Candidate (Latin candidatus or candidata) is the name of various academic degrees, chiefly in Scandinavia, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Scandinavia, it is a higher professional-level degree usually corresponding to 5–7 years of studies, whereas in the Soviet states, it was a research degree roughly equivalent to the American Doctor of Philosophy degree. In the Netherlands and Belgium, it was an undergraduate first-cycle degree roughly comparable with the bachelor's degree.