A Study On Degree System In European Medieval Universities

European Medieval Universities are the origin of modern universities, but also are the most valuable cultural inheritances the medieval Europe leaves to the world. The concepts of academic freedom and autonomy originated in European Medieval Universities, so did such as organization structure, teaching system and academic degree system. Academic degree system is one of the greatest institutional legacies passed down from the medieval universities. It was born in the Middle Ages, and then there was a unified standard to evaluate academic results of students. A series of systems, with the final goal of academic degree, dominated the whole learning process of students and became keystone of university constitutional system. To better understand, and to reform and perfect the academic degree system of contemporary university, we must study the historical origin of university development and draw on the wisdom.This paper is composed of three major issues: the origin, evolution, characteristics and influence of academic degree system. Firstly, based on the background of the Middle Ages, the paper explored the origin of academic degree, discussed the naissance of European Medieval Universities, the influence of the knight system and guild system on academic degree system, and power plays in the development of the academic degree system. Secondly, the paper analyzed the evolution of all levels of academic degree systems in European medieval universities, and discussed the evolution of Bachelor, Licentiate, Master and Doctoral, and necessary procedures to obtain the appropriate degree. At last, the paper concluded characteristics and influence of academic degree system in European Medieval Universities. It mainly chose three aspects to describe the characteristics of the academic degree system. These aspects include attaching importance to liberal education, emphasis on teaching experience, and broad enrolment and strict graduation. In addition, the paper discussed influence of European medieval universities from the perspective of its influence on university development and European society.