What it means
لیسانس (lisâns) refers to a bachelor’s degree, the first full university qualification a student earns after completing a four-year undergraduate programme. The word is a loanword from French “licence,” which entered Persian through Turkish. It is used interchangeably with the more formal native term کارشناسی (kârshenâsi), though lisâns is more common in everyday speech. Someone who holds this degree is called لیسانسیه (lisânsi-ye) or simply لیسانسه (lisânse) in colloquial Persian.
How to use it
- دارم روی لیسانسم کار میکنم. (dâram ru-ye lisânsam kâr mi-konam.) “I am working on my bachelor’s degree.”
- لیسانسم رو از دانشگاه تهران گرفتم. (lisânsam ro az dâneshgâh-e Tehrân gereftam.) “I got my bachelor’s degree from Tehran University.”
- با لیسانس میشه وارد بازار کار شد. (bâ lisâns mishe vâred-e bâzâr-e kâr shod.) “With a bachelor’s degree you can enter the job market.”
- رشتهات توی لیسانس چی بود؟ (reshte-at tu-ye lisâns chi bud?) “What was your major for your bachelor’s?”
Cultural note
In Iran, a four-year lisâns is the standard entry-level university degree and is required for most government and professional positions. The Iranian university entrance exam, the konkur (کنکور), determines which lisâns programme a student can enter, making the path to this degree highly competitive. Many families place enormous social weight on whether a young person holds a lisâns, and earning one is often seen as a key step toward financial stability and marriage prospects.