Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Degree, academic
(970 words)

1. Forms and Ceremonial

The right to award academic degrees was acquired by the universities by virtue of customary law or else was granted by imperial or pontifical privilege (Academic freedom). It was among the essential classifying and identifying features of an early modern university. The degrees initially structured the multi-level (Latin gradusstep, level”) design of university education, which at its maximum consisted of four successive levels of study: the…

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Rasche, Ulrich, “Degree, academic”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_016672>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170626



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