The term senior, in regard to education, has different meanings depending on the country.

United States

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

education, a senior is a

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementa ...

in the fourth year of study, either in high school or college/university.

High school

The

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

is the fourth and final year of a student's high school education. The year and the student are both referred to as senior.

Higher education

The fourth year of an undergraduate program is known as senior year and 4th year students are known as seniors.

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

programs are designed to be completed in four years.

Super Senior

The term ''super senior'' is used in the United States to refer to a student who has not completed graduation requirements by the end of the fourth year, who is continuing to attempt to complete said requirements.

Canada

In the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, high school students in their third year and above are considered to be seniors, while in the province of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, only twelfth graders are counted as seniors even though both provinces are Canadian (due to the fact that high school is only grades ten-twelve in Alberta).

United Kingdom

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, students in their seventh year and above (11 years and older, post primary school) in secondary school are seniors. In

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, students in their fifth year and above are seniors.

Nigeria

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, senior secondary education is the education children receive after primary and junior secondary education and before the tertiary period. The appropriate age for senior secondary education in Nigeria is 11–18 years. The student is expected to write (West African Examination Council - WAEC) examination and/or National Examination Council (NECO) at the completion of six years of study. Every student is examined on 8-9 subjects. All students complete 4 core cross cutting subjects: English language, General Mathematics, Civic Education and Trade/Entrepreneurship.

References

Educational stages Educational years Types of students {{education-stub