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Candidate (Latin: candidatus or candidata) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe.
The degrees are now, or were once, awarded in the Nordic countries, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In Scandinavia and the Nordic countries, a higher professional-level degree usually corresponds to 5–7 years of studies. In the Soviet states, a research degree was roughly equivalent to a Doctor of Philosophy degree. In the Netherlands and Belgium, it was an undergraduate first-cycle degree roughly comparable with the bachelor's degree.