Higher Education in the United States

"Higher education" in the United States refers to all formal education beyond the secondary level. Although the term "college" is often used to mean any institution of higher education, a college is actually a four-year undergraduate school that grants bachelor’s degrees. A college may or may not be part of a "university," which is composed of one or more graduate schools in addition to the undergraduate college. Graduate schools are divisions of universities that grant a wide variety of degrees at the master’s and doctoral levels.

The United States does not have a national university system but rather many private and public institutions, each with differing academic regulations, calendars, departmental structures, and course offerings. Regional and national associations establish standards for higher education and accredit schools that meet these standards. All of the universities where LASPAU-administered grantees are placed are accredited.

Graduate Degree Programs

Graduate study in the United States usually follows a broad-based undergraduate education, so master’s programs often begin by providing students with a thorough survey of a particular discipline before exploring one aspect of it in detail. Although you may wish to emphasize applied or practical work in your master’s program, be prepared to study the broad theoretical aspects of your discipline as well. Doctoral study generally requires two years of coursework, but students are expected to identify a specific area of interest for in-depth study and research.

Many master’s programs and almost all doctoral programs require comprehensive or qualifying exams in order to test the student’s knowledge of the field. These exams require extensive preparation over a significant period of time. Be sure to inquire about the nature of these exams and the most appropriate semester to take them.

Most universities require that each master’s candidate prepare or participate in some type of significant research project, the results of which are usually presented at the end of the degree program. Some master’s programs require a formal thesis, while others, called non-thesis programs, require that the students complete several smaller research projects during the course of their studies instead of one major paper. All doctoral students must prepare a dissertation as a degree requirement. At both degree levels, research can take up a significant portion of a student’s program.

Master’s degree candidates usually take three or sometimes four graded courses (either seminars or lectures) for credit each term. As doctoral students progress in their programs, they often take fewer and fewer courses, until they are working full-time on their dissertation. As graduate degree programs in the United States are generally oriented toward research and independent study rather than extensive structured course work, courses can appear fairly general in nature in the university catalogue. At the start of each course, professors give information about the content and requirements for the course and usually ask students to pursue more specific applications of the subject material in projects or papers. Scientific, technical, and language courses frequently require laboratory sessions in addition to lectures.

The organization of fields of study into departments is not standard across the United States. At different universities, it is possible to study the same subject in departments bearing different names. For instance, you may study food science in a department of biochemistry, chemical engineering, agricultural engineering, or nutrition; or you may study social psychology in a department of sociology or psychology. Specializations are usually quite flexible, and departments generally permit interdepartmental or interdisciplinary work.