The system of higher education in the United States

The system of higher education in the United States differs from its counterparts in Europe in certain ways. In the United States, there is a nationwide assumption that students who have completed secondary school should have at least two years of university education. Hence, a great number of “junior colleges” and “community colleges” have sprung up to provide two years of undergraduate study, in contrast to the traditional universities and colleges, where a majority of students complete four years of study for a degree and where substantial numbers go on for one to three years of postgraduate study in a “graduate school”. Universities that provide four-year study courses are either privately funded foundations or are state or city foundations that depend heavily on the government for financial support. Private universities and colleges depend largely on tuition charges levied on students. The individual state governments fund the nation’s highly developed system of state universities, which ensure the provision of higher education for the vast majority of those willing and academically qualified to receive such education.

In the American system, the four-year, or “bachelor’s” degree is ordinary obtained not by passing a “finals” examination but rather by the accumulation of course “credits”, or hours of classroom study. The quality of work done in these courses is assessed by means of a continuous record of marks and grades in a course transcript. The completion of a certain number (and variety) of courses with passing grades leads to the “bachelor’s” degree. The first two years of a student’s studies are generally taken up with prescribed courses in a broad range of subject areas, along with some “elective” courses selected by the student. In the third and fourth years of study, the student specializes in one or perhaps two subject fields. Postgraduate students can pursue either advanced studies or research in one of the many graduate schools, which are usually specialized institutions. At these schools students work toward either a “master’s” degree (which involves one to two years of postgraduate study) or a doctoral degree (which involves two to four years of study and other requirements).

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