Much significance is attached to college degrees in modern society. The fact that many individuals have become victims of fraudulent institutions that award degrees without the rigorous courses of study prescribed by legitimate institutions, suggests that there may be too much emphasis upon the form rather than the substance of higher education. No comprehensive study of American college degrees has been made in recent years. This study was undertaken to determine the extent of proliferation of degrees and their abbreviations and to provide an authentic directory of American degrees, both earned and honorary. More than 1,600 different academic degrees are currently conferred by colleges and universities in the United States, according to information recently furnished by more than 2,000 of these institutions. In addition, more than 800 other academic degrees have been recognized in past years but, as far as can be determined, these are no longer in current use. Almost 2,600 different abbreviations are used for the 1,600 current degrees. It is the purpose of this monograph to report in detail concerning various aspects of this total number of degrees, 2,400, which are or have been used to mark the successful completion of the wide variety of courses of study offered by American institutions of higher education. This publication should be especially useful to registrars, deans, librarians, department chairmen, and other educational leaders responsible for determining degree plans. It will also serve as a ready reference on matters pertaining to degrees for government employees, representatives of foreign governments, and personnel officers, as well as the general public. Individual chapters contains footnotes. (Contains 10 tables and 2 graphs.) [Due to its size, this volume has been processed as two separate parts. This first part includes the Foreword through Chapter VIII. The second part, ED543970, includes Chapter IX: Degrees Arranged Alphabetically, Chapter X: Abbreviations Arranged Alphabetically, and an index. The cover page and table of contents are repeated in the second part. Best copy available has been provided.]