In the USA, a Bachelors degree is usually a four-year degree, which is the second-lowest degree that is given by American universites (the two-year AA degree is the lowest). The Masters degree is the next higher degree from the Bachelors. It involves at least two more years of study after a person has been awarded the Bachelors degree. Also, the Bachelors degree usually just involves taking and passing the required classes, while getting a Masters degree usually involves a lot of independent study, working on new ideas in order to actually contribute to the sum of human knowledge. They do this under the direct supervision of a University Professor. Masters degree candidates usually have to write a thesis describing what are the new things they have discovered.

Actually there is more than one difference between a Bachelor's and Master's degree. Master's degree programs usually take less time to obtain. Three years is the norm; whereas, a Bachelor's degree usually takes longer to obtain, with 4 years being the norm. Bachelor's degrees are usually easier to obtain, in some respects, because in grad school, you cannot make anything less than a "B" in any course, or you'll be required to leave the program, or you'll have to re-take the course because, in effect, in graduate school, anything less than a "B" is considered failing, which basically means no "Ds" or "Cs." Furthermore, Master's degrees usually offer the recipient a higher salary. I say usually because like, with most things, there's always an exception to the rule. For instance, if you're pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Chemical Engineering, then you're much more likely to make more money than a social worker, who has his/her Master's degree because accountants and Chemical Engineers usually make much more money, on average, than even social workers, who have may have Master's degrees. (I say social workers, who may have Master's degrees because in Texas, for instance, you can become a licensed social worker with only a Bachelor's degree, provided that your bachelor's degree is in Social Work and not something similar such as Psychology). Another difference between Bachelor's and Master's degrees is the course load. Usually Bachelor's degree programs require less reading and less research. Of course this depends upon your individual professor and the university/college that you attend. Typically, Master's degree programs require more extensive reading; besides, one textbook, and also requires much more writing (i.e., writing research papers). Master's degree programs also usually have mid-terms, final exams, quizzes, etc.--basic requirements that you'll find in any Bachelor's degree program, too. Still yet, another difference is that Master's degree programs usually, if not always, require the student to take comprehensive exams after he/she has taken a certain amount of courses. Once, the student has taken a specified amount of courses in their major area of study, then they must take and pass these comprehensive exams, which ONLY cover the material you learned at the graduate-level. Whereas, when pursuing your Bachelor's degree, it's not required, to the best of my knowledge, that you take any form of comprehensive exams. Master's degree programs usually only focus on your major area of study; although, in some instances, you may be required to take additional graduate-level courses, in order, to fulfill minimum requirements, in order, obtain your Master's degree. Whereas, with a Bacehlor's degree program, not only do you take courses in your major field of study that you'll be obtaining your Bachelor's degree in, but you also are required to take "core" courses, which are courses that are required by the college/university you're attending before you can even obtain your Bachelor's degree. Also before you can obtain your Master's degree, a student will usually write a thesis. A thesis is simply an extensive research paper, where you choose a topic to examine and then study it and write about it, and then once you've written the thesis, then you go before a thesis committee that you usually choose beforehand, who will give you a final oral exam where the committee asks you pertinent questions about your thesis such as findings, etc. Before you can even pursue a Bachelor's degree, then you must first take a college entrance exam. Usually it's the SAT I or ACT. In some instances, some universities such as Harvard, Yale, Duke, and others aditionally require taking the SAT II, which is composed of individual subject tests. You can contact the College Board on-line about these exams at: http://www.collegeboard.com There it will further explain these different college entrance exams required before entering a Bachelor's degree program. Before you can pursue a Master's degree, you must first obtain your Bacehlor's degree--you can't obtain them simultaneously. You must first obtain your Bachelor's degree before you can be fully admitted into a graduate level Master's degree program. You also must take the GRE, which means the Graduate Record Examination before you can obtain your Master's degree. Although, if you're going to obtain your Master's degree in Business Administration, then you must take the GMAT exam. I hope this helps to answer your question!