All You Need To Know About US Education System

If you have dreams of pursuing your higher education aspirations in America then you need to be armed with all knowledge pertaining to the US education system. In this post I am going to give a brief outline here. We shall discuss the levels of university/college course now-

First Level Undergraduate

It normally takes about four years to earn a bachelor’s degree. You can either commence your studies with a bachelor’s degree at a community college or a four-year university/college. In the first two years of study you will normally be needed to take numerous classes in diverse subjects (prerequisite courses): arts, literature, science, social sciences, history, etc. This increases your general knowledge, and gives you a foundation prior to focusing on a particular subject field.

Many students prefer to study at a community college and complete the first two years of prerequisite courses. Later they earn an Associate of Arts (AA) transfer degree and next transfer to a four-year university/college. You must choose your major (specific field of study) at the beginning of your third year of school. You will need to take a definite number of courses in this field so as to satisfy the degree requirements of your major. You can switch your major during your under-graduation if you desire so. 

Second Level: Pursuit of a Master’s Degree

Presently, a university graduate with a bachelor’s degree may want to seriously think about graduate study in order to advance their career. This degree is typically obligatory for higher-level positions in fields of library science, engineering, etc. To gain admittance, you have to take the GRE (graduate record examination). Certain master’s programs stipulate precise tests, like LSAT for law school, and MCAT for medical school, GRE/GMAT for business school. You should inquire about the credentials needed to get a job in your country before you apply to a postgraduate university in the USA.

The majority of a master’s course duration is spent in classrooms and a student must prepare a long research paper called a “master’s thesis” or complete a “master’s project.”

Third Level: Pursuit of a Doctorate Degree

The attainment of a master’s degree can be deemed as the first step towards receiving a PhD. However, at some schools, students can plan directly for a doctorate without earning a master’s degree. For international students, it may take as long as five or six years to earn a doctorate. 

For the first two years most doctoral candidates have to register for classes and seminars. Then another year is spent performing actual research and writing a thesis. A doctoral thesis is a dialogue and précis of the current scholarship on a specified topic. Most U.S. universities require their applicants to have a reading knowledge of at least two foreign languages, to spend a mandatory amount of time “in residence,” to qualify in exams that formally admits applicants to the PhD program, and to qualify in an oral exam on the similar topic as the thesis. 

The US education system is regarded to be one of the best in the world and it will be beneficial for your career to pursue higher education there.