Беликова Е.К., Саратовская Л.Б. - The United Kingdom and United States of America in Past and Present (1268141), страница 30
Текст из файла (страница 30)
Some of these colleges are private; others arerun by the state.Specialized Institutions are usually institutions of technology, teachertraining colleges, art schools, and other specialized institutions emphasizeintensive concentration in a specialty as contrasted with the board rangeof liberal arts colleges. The course of study typically emphasizestechnical, scientific, or engineering aspects of knowledge in the field.Today, the educational programs of some specialized institutions arebroader and more comprehensive.
In fact, some of them have changedtheir names, aims and programs to fit a university type of organization.Universities. An American university, having the most complexorganization of all American institutions of higher education, consists ofa number of schools and colleges at both levels: the undergraduate schooland the graduate school. These are grouped together in one educationalsystem. A distinctive feature of American universities is the separation ofgraduate from undergraduate education.Of the nation’s 1,900 institutions of higher learning roughly one-thirdare state or city institutions.
About 1,200 are privately controlled.Approximately 700 of these are controlled by religious groups. Less thanhalf of these institutions are liberal art colleges and universities, whichstress the languages, history, science and philosophy. The rest areprofessional and technological schools and junior colleges.The American ideal of mass education for all is matched by theunderstanding that America needs highly trained specialists. In highereducation and especially in very prestigious universities the U.S. has aselective system of admission.
Acceptance into the university is based ona written application, submission of a transcript showing all courses inpreviously-attended educational institutions, evidence that the studentsatisfactorily completed all requirements at the previously-attendedinstitution, and sometimes an oral interview or written resume at theschool which the student desires to attend. Different schools of higherlearning may have different standards of acceptance: some may requireexcellent grades on the S.A.T., while others may have less stringentrequirements. Smaller schools usually like to orally interview the studentsbefore making a decision to accept him or her.
This allows the school to118have a close look at each student, his personality, and to make sure thatthe school will meet the student’s goals At the undergraduate leveluniversities may have several divisions - colleges of liberal arts, a schoolof business or engineering or applied science, etc. A student usuallyenrolls in one undergraduate division, but he may take courses in morethan one of these.A full-time undergraduate degree usually takes four years. Manystudents study part-time and work, so it may take them much longer timeto finish. Some students first take an associate’s degree at a communitycollege, where the tuition fees are lower and study two more years at afour-year college to complete their bachelor’s degree.Students are classified as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.A freshmen is a first year student, a sophomore, a second year student, ajunior, a third year student, and a senior, a fourth year student.Most undergraduate students must take liberal arts classes in English,Math, History, and a science.
They choose a major (specialize) in asubject such as business, education, or art in their third year of college orafter they have completed half of their course work. Students mustcomplete a survey course in American History or American Governmentin order to receive any degree from the University.To graduate from a university requires a student to completerequirements of the university, to achieve the minimum allowable gradein the required courses, and to collect the required number of so-calledcredits.
There is wide variation in the requirements depending on whichuniversity you look at. In general, universities and colleges requirestudents to fulfill a set of general requirements applicable to all studentsat the school (specialization), as well as fulfilling the specificrequirements for their major field of study. For example, at HaverfordCollege they require 32 credits for graduation, 1 credit being awarded foreach course taken and passed per semester. So, 4 credits per semester and2 semesters per year equals 8 credits per year.
Four years of collegeeducation multiplied by 8 credits per year equals 32 credits, or theamount needed to graduate. However, the Linguistics Departmentrequires 10 credits of linguistics courses in order to be eligible for theBachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics. As a result, it is necessary tofulfill both requirements before being allowed to graduate, i.e. pass 32credits of courses, 10 of which must be in the Linguistics Department.119In addition, most universities require a minimum grade-point averagebefore the students is allowed to graduate. This means that all of thegrades over the entire four years are averaged; if this average is less thanthe minimum, the student may not graduate.There are four principal types of academic degrees, each representing adifferent level of academic achievement:The associate degree is conferred upon the completion of two years oforganized program of general, pre-professional, or semiprofessionalwork.The bachelor’s (baccalaureate) degree is the oldest academic degreeused in various forms by almost every institution offering four or moreyears.
All students who have graduated and received the bachelor’sdegree are classified as advanced students or graduate students. Theirtranscript of grades is submitted with all applications to graduate schools.To meet high tuition fees most graduate student’s work and study.Some graduate students receive grants, which cover the cost of theireducation; a person on such a fellowship is called a university fellow ora grantee.The most common master’s degree program represents a minimum of 1year of work beyond the baccalaureate.
In certain areas this has beenextended to 2 years of required graduate study (e.g. in businessadministration) or even 3 years (e.g. in fine arts). It may also involve oneor all of the following additional requirements: a thesis, a generalexamination, and mastery of a foreign language. The master’s degreecandidate follows a rather specific course of study, usually in a singlefield and arranged in cooperation with his adviser. This is not, however,considered to be a research degree, but rather preparation for the PhD.
Incertain cases it is bypassed by students going for PhD, but may begranted as a consolation prize to those who fail to quality for thedoctorate.Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) is one of the more rapidly growing;it is designed to prepare liberal arts graduate for secondary schoolteaching. Normally neither a language examination nor a thesis isrequired for MAT, but course in practical teaching is usuallyincorporated.The earned doctorate is the most advanced degree conferred byAmerican institutions. Doctoral programs usually consist of at least 3years of study beyond the baccalaureate. There are 2 quite distinct types120of doctoral programs: the professional degree and the research degree.The first type represents advanced training for the practice of a givenprofession, such as the Doctor of Medicine, the Doctor of Dental Science,and similar degrees.
These degrees do not imply original research.The research doctorate (PhD) is the highest earned degree in theAmerican graduate school. Candidates usually follow a program ofstudies concentrated in one of the major fields of knowledge. They arenormally required to demonstrate reading proficiency in at least twoforeign languages. After a student has satisfactorily completed his coursework and met his foreign language requirements, he must take acomprehensive examination to demonstrate a general knowledge of hisfield. It may be oral or written or both, and is evaluated by a specialcommittee to determine whether he is prepared to undertake hisdissertation (it is usually the preliminary, or qualifying, examination).The final period of predoctoral study is given over largely to thepreparation of the dissertation (this may require several years to finish).
Afinal examination is required at most universities after the dissertationand other requirements for the degree have been completed.According to tradition, the prospective doctor of philosophy shoulddefend the conclusions of his dissertation. Consequently, it is frequentlythe custom to make public announcements of the date and place of thefinal examination and to permit the attendance of any scholars who maywish to participate. At one time, it was not uncommon for universities torequire that doctoral dissertation be published.
But the increased expensein printing costs as well as the increase in the number of dissertationshave made such requirements quite rare.Besides awarding earned degreesto students who have met the established requirements, some colleges anduniversities also award honorary degrees as a form of deservedrecognition for distinguished public service or for outstanding creativework. Compared to the number of earned degrees, not many honorarydegrees are awarded annually, and the recipient is usually an individualof such unquestionable reputation that the public looks upon the degreesimply as a symbol of recognition for public service.The concept of continuing (or lifelong) education is of greatimportance to Americans.
![](https://s.studizba.com/z.php?f=/templates/si/i/noavatar.png&w=100&h=100&t=1"){kind=avatar}
