baccalaureate

noun bac·ca·lau·re·ate \ ˌba-kə-ˈlȯr-ē-ət , -ˈlär- \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of baccalaureate

1 : the degree of bachelor conferred by universities and colleges

2 a : a sermon to a graduating class

b : the service at which this sermon is delivered

Recent Examples of baccalaureate from the Web

The school said in a news release Monday that 92 percent of UT baccalaureate programs system-wide have a debt-to-income ratio of 10 percent or less one year after graduation, and 99 percent of them hold that statistic five years after graduation.

— annie millerbernd, San Antonio Express-News, "What does the new UT data say about UTSA graduates?," 28 Mar. 2018
In their applications, the candidates highlighted their experiences: Bonahue has overseen the addition of nine new baccalaureate degree programs and an advising system designed to improve course completion and retention rates.

— annie martin, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Seminole State presidential search narrows to 3," 22 Mar. 2018
Letting community colleges offer baccalaureate degrees is part of a national trend, Posey said.

— kate murphy, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati State plans to offer new bachelor's degrees. The goal: fill jobs in the region.," 22 Mar. 2018
For the 2017/2018 school year, Sharif’s two comprehensive biology classes- not honors or IB (international baccalaureate classes) classes – were selected for the program.

— katie v. jones, Howard County Times, "Walter Reed instructors provide biology help to Laurel High School students," 2 Mar. 2018
And China Academy of Art in Hangzhou is inviting 10 post-baccalaureate Art Institute students to study for three-year International Master of Fine Arts degrees.

— leah garchik, San Francisco Chronicle, "Adopting lessons from the French Laundry for use at home," 28 Feb. 2018
An optional school has specialized learning focuses that range from college prep, international studies, international baccalaureate, creative and performing arts, health science and others, according to the Shelby County Schools website.

— marius payton, ajc, "Mother speaks out after her children are barred from school after principal denies their residency," 19 Sep. 2017
His father is the director of the post-baccalaureate programs in the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University in Manhattan.

— New York Times, "Lisa Rossi, Loren Amor-Radovich," 1 Oct. 2017
The couple met in June 2012 at the University of Virginia while both were completing a post-baccalaureate premedical program.

— blair saunders, New York Times, "Blair Saunders, Luca Allais," 24 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'baccalaureate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of baccalaureate

borrowed from Medieval Latin baccalaureātus, respelling (perhaps influenced by bacca laurī "laurel berry") of bacheleriātus, from bachelarius "knight lacking retainers, young clerk, person with an initial university degree" + Latin -ātus ²-ate — more at ¹bachelor

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1649

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Education Terms

colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

BACCALAUREATE Defined for English Language Learners

baccalaureate

noun

Definition of baccalaureate for English Language Learners

: a test taken by students in France and some other countries in order to qualify for attending a university
: a sermon given to a class of graduating students at a school
: the service at which this sermon is given