Vocabulary

Arts - гуманитарный

Science - естественнонаучный

essay - письменная работа

tutor - наставник

staff - штат преподавателей

b. Answer the questions

1. How many universities are there in Great Britain?

2. What differs one university from another?

5. What does an undergraduate programme consist of?

4. How long may a lecture course last?

5. How long one must study to get the Degree of Bachelor (Master, Doctor)?

c. Complete the statements.

1. British Universities differ in ...

2. The most famous Universities are ...

3. An undergraduate course includes ...

4. The main difference between lectures and tutorials is ...

5. Students’ independent work usually has a form of ...

6. The role of a tutor is to ...

7. After three of four years of study graduates receive ...

6. Some Aspects of British University Life

1. Read the text and make a list of topical vocabulary.

Of the full-time students now attending English Universities three quarters are men and one quarter women. Nearly half of them are engaged in the study of arts subjects such as history, languages, economics or law, the others are studying pure or applied sciences such as medicine, dentistry, technology, or agriculture.

The University of London, for instance, includes internal and external students. Actually most external students at London University are living in London. The colleges in the University of London provide instruction chiefly by means of lectures, which are attended mainly by day students. The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, however, are essentially residential institutions and they use a tutorial method which brings the tutor into close and personal contact with the student. These colleges, being residential, are far smaller than most of the colleges of the University of London.

Education of University standard is also given in other institutions such as colleges of technology and agricultural colleges, which prepare their students for degrees or diplomas in their own fields.

The three terms into which the British University year is divided are roughly eight to ten weeks. Each term is crowded with activity and the vacations between the terms - a month at Christmas, a month at Easter, and three or four months in summer, are mainly periods of private study.

A person studying for a degree at a British University is called a graduate. B. A. or B. Sс. stands for Bachelor of Arts or of Science, the first degree. M. A. or M. Sс. denotes Master of Arts or of Science. One can become a B. A. after three years of hard study and an M. A. at the end of five years.

2. Supply answers to the questions.

1. What is the percentage of men and women students in British Universities? Of students studying arts and sciences?

2. What is a graduate?

3. What is the duration of terms and vacations in a British University?

4. What do the abbreviations B.A., B.Sc., M.A. and M.Sc. stand for?

5. When can these degrees be received by a student?

7. US University Education

1. Read the text.

There are no National Universities in the USA. Each state controls and supports at least one University. The National Government gives no direct financial aid to them. The students do not go to the University free of charge. Everyone must pay a tuition fee. The amount varies from state to state. Students' total expenses throughout the year are very high. This creates a financial hardship for some people. Though each University offers a number of scholarships many of the students have to work to pay their expenses.

Most of the US Universities have a central campus. Colleges of Law, Business, Medicine, Engineering, Music, and Journalism can be found on one campus. Thus a student can attend courses at various colleges.

The students do not take the same courses. During the first two years they follow a basic programme. It means that every student must select at least one course from each of the basic fields of study: English, science, modern languages, history or physical education.

After the first two years every student majors in one subject and minors in another. A student can major in history and minor in sociology. In addition to these major and minor courses he can select other subjects according to his professional interest.

After completing four years of study the students receive a Bachelor Degree (either B.A. or B.S.) with an additional year of study he may receive a Master's Degree and after two or three years of graduate work and writing a dissertation he receives a Doctorate Degree.

2. Mark the statements as True or False.

1. American Universities are financially independent of the government.

2. Each state has the right to set its own amount of tuition fee.

3. Each College has its own campus.

4. The basic programme of courses is the same for all students.

5. After graduation a student has two specialities.

6. After writing a dissertation a student receives a Master's Degree.

Higher Education in the United States

There are more than two thousand institutions of higher education in the United States with the number of students ranging from fewer than a hundred to 40,000.

Young people who want to enter higher education must meet some requirements. They must have attended a high school for four years. No student is admitted to a college or university without having completed a four-year course in high school. This means that a student who wants to study at the university or college must begin by doing good work in high school. If his grades in high school are satisfactory, he is admitted to a university or college, were he may take a Bachelor’s degree after a four-year course of study. About fifty three per cent of pupils who complete their high school course go on to a college or university.

The first two years in an American college or university differ somewhat from a similar period in a European one. These years in American college are a continuation of secondary education. During this time certain courses in English, social sciences, natural sciences and so

on must be completed before a student may begin an intensive study of this special field.

Nearly all of colleges and universities in the United States are coeducational. This means both men and women attend the same university.

It is common for students to leave home to study, and only about 15% of all university students live at home while they study. Students may live either on the university campus in one of the dormitories or in private homes in the city in which the University is located.

Although a great deal of time must necessarily be devoted to study, students find time for recreation. There are football, basketball, and base116 ball games, teas and dances, concerts, debates, club programs and plays, to mention only a few of the many activities. Most recreational activities are not expensive for the student.

US Academia: Some Explanations

The American academic year usually runs from some time in September to the end of May. Most, although not all, schools run on a semester system.

Achievement is measured by grades which are given on papers and tests during the course of the semester and a final examination at the end of the semester. The final grade is based on all of the work done for the course.

The degree programs contain several major courses and a certain number of credit hours is given for every course. A student must take a predetermined number of credit hours in order to graduate. One can drop or add a course in the beginning of the term but not in the middle of the semester.

Students are encouraged to discuss any academic problems or questions they may have with their academic adviser. In the classroom, Americans are encouraged to ask questions and

to voice their opinions, even if they differ from those of the professor.

American and European Systems Compared

Education in America is largely the business of the individual State, not of the Federal Government. Each of fifty states has its own system of education. There is no Minister of Education such as exists in many other countries, no national system of education. In addition to

public schools, academies, colleges and universities, there is a great number of private institutions of education. The Federal Government of the United States doesn’t interfere in any way with public education within the States.

Americans tend to study a larger number of subjects than Europeans, in schools, and particularly at the university. Seven subjects are required for a first degree (Bachelor’s degree) in many colleges. In the USA wide, and sometimes superficial, knowledge is often valued more

than specialization.

The aim of American education is to create a good citizen, rather than a scholar. That is why great emphasis is placed on social duties and obligations, on communicating with other people, and obtaining varied information, which will be of practical use in life.

The Open University

1. The Open University was founded in 1964 by the Labor Government for those people, for some reason, had not a chance to enter any of the universities, especially those above normal student age. It takes both men and women at the age 21 and over. At the beginning of the

1990s some 150,000 students followed the Open University courses.

2. No formal academic qualifications are necessary for entry to these courses, but the standards of its degrees are the same as those of other universities. The first course began in 1971, and in a decade the number of undergraduates reached 65,000. It’s a non-residential¹ university. In teaching the university uses a combination of television and radio broadcasts, correspondence courses and summer school, together with a network of viewing and listening centres².

3. Lecturers present their courses on one of the BBC’s television channels and by radio. They have also produced a whole library of short course-books, which anyone can buy at bookshops. Students write papers based on the courses and discuss them with tutors at meetings or by

correspondence once a month.

4. Degrees are awarded on the basis of credit³ gained by success at each stage of the course. Six credits are necessary for a BA degree⁴ and eight credits for a BA Honors degree. The time of staying on at the Open University is unlimited.

Пояснения к тексту:

1 без постоянного помещения

2 видео- и аудиоцентры

3 «успешно» – оценка за сданные экзамены

4 степень бакалавра

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