Napoleon - Bachelor’s Degree

I never stop referring to that precious book: "L'oeuvre de Paix de Napoléon”: “The work of Peace of Napoleon - 200 realizations to rebuild France" by Alain Pigeard.

On 17 March 1808, Napoleon issued a decree creating the new Bachelor’s Degree. In French, the word "Baccalauréat" derives from Latin: "Bacca Laurea" which means "a crown of laurels", a symbol of victory.

The University of Paris had been shut down during the French Revolution and replaced by new schools, independent from the Catholic church. The former bachelor's degree dedicated to the arts vanished in the process.

In 1802, Napoleon undertook a massive reform of the education system; creating high schools, then the imperial university and in March 1808 the three diplomas: "Baccalauréat", "Licence" and "Doctorat". That was the beginning of the bachelor's degree as we still know it today, being the necessary exam to access higher education. The milestone French students love so much!