undergraduate

undergraduate — noun

1. a person who has enrolled at a higher-education institution to obtain their firs

1.nounB1
Definition

a person who has enrolled at a higher-education institution to obtain their first academic qualification, typically a bachelor's degree

Example

Vinícius is an undergraduate studying chemical engineering at the University of São Paulo.

undergraduate + studying [subject] at [institution]

As an undergraduate, Esme worked part-time in the campus library to pay for her books.

as an undergraduate — time-of-life reference

Common collocations
  • undergraduate degree
  • undergraduate student
  • undergraduate course
  • undergraduate program
  • undergraduate studies
Synonyms
  • student

    broader term that includes school, college, and university learners at any level

  • undergrad

    informal shortening, common in spoken English but rare in formal writing

  • college student

    more common in American English, can include students at two-year or community colleges

Antonyms
  • graduate

    someone who has already completed a degree

  • postgraduate

    someone studying for an advanced degree beyond the bachelor's level

Grammar Patterns

undergraduate + in/at [institution]

undergraduate + studying [subject]

Usage Note

In Taiwan, this is commonly translated as 大學生 or 大學部學生 to distinguish from 研究生 (graduate student). People rarely shorten it to 'undergrad' in formal writing, though the abbreviation is common in casual speech.

Common Mistakes

I am an undergraduate student at NTU.
I am an undergraduate at NTU.
Adding 'student' after 'undergraduate' is grammatically fine but redundant, since 'undergraduate' already means a type of student.
She is studying undergraduate in English.
She is an undergraduate studying English.
'Undergraduate' is a noun, not an adverb. Say you are 'an undergraduate' and then name your field.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe people in educational settings, but they differ in level and register. 'Student' is the broadest term — it covers anyone from a primary-school child to a PhD researcher. 'Undergraduate' refers specifically to a university or college student working toward their first degree. 'Undergrad' is an informal clipping used mainly in conversation ('Most undergrads live in dorms their first year'). 'Graduate' (noun) has two meanings: a person who has completed a degree, or — in American English — someone pursuing an advanced degree (equivalent to 'postgraduate'). 'Postgraduate' is the British-English term for anyone studying beyond a bachelor's degree, including master's and doctoral students. Choose 'undergraduate' for formal academic contexts, 'undergrad' for casual speech, and 'postgraduate' or 'graduate student' when you need to specify that a learner has already earned a first degree.

student ↗undergrad ↗graduate ↗postgraduate ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • undergraduate degree
  • undergraduate program
  • undergraduate course
  • undergraduate studies
  • undergraduate student

Phrases

  • as an undergraduate

Prepositions

Etymology

English

The word 'undergraduate' was formed in the early 1600s by combining 'under-' (meaning lower in rank) with 'graduate' (a person who has earned a degree). At the time, university students were ranked by seniority, and an 'undergraduate' was considered below a 'graduate' in academic standing. The first recorded use in English dates to 1628.