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Academic Considerations
Accreditation and Recognition of
Degrees | Major | Academic
Emphasis | Selectivity | Degree
Program Structure | Advanced Standing
| Student-to-Teacher Ratio
Accreditation
and Recognition of Degrees
An important indicator of the quality of any U.S. college
or university is its accreditation status. Unlike many other
countries, the United States does not have a central government
office that approves educational institutions. Instead, it
relies on a system of voluntary accreditation carried out
by non-governmental accrediting bodies to ensure that schools
meet standards.
While almost all U.S. colleges hold widely recognized forms
of accreditation, it must be noted that accreditation in the
United States is a complex area; there are different types
of accreditation and a large number of accrediting bodies.
There is also no legal requirement that degree-offering institutions
be accredited or hold a particular form of accreditation.
Because of this complexity, you should check carefully well
in advance whether a degree from the institutions you are
applying to will be recognized by your home country government
and any relevant professional associations, ministries, or
employers in your country. Also, talk to graduates who have
returned to your country to see if they have been successful
in applying degrees earned from such institutions to their
chosen professions. If you think you might wish to transfer
from one U.S. college to another during your undergraduate
studies, or if you might want to pursue graduate study in
the United States, you should also check whether other U.S.
universities will recognize credits and degrees from the colleges
you are considering.
U.S. educational information
and advising centers can advise you regarding recognition
of U.S. degrees in your country and tell you whether a U.S.
degree-offering institution is appropriately accredited. More
detailed information on the topic of accreditation can be
found in 'Short-Term
Study.'
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Major
"Get to know the colleges you are really interested in.
Some of the so-called big names have very strong departments
— but also some weak ones too."
— Politics and fine arts student from Finland
Your major is the field of study in which you plan to specialize.
It is not essential to declare the major you plan to undertake
when you enter a university. If you have a definite degree
objective, however, you need to identify universities offering
that field.
Some subjects are taught at many universities. Knowing which
subject you wish to major in may help, but you could still
be left with a long list of institutions to choose from. If
there is a particular specialization within a field that interests
you (for example, if you are interested in 20th-century history,
or environmental geography, or painting within a fine arts
degree), identifying which schools offer that specialization
will also help you draw up a shortlist of institutions.
Most directories of U.S. universities list schools by the
most commonly offered majors. Computer-based search packages
available on the Web or at U.S.
educational information and advising centers can also
help you narrow down your choices. Make use of college catalogs
and bulletins to check if your interests are offered and that
the programs have the particular focus you want.
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Academic Emphasis
You should check to see how the university emphasizes its
curriculum. Is the emphasis on professional education or liberal
arts? Do undergraduate or graduate students dominate the campus?
Many liberal arts colleges emphasize teaching and professor-student
interaction, rather than research, so the teacher-to-student
ratio is quite low. Some research-centered campuses are dominated
by graduate students, but the facilities at these universities
are often state-of-the-art and the professors world-renowned.
However, at some of these campuses, first- and second-year
classes may be taught by graduate students instead of professors.
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Selectivity
Because the U.S. university system is so extensive, admissions
requirements vary greatly. Highly selective private universities
and liberal arts colleges may receive enormous numbers of
applicants and accept only a small number, while other colleges
may accept all applicants who meet their admission standards.
Most university directories and college catalogs list the
number of applicants and the number of students accepted the
previous year, plus the average Scholastic Assessment Test
(SAT) score and grade point average (GPA) for the previous
year's accepted students. Selectivity assessments using this
type of data, however, tend to put weight on admissions test
scores, which are only one part of an application. Remember
that admissions officers look at a variety of factors, including
essays, prizes, community service and work experience, hobbies,
and special talents, as they review applications to try to
determine your potential for success at their institutions.
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Degree Program
Structure
You should study the course catalog and course descriptions
for each institution. Many international students choose the
U.S. system because it is flexible enough to allow them to
choose courses according to their interests. However, degree
programs in some subject areas are highly structured, and
universities dictate exactly which courses a student must
take and when they must take them in order to graduate with
a major in that area. This type of prescribed coursework limits
flexibility and, for example, does not allow student athletes
to have a lighter workload during the playing season or permit
motivated students to pursue a double major.
It is important to check the requirements of any majors you
may wish to pursue. For example, if you want to major in engineering
but also want to gain a strong academic background in business,
be sure to check the requirements of the engineering degree
— are they too numerous to allow you to take additional
business courses? Or is there a specific program for people
who wish to combine engineering with a related subject?
There is also great variation between course requirements
in liberal arts colleges. Some colleges require students to
take a certain number of classes in each of the broad subject
groups, while other liberal arts colleges have no such requirements,
merely making "strong recommendation" that students
complete a well-rounded education.
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Advanced Standing
U.S. students begin higher education after 12 years of elementary
and secondary education. Some U.S. universities award advanced
credit to students from education systems with 13 years of
elementary and secondary education or those who have taken
the International Baccalaureate. Students who have undertaken
postsecondary vocational and technical diplomas, certificates,
or similar programs may also qualify for some credit toward
their degree. Such students may not have to be enrolled for
the full four years in the United States and may be able to
enter the university with advanced standing. You should ask
admissions officers about this possibility and read "Transferring
to a U.S. University," for further details.
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Student-to-Teacher
Ratio
At large universities, undergraduate freshman and sophomore
classes are usually large, and you are likely to be taught
by graduate students rather than professors. At a college,
where there are fewer graduate students, you are likely to
be taught by a professor and will be required to make a greater
contribution to the class from the start. A high student-to-teacher
ratio indicates that classes will be large, reducing the amount
of attention faculty can give to individual students.
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