Degree vs. Title — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 27, 2023
A "degree" is an academic achievement or level of temperature, while a "title" is a name that describes someone's position or the name of a work.
Difference Between Degree and Title
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A degree usually refers to an educational certification awarded by institutions after the completion of a course of study. It signifies academic accomplishments, skills, and expertise in a specific field of study. For instance, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate are common types of academic degrees. On the other hand, a title is a designation or a name given to a particular work, such as a book, movie, or piece of music, or it can represent a person's status or occupation, like "Doctor," "Professor," or "Captain."
In the context of academia, a degree is a milestone that often follows years of study and successful completion of examinations, projects, and sometimes theses or dissertations. It is a tangible proof of educational attainment. A title, in a similar context, can refer to an academic or professional rank that one might earn or be granted, indicating expertise or authority in a specific field.
From a linguistic standpoint, the word degree can have other meanings too. It can denote a unit of measurement, especially for angles and temperature. For instance, 90 degrees in a right angle or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezing point of water. A title, in its broader sense, encompasses not just professional or academic designations but can also be the name of nobility, like "Duke" or "Countess," or even generic terms of address, like "Mr." or "Ms."
When it comes to formal documentation, the degree one holds often gets mentioned in resumes, academic transcripts, and at times on professional name cards, reflecting one's educational qualifications. A title, conversely, might precede a name, indicating respect, rank, or a specific role that the person holds in professional or societal contexts.
Using degree and title accurately is essential, especially in formal and professional settings. While both indicate a form of recognition, a degree typically emphasizes educational accomplishments, and a title denotes a specific role, status, or the name of a work.
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Comparison Chart
Primary Context
Education
Designation/Name
Function
Indicates academic achievement
Describes position, rank, or work name
Examples
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD
Mr., Mrs., Captain, "Gone with the Wind"
Placement in Documents
Resumes, transcripts
Before names, on book covers
Usage in Speech
"I have a degree in Biology."
"Please, call me by my title, Doctor Smith."
Compare with Definitions
Degree
An academic qualification awarded by an institution.
She earned her degree in physics from MIT.
Title
A name of a book, movie, or artwork.
The title of her new book is 'Midnight Sun'.
Degree
A unit for measuring angles.
The triangle has a 90-degree angle.
Title
A formal designation before someone's name.
The title 'Captain' precedes his name in formal settings.
Degree
A measure of intensity or amount.
The degree of difficulty for this task is high.
Title
A legal document proving ownership.
He has the title to that piece of land.
Degree
A rank or grade of ceremonial orders.
He was honored with the third degree of the order.
Title
An honor or distinction given because of achievement.
He was awarded the title of 'Best Player of the Year'.
Degree
The amount, level, or extent to which something happens or is present
A question of degree
A degree of caution is probably wise
Title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification.
Degree
A unit of measurement of angles, one ninetieth of a right angle or the angle subtended by one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of the circumference of a circle
Set at an angle of 45 degrees
Title
The name of a book, composition, or other artistic work
The author and title of the book
Degree
A unit in any of various scales of temperature, intensity, or hardness
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius
Title
A name that describes someone's position or job
Leese assumed the title of director general
Degree
An academic rank conferred by a college or university after examination or after completion of a course, or conferred as an honour on a distinguished person
A degree in zoology
Title
The position of being the champion of a major sports competition
Davis won the world title for the first time in 1981
Degree
Social or official rank
Persons of unequal degree
Title
A right or claim to the ownership of property or to a rank or throne
The buyer acquires a good title to the goods
A grocery family had title to the property
Degree
One of a series of steps in a process, course, or progression; a stage
Proceeded to the next degree of difficulty.
Title
(in church use) a fixed sphere of work and source of income as a condition for ordination.
Degree
A step in a direct hereditary line of descent or ascent
First cousins are two degrees from their common ancestor.
Title
Give a name to (a book, composition, or other work)
A report titled The Lost Land
Degree
Relative social or official rank, dignity, or position.
Title
An identifying name given to a book, play, film, musical composition, or other work.
Degree
Relative intensity or amount, as of a quality or attribute
A high degree of accuracy.
Title
A general or descriptive heading, as of a book chapter.
Degree
The extent or measure of a state of being, an action, or a relation
Modernized their facilities to a large degree.
Title
A written work that is published or about to be published
The titles in the publisher's fall catalog.
Degree
A unit division of a temperature scale.
Title
A division of a legal code, generally consisting of multiple related statutes.
Degree
(Mathematics) A planar unit of angular measure equal in magnitude to 1/360 of a complete revolution.
Title
Often titles Written material to be read by viewers that is included in a film or television show, typically presenting credits, narration, or dialogue.
Degree
A unit of latitude or longitude, equal to 1/360 of a great circle.
Title
A written piece of translated dialogue superimposed at the bottom of the frame during a film; a subtitle.
Degree
The greatest sum of the exponents of the variables in a term of a polynomial or polynomial equation.
Title
A formal appellation attached to the name of a person as a sign of office, rank, profession, or hereditary privilege.
Degree
The exponent of the derivative of highest order in a differential equation in standard form.
Title
A descriptive name; an epithet
The dubious title of the worst bowler in the league.
Degree
An academic title given by a college or university to a student who has completed a course of study
Received the Bachelor of Arts degree at commencement.
Title
A right or claim, or the basis of a right or claim
"The weight of a fish is commonly its only title to fame" (Henry David Thoreau).
Degree
A similar title conferred as an honorary distinction.
Title
A form of ownership free of valid claims by other parties.
Degree
(Law) A division or classification of a specific crime according to its seriousness
Murder in the second degree.
Title
The aggregate evidence that gives rise to a legal right of possession or control.
Degree
A classification of the severity of an injury, especially a burn
A third-degree burn.
Title
The instrument, such as a deed, that constitutes this evidence.
Degree
(Grammar) One of the forms used in the comparison of adjectives and adverbs. For example, tall is the positive degree, taller the comparative degree, and tallest the superlative degree of the adjective tall.
Title
Sports & Games A championship
Which boxer won the heavyweight title?.
Degree
One of the seven notes of a diatonic scale.
Title
A source of income or area of work required of a candidate for ordination in the Church of England.
Degree
A space or line of the staff.
Title
A Roman Catholic church in or near Rome having a cardinal for its nominal head.
Degree
A stage of proficiency or qualification in a course of study, now especially an award bestowed by a university or, in some countries, a college, as a certification of academic achievement. (In the United States, can include secondary schools.)
She has two bachelor's degrees and is studying towards a master's degree.
Title
To give a name or title to.
Degree
(geometry) A unit of measurement of angle equal to 360 of a circle's circumference.
A right angle is a ninety-degree angle.
Most humans have a field of vision of almost 180 degrees.
Title
An appellation given to a person or family to signify either veneration, official position, social rank, the possession of assets or properties, or a professional or academic qualification. See also :Category:Titles
Degree
(physics) A unit of measurement of temperature on any of several scales, such as Celsius or Fahrenheit.
180 degrees Fahrenheit is equivalent to 100 degrees Celsius.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
Title
(property law) Legal right to ownership of a property; a deed or other certificate proving this.
A good title to an estate, or an imperfect title
Degree
(algebra) The sum of the exponents of a term; the order of a polynomial.
A quadratic polynomial is a polynomial of degree 2.
Title
In canon law, that by which a beneficiary holds a benefice.
Degree
The dimensionality of a field extension.
The set of complex numbers constitutes a field extension of degree 2 over the real numbers.
The Galois field has degree 3 over its subfield
Title
A church to which a priest was ordained, and where he was to reside.
Degree
(graph theory) The number of edges that a vertex takes part in; a valency.
Title
The name of a book, film, musical piece, painting, or other work of art.
I know the singer's name, but not the title of the song.
Degree
(logic) The number of logical connectives in a formula.
Title
A publication.
The retailer carries thousands of titles.
Buyers of the new video game console can choose from three bundled titles.
Degree
(surveying) The curvature of a circular arc, expressed as the angle subtended by a fixed length of arc or chord.
Title
A section or division of a subject, as of a law or a book.
Degree
(geography) A unit of measurement of latitude and longitude which together identify a location on the Earth's surface.
Title
A written title, credit, or caption shown with a film, video, or performance.
The titles scrolled by too quickly to read.
Degree
(grammar) Any of the three stages (positive, comparative, superlative) in the comparison of an adjective or an adverb.
Title
(bookbinding) The panel for the name, between the bands of the back of a book.
Degree
A step on a set of stairs; the rung of a ladder.
Title
The subject of a writing; a short phrase that summarizes the entire topic.
Degree
An individual step, or stage, in any process or scale of values.
Title
A division of an act of law
Title II of the USA PATRIOT Act
Degree
A stage of rank or privilege; social standing.
Title
(sports) The recognition given to the winner of a championship in sports.
Degree
(genealogy) A ‘step’ in genealogical descent.
Title
A long title.
Degree
One's relative state or experience; way, manner.
Title
A short title.
Degree
The amount that an entity possesses a certain property; relative intensity, extent.
To what degree do the two accounts of the accident concur?
Title
(transitive) To assign a title to; to entitle.
Degree
A step, stair, or staircase.
By ladders, or else by degree.
Title
An inscription put over or upon anything as a name by which it is known.
Degree
One of a series of progressive steps upward or downward, in quality, rank, acquirement, and the like; a stage in progression; grade; gradation; as, degrees of vice and virtue; to advance by slow degrees; degree of comparison.
Title
The inscription in the beginning of a book, usually containing the subject of the work, the author's and publisher's names, the date, etc.
Degree
The point or step of progression to which a person has arrived; rank or station in life; position.
Title
The panel for the name, between the bands of the back of a book.
Degree
Measure of advancement; quality; extent; as, tastes differ in kind as well as in degree.
The degree of excellence which proclaims genius, is different in different times and different places.
Title
A section or division of a subject, as of a law, a book, specif. (Roman & Canon Laws), a chapter or division of a law book.
Degree
Grade or rank to which scholars are admitted by a college or university, in recognition of their attainments; also, (informal) the diploma provided by an educational institution attesting to the achievement of that rank; as, the degree of bachelor of arts, master, doctor, etc.; to hang one's degrees on the office wall.
The youth attained his bachelor's degree, and left the university.
Title
An appellation of dignity, distinction, or preëminence (hereditary or acquired), given to persons, as duke marquis, honorable, esquire, etc.
With his former title greet Macbeth.
Degree
A certain distance or remove in the line of descent, determining the proximity of blood; one remove in the chain of relationship; as, a relation in the third or fourth degree.
In the 11th century an opinion began to gain ground in Italy, that third cousins might marry, being in the seventh degree according to the civil law.
Title
A name; an appellation; a designation.
Degree
Three figures taken together in numeration; thus, 140 is one degree, 222,140 two degrees.
Title
That which constitutes a just cause of exclusive possession; that which is the foundation of ownership of property, real or personal; a right; as, a good title to an estate, or an imperfect title.
Degree
State as indicated by sum of exponents; more particularly, the degree of a term is indicated by the sum of the exponents of its literal factors; thus, a2b3c is a term of the sixth degree. The degree of a power, or radical, is denoted by its index, that of an equation by the greatest sum of the exponents of the unknown quantities in any term; thus, ax4 + bx2 = c, and mx2y2 + nyx = p, are both equations of the fourth degree.
Title
A church to which a priest was ordained, and where he was to reside.
Degree
A 360th part of the circumference of a circle, which part is taken as the principal unit of measure for arcs and angles. The degree is divided into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds.
Title
To call by a title; to name; to entitle.
Hadrian, having quieted the island, took it for honor to be titled on his coin, "The Restorer of Britain."
Degree
A division, space, or interval, marked on a mathematical or other instrument, as on a thermometer.
It has been said that Scotsmen . . . are . . . grave to a degree on occasions when races more favored by nature are gladsome to excess.
Title
A heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with;
Title 8 provided federal help for schools
Degree
A position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality;
A moderate degree of intelligence
A high level of care is required
It is all a matter of degree
Title
The name of a work of art or literary composition etc.;
He looked for books with the word `jazz' in the title
He refused to give titles to his paintings
I can never remember movie titles
Degree
A specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process;
A remarkable degree of frankness
At what stage are the social sciences?
Title
A general or descriptive heading for a section of a written work;
The novel had chapter titles
Degree
An award conferred by a college or university signifying that the recipient has satisfactorily completed a course of study;
He earned his degree at Princeton summa cum laude
Title
The status of being a champion;
He held the title for two years
Degree
A unit of temperature on a specified scale;
The game was played in spite of the 40-degree temperature
Title
A legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it;
He signed the deed
He kept the title to his car in the glove compartment
Degree
A measure for arcs and angles;
There are 360 degrees in a circle
Title
An identifying appellation signifying status or function: e.g. Mr. or General;
The professor didn't like his friends to use his formal title
Degree
The highest power of a term or variable
Title
An established or recognized right;
A strong legal claim to the property
He had no documents confirming his title to his father's estate
He staked his claim
Degree
The seriousness of something (e.g., a burn or crime);
Murder in the second degree
A second degree burn
Title
(usually plural) written material introduced into a movie or TV show to give credits or represent dialogue or explain an action;
The titles go by faster than I can read
Degree
A unit indicating temperature.
The day started at a chilly 45 degrees.
Title
An appellation signifying nobility;
`your majesty' is the appropriate title to use in addressing a king
Title
An informal right to something;
His claim on her attentions
His title to fame
Title
Give a title to
Title
Designate by an identifying term;
They styled their nation `The Confederate States'
Title
A term used to describe someone's job or position.
Her title at the company is 'Chief Financial Officer'.
Common Curiosities
What does a title signify?
A title can be a designation indicating one's profession, status, or the name of a specific work.
Is a degree permanent?
Yes, once awarded, academic degrees are permanent achievements.
How are titles used in literature?
In literature, a title denotes the name of a work, like a book or poem.
Can you have multiple degrees?
Yes, an individual can hold multiple academic degrees in various fields.
Is a degree necessary for a title?
No, titles like "Mr." or "Mrs." or professional titles don't require specific degrees.
What is a degree?
A degree is an academic qualification earned after completing a course of study.
Can a degree be a title?
While a degree indicates academic accomplishments, it's not typically used as a title. However, Doctorate holders might use "Dr." as a title.
Are titles only used for people?
No, titles can be used for books, movies, artworks, and more.
Can I use my degree as part of my title?
Some professionals, especially doctors, might use their degree qualification as part of their title.
Why are titles important in societal contexts?
Titles often denote respect, authority, or expertise, helping define roles and hierarchies in society.
What are honorary titles?
Honorary titles are distinctions given without the standard prerequisites, often for societal contributions.
How does one earn a degree?
Degrees are earned by completing specific courses and meeting academic requirements of an institution.
Can titles change over time?
Yes, a person's title can change based on profession, marital status, or other factors.
What's the difference between a job title and a formal title?
A job title indicates one's position in a company, while a formal title can be an honorific or descriptor of rank or status.
Do degrees determine salary?
While degrees can influence salary, many other factors like experience and skills also play a role.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
