Licence ès Lettres

A licentiate is a degree below that of a PhD given by universities in some countries. The term is also used for a person who holds this degree. The term derives from Latin licentia, "freedom" (from Latin licere, "to allow"), which is applied in the phrases licentia docendi meaning permission to teach and licentia ad practicandum signifying someone who holds a certificate of competence to practise a profession. Many countries have degrees with this title, but they may represent different educational levels.

Originally, for the student in the medieval university the "licentia docendi" was of a somewhat different nature than the academic degrees of bachelor, master or doctor. The latter essentially indicated the rank of seniority in the various faculties (arts, theology, law, medicine), whereas the licentia was literally the licence to teach. It was awarded not by the university but by the church, embodied in the chancellor of the diocese in which the university was located. The licentia would only be awarded however upon recommendation by the university, initially shortly before the candidate would be awarded the final degree of master or doctor, the requirements for which beyond having been awarded the licentia were only of a ceremonial nature.

Over time however, this distinction in nature between the licentia on the one hand and the bachelor, master and doctor degrees on the other began to fade. In the continental European universities the licentia became an academic degree between the bachelor's degree on the one hand and the master or doctor degree on other, in particular in the higher faculties. Moreover, the costs for obtaining the doctorate could be significant. As a result, most students not intending on an academic career would forgo the doctorate, and as a result the licentiate became the common final degree.

A notable exception to this development were the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and the universities modelled after them. As their locations were not the seats of bishops, the granting of the licentia docendi happened by proxy, and its significance faded away.

In Argentina, the Licentiate degree (Spanish: Licenciatura), by which one becomes a licenciada (female) or a licenciado (male), is a four- to six-year degree. It's equivalent to an M.Sc. or M.A. in North American universities, or Master in any country of Europe given by the Bologna Process and World Universities affiliates. Occasionally, the achievement of the "Licentiate" degree does not require the formal writing of a thesis, although almost always, some amount of research is required. The successful defense of the "Tesis de Licenciatura" automatically habilitates the candidate to apply to a Master's or Doctorate degree in a related field of science; in the past graduates were granted the Licentia Doctorandus, after the dissertation of their written thesis, this was a requirement allowing them to enter the Doctoral program equivalent to the current Ph.D. degree.

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