want to do from the start. They are expected to have received a good general education already in the secondary level in a school (like a gymnasium or lycée). In many countries they go to university at 18 or 17. The degree normally takes four or five years. After completing the first degree students can move on to doctoral studies. In many countries, the English distinction between a bachelor's and master's degree is only now being introduced by the Bologna process. This means that the old first degree would be approximately equal to a master's degree in the US or the UK.