SEMINARS AND COURSES

Higher Education in the USA

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APPLICATION TO THE US UNIVERSITIES

Higher education in the USA as in any other country is a continuing process of acquiring and maintaining necessary professional knowledge and skills. During the fall semester of the twelfth grade of the secondary school, the student who wants to continue his education applies to several colleges and universities. The only difference between these two types of institutions is that a university always has graduate programs, while a college may have only a four-year liberal arts undergraduate program. Both colleges and universities are institutions of higher learning with a four-year “liberal arts” program ending in a Bachelor’s degree, either a BA (Bachelor of Arts) or BS (Bachelor of Science). The kind of degree is stated on the student’s college diploma.

A college student is known as an undergraduate, while someone continuing his studies in a graduate school program is a graduate student. The term post-graduate is much more common to the UK than in the US, though Americans may talk about post-graduate work, meaning any course of study in graduate school. Like high schools, colleges and universities are either public/state/municipal (free) or private (charge tuition).

The application process for admission to college can be long, particularly if the student wants to attend one of the top private colleges such as Harvard or Yale. The college’s admissions committee first considers the student’s high school and college grades. Then the applicant is asked to write essays on different subjects to show his intellectual abilities and must have letters of recommendation from his teachers and other people who know him well. It is necessary to have high scores on the SAT3 examinations as well (it is not a competitive exam for admission to a university; it consists of a series of questions in English and mathematics designed to test the student’s aptitude rather than his knowledge).

Students applying to private colleges and universities may also apply for financial aid, which may cover tuition, housing (the cost of a dormitory room and other expenses) in full or in part. The students also have an opportunity to take loans from the banks which are another form of financial aid, and many students work part-time to help put themselves through college (pay for their expenses). A graduate student may have a TA (teaching assistantship) teaching several hours a week, or a RE (research assistantship), helping a professor with a research project.

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SEMINARS AND COURSES

The courses of study in American educational institutions are very different but most colleges and universities have a basic (introductory) course in the natural sciences, the humanities and the social sciences. These may include a survey course, generally a lecture course providing broad coverage of a considerable amount of material. These and other courses will meet the distribution requirements – the number of courses which are mandatory in the humanities, social sciences or natural sciences. Each college course is worth a certain number of credits, corresponding to the number of hours a week the course is taught. For example, a three hour a week course is worth three credits, and the student must have a minimum number of credits to graduate.

After the first year the student will take more seminars and smaller lecture courses he took as a freshman. In the second year of study the student will have to declare a major or field of concentration, his field of specialization. He may choose a second field, in which he will have to take a smaller number of courses, known as his minor. If he wishes to specialize in two subjects equally interesting to him, this is a double major. The student can also take optional (not required) courses known as electives. If he attends the lectures but does not take exams or write papers for a course.

To enroll in an advanced course a student may first have take a required preliminary course, known as a prerequisite. If a student does not have enough time to finish writing a paper or term paper for a course, he can ask for an extension – extra time for his research. Then he can hand in a paper at a later date. In some universities he will be required to write a senior thesis. If a student cannot take a scheduled exam because of illness or an emergency situation, he can ask for a make-up exam, i.e. an exam to “make up” what he has missed. (In America students take exams rather than sit for exams, as do British students).

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DEGREES IN THE USA

In the USA a very good student can receive not a bare Bachelor’s degree , but a Bachelor’s degree “with honors”. There are three such categories for awarding degrees, described with the Latin words for “with highest praise” – summa cum laude, “with high praise” – magna cum laude, “with praise” – cum laude. Once the student has received his university diploma he is a graduate or an alumnus (alumna, if a woman).

A student who wants to go to graduate school applies to a university graduate department in his chosen field. After a year or two in a Master’s degree program, which includes courses, an exam, and often writing a thesis, he will receive a MA (Master of Arts) or a MS (Master of Science) degree. If he decided to stop his graduate studies and not to continue them for a Ph.D., his degree is known as a terminal MA. To the American ear this sounds quite strange, because the word “terminal” is used in describing incurable illnesses.

To get a Doctoral degree/Doctorate/Ph.D. the candidate will have to take a required number of courses in his chosen field, pass a written exam and write a doctoral thesis/dissertation. He will do so under the supervision of a thesis adviser. Then he will have to defend the thesis/dissertation. The successful candidate is then awarded a Ph.D. degree in his specific subject.

If a college graduate wants to become a doctor, lawyer, or go into business, he may apply to medical school, law school or business school. These schools require an undergraduate degree; the student who does not have a bachelor’s degree will not be admitted to one of these professional schools. Medical school takes four years, followed by three years of internship and residence; law school involves a three-year program; and business school takes three years.

Some people are so-called eternal students. Many colleges and universities offer adult education courses and extension courses for older people with an interest to study one particular subject through one particular course. Lots of grandmothers and older people sign up for such courses. It’s their way to spend free time, communicate and enjoy life.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 1334