Undergraduate Education System In The US
Undergraduate Education System In The United States Universities and Colleges are top notch. There are more than 1,000 two-year colleges in USA, which is also called junior or community colleges. In some states, they operates community colleges either by a local special districts subject to guidance from a state agency or by a division of the state university. Students whose choice is a two-year program route in higher education, study to earn an associate (also known as intermediate) degree. Associate degrees are awarded by a junior, technical or community college which indicates that you have successfully completed a program of study with a broad base in general education and a concentration in a specific area.
Undergraduate Education System In The US
To successfully obtain an associate degree, you are expected to earn 60 semester credit hours, which usually takes about two years maximum. Generally, programs consist of three parts: electives (courses of your own choosing based on your interests), requirements within your major (or concentrated area of study), general education requirements.
Two-Year Undergraduate Degrees
There are different types of associate degrees. Both the A.A. degree (or Associate of Arts degree) and A.S. degree (Associate of Science degree) which are designed to prepare students to transfer into a 4-year college or university. For example, you may earn an A.A. in terms of Early Childhood Education, then transfer to a university with 4-year program. You can study further at the university in order to earn a degree that will qualify you to become a teacher at a preschool or elementary school.
Some community colleges have automatic enrollment agreements with a local college, this simply means that the community college is in charge of providing eligible student with their first two years of study and the university also provides the remaining years of study, occasionally all on one campus.
Other associate degrees, such as an A.A.S. degree (Associate of Applied Science degree), are designed to prepare students to join the workforce immediately following their two years of study. These degrees, also called occupational or vocational, are sometimes preferred by employers in science and technology-related industries for mid-level jobs.
Four-Year Programs
More than 2,000 colleges as well as universities offer four-year programs in which students earn a bachelor’s degree. Over 1.3 million people in US earned this degree last year. This is commonly called a “college degree,” normally, the undergraduate bachelor’s degree takes about four years to complete and is comprised of 120-128 semester credit hours (60 of which may be transferred from an associate degree at a community college.
As an undergraduate, the four years spent at the university are typically known as the sophomore, freshman, junior as well as senior years. Many undergraduate programs curriculum is based on a “liberal arts” philosophy in which students are expected to study courses from a range of subjects to form broad educational foundation. These courses include study in English composition, social sciences, humanities, mathematics, history and natural or physical sciences.
Students who meet the core curriculum requirement, most institution ask students to choose a specific field of study, this is also known as the major. You are expected to choose your major from an academic area that is of great interest to you, it should also be one that you may likely seek a career in the future. The last two years are spent taking courses that are more directly related to your major. Other universities and colleges with four-year programs strongly emphasize preparation for special professional areas like fine arts, pharmacy, engineering, business, agriculture, and other specialized fields.
Degrees in medicine and law are not offered at the undergraduate level in the US, unlike other undergraduate models. Rather, they are completed as professional study after which they have received a bachelor’s degree. Law and medical schools both do not require or prefer a specific undergraduate major, however, medical schools do have set prerequisite courses that must be taken before enrollment. Undergraduate students who are making preparations to attend medical school following their undergraduate careers are known as pre-med.
Four-Year Undergraduate Degrees
The two types of bachelor’s degrees typically offered are B.A. degrees (Bachelor of Arts degrees) and B.S. degrees (Bachelor of Science degrees). If you’d rather choose to earn a B.A., majority of your coursework will be in the arts, like humanities, social sciences or fine arts. Students who earn a B.S. degree take the majority of their courses in life, physical or mathematical sciences. Other, more specialized bachelor’s degrees include:
Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.)Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.)Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs (B.S.P.A)Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.)Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil.)Bachelor of Architecture Degree (B.Arch.)Bachelor of Design (B.Des.)
Undergraduate Education System In The US
Those who major in certain fields like business, engineering or science discovers that often times, the curriculum is more tightly structured than it is in the humanities or socials sciences. Engineering, science and business majors may need to take more courses that are related to their major field of study and have fewer electives, or optional courses.
