undergraduate

American  

[uhn-der-graj-oo-it, -eyt] / ˌʌn dərˈgrædʒ u ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

noun

1. a student in a university or college who has not received a first, especially a bachelor's, degree.

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adjective

1. having the standing of an undergraduate.

2. of, for, pertaining to, or characteristic of undergraduates.

undergraduate British  

/ ˌʌndəˈɡrædjʊɪt /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: undergrad.  a person studying in a university for a first degree

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Other Word Forms

• nonundergraduate noun
• undergraduateship noun

Etymology

Origin of undergraduate

First recorded in 1620–30; under- + graduate

Compare meaning

How does undergraduate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• undergraduate vs. postgraduate

Example Sentences

Laura has an undergraduate degree from Stony Brook University on Long Island, where she studied journalism and political science.

From The Wall Street Journal

Rieder studied business as an undergraduate at Emory University and earned a Master of Business Administration at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

From Barron's

The analytical skills the field teaches have made it a popular major for undergraduates, business schools have grown, and other academic areas, such as schools of health policy, have taken on economists.

From The Wall Street Journal

Vanderbilt, a 153-year-old school with about 7,300 undergraduates, has been expanding into places it considers centers of innovation, said Chancellor Daniel Diermeier.

From The Wall Street Journal

Graduate students will also face a lifetime borrowing limit of $257,500 for all federal loans, including undergraduate loans.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• freshman
• junior
• senior
• sophomore
• student