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What does it means if someone asks the qualification prior to highest degree ?

user117310
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    It's usually considered reasonable to give some reason for down-voting. – puppetsock Dec 12 '19 at 15:10
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    @puppetsockreinstateMonica Then I would have lots of explanations for the downvotes I get... But, oddly, they seem to be missing. BTW, it was not me. – Solar Mike Dec 12 '19 at 19:19
  • It would help us give a good answer if you gave more context. Without that context it is very hard to understand why anyone would want to know what was your "qualification prior to highest degree". One of the most distinguished scholars (full professor, Fellow of the Royal Society) under whom I studied would have had to answer that question as "Bachelor of Arts" - so what? – JeremyC Dec 12 '19 at 22:52
  • @JeremyC It seems relevant for a hiring committee, for instance, to ask about a junior candidate's highest and second highest qualification. – user2768 Sep 07 '20 at 12:18

1 Answers1

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It means that you should state the qualification that was completed before the highest degree you have.

So, for some completing their education in the UK, if they have a BBA in business, the prior qualification could be A levels.

Solar Mike
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  • True, but so what? – JeremyC Dec 12 '19 at 22:52
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    @JeremyC because that is what they ask for, and you don't know why they ask or what they may consider doing with that information... – Solar Mike Dec 12 '19 at 22:57
  • OK A stupid question. Give a Stupid answer: A level chemistry, or whatever. I find it hard to believe that any reputable institution would want to ask such a question, Hence my comment that more context is required. – JeremyC Dec 12 '19 at 23:00
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    @JeremyC some questions are posted on here by users who don't have such a good level of English and a simple explanation is often all they need.... Not sure my answer deserves a downvote. – Solar Mike Dec 12 '19 at 23:02
  • I am sorry. I did not wish to offend. But I still do not believe the question. It is like asking "who was your favourite lover before your current wife?". In my case the answer to the specific question would actually be Bachelor of Arts. My highest degree is Master of Arts from the University of Cambridge. As it happens I hold several degrees, one of which is, technically, junior to my Cambridge MA and another is not obviously higher than my Cambridge MA. But the question IS a silly question because it focusses on an irrelevancy. – JeremyC Dec 13 '19 at 22:47
  • (+1) @JeremyC "Silly" questions are on-topic – user2768 Sep 07 '20 at 12:15
  • I should stress, I don't consider the question silly. – user2768 Sep 07 '20 at 12:19
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    @JeremyC It might not be an irrelevancy to an equality and diversity officer who's trying to work out where the "leaky pipeline" of academic career advancement leaks. – Daniel Hatton Sep 07 '20 at 15:33
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    @JeremyC BTW, I think the correct, literal-minded answer in your case would not be "Bachelor of Arts", but "Certificate of Post-Graduate Study in Mathematics". The subtleties of the question ("qualification" is not the same thing as "degree", "prior to highest" is not the same thing as "second-highest") are interesting and, I think, probably intentional. – Daniel Hatton Sep 07 '20 at 15:49
  • @DanielHatton +1 for a good point about "prior to highest" not the same thing as "second-highest". In my case "prior to highest" is certainly the BA but "second-highest" is very hard to define given that the MA was awarded for literally zero extra academic work. BTW I do not hold any such thing as a"Certificate of Post-Graduate Study in Mathematics". My most recently awarded degree is Cambridge MMath - technically junior to my MA - but that came to me 40 years after passing the examination. – JeremyC Sep 08 '20 at 14:17
  • @JeremyC I looked at the old Statutes and Ordinances, and I should have said "Certificate of Advanced Study", not "Certificate of Postgraduate Study"; it's what they used to give people who passed Part III Mathematics with honours before the MMath was invented, and I inferred from your profile that that was your situation; but counting back 40 years, I guess you might have passed part III before even the CASM was invented. When I wrote about the subtleties of the question, I did indeed have the Cambridge MA in mind as an example of something that's a degree but not a qualification. – Daniel Hatton Sep 08 '20 at 16:35
  • @DanielHatton I did indeed pass Part III before even the CASM was invented; I was entitled to not so much as a slip of paper as a reward for doing so. – JeremyC Sep 10 '20 at 01:38