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Understanding US Education System

Compiled for ALUCBy

Anita J. Ghajar-Selim

Source: http://www.studyusa.com/en/a/58/understanding-the-american-education-system

US Education Structure

• Primary: K-5

• Secondary: 6-12– Middle School or Junior High School– High School

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Grading System• The academic transcripts in the US include

both your grades and grade point average (GPA).

• Courses are normally graded using percentages which will be converted into letter grades: A to F (A being the highest and F meaning fail)

• Two similar GPA’s don’t necessarily mean the students are seen equally when it comes to admission decisions.

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Academic Year

• Beginning: August or September• End: May or June.

Academic Year at many schools is composed of two terms called “semesters”. If the schools has three terms, then you are in a “trimester” system.

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Types of US Higher Education

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State College or University

• Each of the 50 states has at least one state university and several stage colleges supported and run by the local government or a state. They either have the word “state” in them (NC State University), or the name of the State (University of Michigan).

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Private College or University

• These schools are privately run. • The tuition is higher than state universities. • They are smaller in size.• They might be religiously affiliated (like Notre

Dame in Indiana or Guilford in North Carolina) although they accept students of all religions.

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Community College

• They are two-year colleges that award an AA (transferable)

• There are two tracks: Academic track where you can transfer your degrees to college or university and the other Workforce track that prepares you for workforce straightaway.

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Institute of Technology

• They offer 4 years of study in science and technology.

• They may or may not have graduate programs.

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Levels of Study

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First Level: Undergraduate• You can start from a community college, a 4-year university,

or college). You will have to take prerequisite courses: literature, science, the social sciences, etc. to get a general knowledge and foundation.

• If you study at a community college to finish these prerequisites courses, you will earn an Associate of Arts (AA) transfer degree and then transfer to a 4-year university or college. The main purpose is to prepare you for workplace.

• You can also get your AA from a Junior College. The oldest is Louisburg College in NC. The main purpose is to prepare you for a 4-year university. You can transfer as a junior.

• You should choose your major at the beginning of the 3rd year.

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Second Level: Graduate in Pursuit of Master’s Degree

• This level is usually mandatory for higher level positions.

• It takes one to two years to complete. • The majority of the time is spent in classroom

and the students must prepare a long research paper called “master’s thesis” or complete a “master’s project”.

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Third Level: Graduate in Pursuit of a Doctorate Degree

• Normally it takes 3 years or more to ear a PhD, but for international students, it may take as long as 5 or 6 years: first two years in classes and seminars and one year conducting research and writing a dissertation.

• They usually accept candidates who know 2 foreign languages and pass both a written and an oral examination.

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Characteristics Of The U.S. Higher

Education System

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Classroom Environment

• Classes range from lecture rooms with several hundred students to seminars with only a few students.

• Classes are dynamic with a lot of emphasis on participation, discussion, and presentation.

• Grades are based on class participation, mid-term, research papers, quizzes, and final exam.

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Credits

• Each course is normally worth 3-5 credits– the number of hours a student spends in that class each week.

• A full time program is almost 12-15 credit hours (4 or 5 courses per term). International students should be in a full time program each term.