Understanding the U.S. Education System

 Undergraduate Studies

Bachelor’s programs in the U.S. are no shorter than four years and are one form of ‘Undergraduate’ programs. Students who have completed twelve years of education are eligible to join undergraduate programs in the U.S. There is a name given to each of the four years of bachelor’s study – namely freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years.

There exists another form of undergraduate education in the U.S., which is the Associate’s degree. An associate’s degree is a 2-year degree earned at a community college. Community colleges usually serve a small community around them. Per year college tuition is usually much less expensive than per year tuition at a 4-year college. Students who opt for an associate’s degree may choose upon completion to transfer to a 4-year college/university in the U.S. to continue studies for a bachelor’s degree.

Hence, students seeking bachelor’s degrees in the U.S. have two options. They can either directly join a 4-year bachelor’s program, or study at a community college and then transfer to a 4-year bachelor’s program. Students should carefully evaluate these two options. You may find that studying at a community college is less expensive, but then it is generally difficult to obtain scholarship when you transfer to the 4-year institution. Furthermore, community colleges may not have housing and students might have to live off campus.

Graduate Studies

Both master’s and PhD level studies are referred to as ‘Graduate’ studies in the U.S.A.

A master’s degree is usually earned after two years of study beyond a 4-year bachelor’s program and a PhD degree takes somewhere between four to eight years. M.Phil and Post Graduate degrees do not exist in the U.S.