▲ Public and private education systems
American schools are divided into public schools and private schools. The public school system is huge, because it is funded by the American government, so most students in the United States study in the public education system. The federal government also has a Ministry of Education, but its functions are different from those of our country. The U.S. Department of Education is the research department of education policy. Advisory bodies are responsible for formulating education policies, but they do not participate in their implementation or supervise local schools. Therefore, they play a great role in the quality of national education, educational research and the passage of educational bills. Education in the United States is planned by the state government, while the federal government has no power to supervise and restrict it. Public schools are under the jurisdiction of the state government &; Therefore, the funds allocated by the federal government are supervised by the state government and abide by the education law enacted by the state legislature. "Private schools" are basically not regulated by any government, but PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) and more professional general informal education institutions have an impact on school policies.
▲ American education system
The age of 6~ 18 in America is a part of compulsory education in primary and secondary schools. Education is roughly divided into four stages, namely preschool education, primary school, middle school and higher education. Before graduating from high school, it belongs to general education, until higher education (junior college, junior college, graduate school) is divided into vocational education and general education. There is no academic aptitude test and college entrance examination in the American academic system. Students apply for university admission independently according to their school scores and SAT/ACT scores. Unlike many countries, there is no national university in the United States, and compulsory education is undertaken by state governments. Moreover, in the part of compulsory education, as long as they are legal residents (green cards), they have the right to receive compulsory education, and compulsory education in the United States is free, without paying tuition and fees or textbooks. All primary and secondary schools in the United States provide free textbooks for students, and most textbooks are passed on from the previous student to the next student until they are no longer used. In addition, there are some school exercise books and exercise books that don't need to be bought, but are issued by the school. However, students must buy their own pencils, erasers, calculators ... and so on, but by contrast, they really save a lot of money! Higher education is divided into public and private. "State" universities-citizens in the state can enjoy lower tuition fees, while out-of-state students &; Tuition fees for international students are higher. "Private" universities-tuition fees are the same for both state residents and foreign students. In addition, American college students have to take general education courses in the first two years after entering school, just like freshmen and sophomores, and will not decide their own professional courses until junior year. In addition, you can apply for courses such as medicine and law. Only after you graduate from college and pass the relevant exams.
(B) Introduction to the stages of American education system
▲ Primary school -~ 1 1 year old
Primary education in the United States includes nurseries and kindergartens. Kindergartens (4~5 years old) and primary schools (6~ 1 1 year old) are the same as primary schools in Taiwan Province Province. The difference is that their kindergarten will be regarded as a primary school. There is no compulsory nursery for preschool children, but there are government subsidy programs to help children from low-income families, so most families need to pay for the nursery themselves.
Primary schools in the United States generally refer to the first to fifth grades before school (kindergarten primary schools), but some primary schools provide education to the sixth grade, or merge secondary education into the eighth grade. Most of them adopt the class system, and there is also the class tutorial system. This teacher is in charge of most of the main courses in the last class. Students stay in the tutor's classroom all day except lunch time, or attend PE, music and art classes in the gym or special classroom. There is no fixed break time like East Asian schools, but in class, tutors can give students free time, and some teachers will take possession or deprivation of free time as rewards and punishments for students' behavior. In addition, in about 40% primary schools, there will be one or two 10-minute or 20-minute outdoor activities every day, and the number and duration of outdoor activities in each school are not necessarily the same.
▲ technical secondary school-12 ~18 years old
Middle school education includes two years of junior high school (12~ 14 years old) and four years of senior high school (15~ 18 years old). From grade 9 to grade 12, the age of students is usually14//kloc-. /kloc-you can get a high school diploma if you successfully complete your studies in grade 0/2. Besides, can students who don't get a high school diploma participate in the development of general education? (GED) exam, in order to obtain proof of their high school level.
Competency certificate.
▲ Colleges and universities-19 ~ 22 years old
University education is usually divided into four-year universities and community colleges. Four-year universities will get a bachelor's degree after four years of study, while community colleges usually get an associate's degree after two years of study.
▲ Graduate school) -22 years old/after 23 years old
Master's degree, doctor's degree and professional degree, including master's courses, post-master higher education courses, research-oriented degrees and professional degrees (such as medicine and law, etc.). ). The master's degree is about 1~2 years of study. Other possibilities are not certain, depending on the school and department.
☆ Table of American Education System ★?
Post-university education is generally called higher education, so there are many kinds of universities in the United States, including two-year and four-year junior college/community college or liberal arts college and four-year university.
Amp graduate school (comprehensive university)
▲ Colleges and professional colleges
There are two-year colleges and four-year colleges. Compared with comprehensive universities,
Colleges are much smaller ~ most of them are private schools. Although it is not as big as a four-year university, some colleges are famous. Special schools are small-scale colleges, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and some also have master's programs. Most of this nature belongs to liberal arts-related colleges, and some belong to training engineering, business administration and design &; A school for art-related professionals. This kind of professional college has fewer students and more professional teachers, and pays attention to guiding students, so sometimes the admission conditions of these professional colleges will be higher. There are six small and ingenious colleges in the eastern suburbs-clermont-Havimad College (famous for its engineering), Pomona College (humanities) and clermont McKenna College (management). New york Juilliard School of Music. Williams College, Amherst College, Massachusetts.
▲ Two-year community college
Two-year colleges, in the current American university education, about 40%,10 million students attend two-year colleges. Many American high school graduates will choose an advanced two-year university to complete the first two years of college basic courses, and then transfer to a four-year university to complete their studies. This method is called "2 2" system. In addition to transfer courses, two-year colleges can also provide skills training, so that students can have skills after graduation and enter the job market immediately. If you finish two years and get a "college diploma". Two-year community colleges are close to home because of their low tuition fees, so many high school graduates will choose such schools when tuition fees are rising year by year. After completing the freshman and sophomore courses, most community colleges will sign contracts with four-year universities to ensure that students can transfer to other schools to continue their studies and get their bachelor's degrees. Even if you get a college degree and enter the job market, you don't need to worry that you won't be skilled.
● Advantages of community colleges for international students:
If the admission standard is low and the English level and academic performance are relatively average, it will be easier to apply to community colleges, and the number of community colleges is small, so it will be easier to take care of international students. It will be easier for foreign students to adapt to American culture when they first come into contact with American studies in community colleges, and the cost of community colleges will be cheaper. When you study hard in a community college and get excellent results in this environment, you will have a better chance to apply for admission to a top American university.
● Associate degree:
Associate degree course can be said to be a bridging course, which is equivalent to the first two years of bachelor degree course; It can also be the ultimate course, which helps students prepare for their careers and enables them to acquire a skill. -You need to study in a community college or a private college for two years. -Associate Degree Type: Associate Degree in Literature? (AA) or associate degree in science? (AS).- Students can transfer to a four-year college or university for further study.
Public or private community colleges are community-based educational institutions, also known as county-level colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges or city colleges.
▲ Four-year comprehensive university
Four-year universities are divided into four-year and postgraduate comprehensive universities, four-year universities of arts and sciences and four-year professional universities.
Comprehensive University: Similar to ordinary universities in China, there are liberal arts colleges, science colleges and education colleges. Depending on the size of the school, there will be other schools, such as engineering schools, business schools, agricultural colleges and management schools. This kind of university is the most common in America. This university will offer bachelor's degrees, and there are also research institutes to train master's and doctoral students. This school usually has a well-collected library &; There will also be many courses for students to choose from in well-equipped research rooms and laboratories. Disadvantages: the number of students in such schools is often large, so graduation may be delayed because of the failure of course selection; Due to the large class size, students can't get direct guidance from the professor. In addition, school professors are often under the pressure of continuous research, so they are very interested in teaching &; Caring for students may not be so hard, so students are more in contact with teaching assistants.
Four-year college of arts and sciences: bachelor's degree is provided. The school is small in scale and the number of students is small.
Courses include the College of Arts and Sciences. It should be noted that some of these schools have master's courses, but usually there are no research institutes. As far as teachers are concerned, most professors have doctoral degrees and attach great importance to teaching and student counseling. These universities have developed rapidly in recent years, offering many professional courses, such as information management, pre-medical, pre-legal and pre-engineering courses. These schools will also recruit international students, but the requirements will be higher, and students usually need better reading and writing skills.
Special schools: business, engineering, art, music, design, military and so on. Vocational college students
Have a clear direction for your career, and the school curriculum will focus on cultivating your ability to engage in a certain industry. There are many practical professional courses, and there will also be internship courses. This school will adopt small class education &; Individual tutoring can bring students into close contact with professors. Many of these professional colleges are excellent ~
(3) The "school type" after American university education &; "degree introduction"
● Bachelor's degree
American bachelor's degree is very flexible, and students can choose a variety of courses.
You need to study a specific subject in a college or university for four years.
-In the process of admission, most universities will put students'? SAT or what? ACT score is one of the evaluation criteria.
-Generally speaking, the bachelor's degree course is divided into two stages: the first stage is the basic course, covering many core subjects, such as mathematics, English, humanities, natural science, social science and so on. The second stage is to study the subjects chosen by students, which is the so-called major.
-Bachelor degree type: Bachelor of Arts? (BA), Bachelor of Science? (BS), etc.
-Students can obtain this degree after obtaining a certain number of credits (usually three or four credits for a course) and meeting the professional requirements. American colleges and universities are divided into state and private; State colleges are funded by the government, while private colleges are privately funded and smaller. The main difference between colleges and universities is that colleges are generally small and only offer undergraduate degrees, while universities offer graduate degrees in addition to undergraduate degrees.
▲ Institute
Many research institutes are independent colleges attached to comprehensive universities and are famous for their specialization in certain professional disciplines. The most frequently heard is "Enterprise Management College", which not only offers management courses for ordinary undergraduates, but also offers many excellent business management courses for business executives of enterprises to further their studies. Courses may last from one week to one year, such as Claremont College in California and UCLA ~
There are also specialized independent research institutes that only offer master's courses and apply for graduate students to enter the institute.
● Postgraduate study
Students who have obtained a bachelor's degree can continue their studies and pursue a master's or doctoral degree (also known as? Postgraduate courses in the United States are more professional and intensive than undergraduate courses, because graduate schools think that students already know the basic knowledge of their fields.
◆ Law degree
Law courses provide practical skills education for students who want to become lawyers. Most States in the United States require lawyers to have? Doctor of law degree. A law degree requires three years of study in a university.
-In the process of admission, the university will give students an entrance examination for law school? (LSAT) performance is one of the evaluation criteria.
-Students who successfully complete the law degree program will receive a doctor of law degree? Doctor of law certificate
◆ Medicine
The minimum length of medical courses in universities is four years.
-In the process of admission, the university will give students a medical college entrance examination? (LSAT) performance is one of the evaluation criteria.
-Students who successfully complete medical courses will receive a doctorate in medicine? (MD) or doctor of orthopaedics? (DO) degrees.
If your goal is to get a master's degree from a famous American university or college, you need to attend.