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Institutions of Higher Learning in the United States

(by Lynn Visson)

The institutions that provide higher learning in the US are mainly colleges and universities. The difference between these two types of institutions is that a university always has graduate programs. Some colleges have graduate programs, too, while others have only a four-year liberal arts undergraduate program. Liberal arts are subjects that give students a general education and teach them to think, rather than those subjects that develop specialized skills. The liberal arts course culminates in a Bachelor's Degree, either а ВA (Bachelor of Arts) or BS (Bachelor of Science). The kind of degree is stated on the student's college diploma.¹

A college student is known as an undergraduate, while someone continuing his studies in a graduate school program is a graduate student.² Like high schools, colleges and universities are either public/state/municipal (free) or private (charge tuition).

At the beginning of his first term/semester he will have an "orientation week" before college classes begin. If he is living in a dormitory (known colloquially as dorm) he will get to know his roommate and other students in the building. Deans, administrators, professors, and older students will introduce him to life on the college campus, the facilities available to him within the university and nearby. He must register for courses which he chooses from the course catalogue which lists all the courses and seminars offered by the various departments. While some universities have Divisions, e.g. "Division of the Humanities," most American universities have only departments. A department is headed by a chairman, e.g. the chairman of the history department. A student is registered for or enrolled in a course. A student can be taking a few courses without being enrolled in a degree program. He may sign up to take evening courses. A student who received his course materials and examinations in the mail is taking correspondence courses, though today these are mostly conducted on-line and have been given the name distance or e-learning.

While the courses of study in American educational institutions differ, most colleges and universities require a basic/introductory (core) 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 or a lengthy time period, e.g. "A Survey of French Literature, 1200-2000," or "Introductory Biology." Each college course is worth a certain number of credits, corresponding to the number of hours a week the course is taught. A three-hour a week course is thus worth three credits, and the student must have a minimum number of credits in order to graduate.

After his first year the student is likely to take more seminars and smaller lecture courses rather than the broad survey courses he took as a freshman. In his second year of study the college student usually will have to choose/declare a major or field of concentration, his field of specialization in which he will have to take a required number of courses. 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 of equal interest to him (e.g., French and Italian, or history and government), this is a double major. The student can also take³ optional courses known as electives. If he attends the lectures but does not take exams or write papers for a course, he is an auditor. They can also take courses that will not count towards a degree, known as non-degree courses.

To enroll in an advanced course a student may first have to 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 the paper at a later date. In some universities he will be required to write a senior thesis⁴.

And if he cannot take a scheduled exam⁵ 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. A very good student can receive his bachelor's degree "with honors"⁶. Once the student has received his university diploma he is said to have graduated from university⁷, and he is a graduate or an alumnus⁸ of that university.

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, a comprehensive exam, and often writing a thesis, he will receive a MA (Master of Arts) or a MS (Master of Science) degree.⁹

To get a doctoral degree/doctorate/ Ph.D. degree the candidate will have to take a required number of courses in his chosen field, pass a written exam (and possibly an oral one known as "orals,") 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/conferred a Ph.D. degree in his specific subject; e.g. "John has a Ph.D./a doctorate/ in Spanish literature."

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 three schools require an undergraduate degree; a 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.

_________________

¹Note the following terms:

a high school ninth-grader or a first-year college student is a "freshman."

a high school tenth-grader or a second-year college student is a "sophomore."

a high school eleventh-grader or a third-year college student is a "junior."

a high school twelfth-grader or a fourth-year college student is a "senior."

And a college student is in his second or third "year" never "course."

²At Yale, for example, there are 13 professional graduate schools (School of Medicine, School of Management, etc.). The term post-graduate is much more common in the UK than in the US, though Americans may talk about post-graduate work, meaning any course of study in graduate school.

³слушать

⁴ дипломная работа

⁵In America students take exams rather than sit for exams, as do British students

⁶с отличием. 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, and "with praise" – cum laude.

⁷ While the grammatically correct English expression is "he was graduated from Yale," and not "he graduated from Yale," the colloquial usage has taken over in standard spoken English.

⁸alumna, if a woman, plural alumni произносятся[ə’lʌmnəs], [ə’lʌmnə], [ə’lʌmnai]

⁹Other doctorates are Ed.D.(Doctor of Education), D.Sc., D.M.A. (Doctor of Musical Arts), Th.D. (Doctor of Theology), etc.

Active vocabulary list

1. provide v. (syn. offer, supply)– обеспечивать

2. undergraduate [ֽʌndə’ɡrædʒʊət] program – курс обучения в высшем образовательном учреждении, по окончании которого присваивается степень бакалавра (бакалавриат)

undergraduate [ֽʌndə’ɡrædʒʊət] – студент колледжа или получающий первую ступень высшего образования (в бакалавриате)

3. graduate [’ɡrædʒʊət] program – курс обучения в высшем образовательном учреждении, по окончании которого присваивается степень магистра, а после защиты диссертации степень доктора (doctoral degree=PhD).

graduate [’ɡrædʒʊət] – выпускник (колледжа, университета)

Не путать с to graduate [’ɡrædʒʊeit] from – окончить (высшее учебное заведение)

4. liberal arts – расширенный курс общеобразовательных предметов, изучаемых в бакалавриате

5. rather than – а не (e.g. We want the matter settled sooner rather than later.), вместо того чтобы (e.g. Rather than criticizing your husband, why not find out if there’s something wrong?)

6. develop v.– развивать, разрабатывать

7. state v.– 1)утверждать; 2)указывать

8. dean – декан (В американских университетах декан может возглавлять колледж и школу. В высших образовательных учреждениях Америки «школа» – примерно соответствует британскому и российскому «факультету» (faculty). Хотя слово faculty может использоваться и в значении «факультет» (среди 13 школ в Йеле есть одна, носящая название «факультет» – Faculty of Engineering). На уровне колледжа (имеется ввиду 1-я ступень высшего образовательного учреждения) факультетов нет, а есть кафедры (departments). Слово «faculty» в американском английском означает «профессорско-преподавательский состав», «Yale faculty members» – «члены профессорско-преподавательского состава Йельского университета»

9. facilities – объекты (зд. культурно-досуговые), оборудование

10. within (ant. beyond)– в пределах (вне, за пределами)

11. register for/enroll in/sign up to take (a course) – записаться на (курс)

12. take a course of – проходить курс (обучения) по какому-то предмету

13. correspondence adj. – заочный

14. conduct [kqn’dAkt] v. (a course, research) – проводить/осуществлять (курс обучения, исследование)

15. while – в то время как, хотя

16. differ v. (= be different) in smth from smth/sb– отличаться чем-то, от чего-то/кого-то

17. require v. (syn. demand) – требовать

18. survey – n. обзор; v. обозревать, делать обзор

19. considerable (syn. large, great, huge) – огромный, значительный

20. amount (syn. quantity, number) – количество

21. a certain (given, particular) number – определенное количество

22. credit – условное очко, начисляемое за прослушивание какого-л. курса (за один курс может быть начислено несколько очков); студент обязан набрать на данном году обучение такое число курсов, чтобы число очков за них было не ниже определенного значения; русские эмигранты называют это кредит б) запись в зачетной книжке об успешной сдаче того или иного курса

23. correspond to smth. – соответствовать чему-то

24. in order to – (для того) чтобы

25. be likely/unlikely to do smth – вероятно/маловероятно, что кто-то сделает что-то

26. specialize v. (syn. major - mainly Am.E) in smth – специализироваться в какой-либо области во время обучения в вузе; specialization in smth

27. optional (elective) (ant. obligatory, compulsory, required)– факультативный, по выбору

28. auditor [‘ɔ:dɪtə] – вольный слушатель

29. preliminary – предварительный

30. write/defend senior/doctoral thesis [‘θi:sɪs] – написать/защитить дипломную работу/кандидатскую диссертацию

31. degree in– степень (a master’s degree in English literature); do/ take a degree (She’s doing a degree at Exeter University).

32. apply v. to smb (the personnel officer) for smth(a position of…) – обратиться к (сотруднику отдела кадров) с заявлением о (приеме на работу в качестве…)

33. pass v. a (written/oral) exam – сдать (письменный/устный) экзамен ≠ take an exam – сдавать экзамен

34. be awarded smth (a prize, a diploma, a degree, a scholarship) v. – дать, присвоить, присудить (награду, диплом, степень, стипендию)

35. admit v. – признавать, принимать; admission – вход, прием, допущение

36. involve v. (syn. include) – включать, вовлекать

Question for discussion:

1. What’s the difference between a university and college in the American education system?

2. What are liberal arts and what does the liberal arts course culminate in? Is there an analogue of the liberal arts course in the Russian institutions of higher learning?

3. What terms are used in American colleges for each year students? Are there any corresponding terms in Russian?

4. Explain what the orientation week is. Do freshmen in your university have an orientation week?

5. How does a student enrolled in a degree course choose subjects to study? Explain how the American system of credits functions. Have the students of your university got an opportunity to select courses by themselves?

6. What opportunities are provided in the US for those who can’t afford to take a full-time university graduate course?

7. What kind of courses do American students generally take in the first year? When are they to choose their field of concentration? When do the students of your university have to declare their specialization?

8. Give definitions of the terms major, minor, double major.

9. What is an auditor? Are there auditors in your university?

10. Can the students of your university ask for extension if they haven’t had enough time to finish a term/course paper? Is writing and defending senior theses optional or compulsory at your university?

11. What terms are normally used for the Russian expression «сдавать экзамен» in the American and British English?

12. Describe the graduate school program in American universities. What does each stage culminate in?