Читать книгу How to Succeed At University--International Edition - Danton O'Day - Страница 19

Right now we should consider just what a university is. What does it consist of? How does it function? What is it going to do for you?

In general, postsecondary institutions with a primary academic focus are called universities while those with a more practical focus are called colleges. Universities usually require higher academic standings in high school than colleges. Similarly, universities typically offer Bachelor’s, Master’s and often PhD degrees while colleges typically offer certificates and diplomas.

Did You Know?

In some countries, the term “college” refers to higher education in general and may be used interchangeably with “university”. Alternatively, within each university there may be constituent “colleges” but these are university colleges; they offer studies at the university level that culminate with the granting of a university degree. Within the university, each “college” is usually a self-governing educational unit and usually has programmes that make it unique. Note that sometimes “college” is also used to refer to secondary schools, but these are obviously not higher education institutions!

In the United States, for example, the term “college” often refers to an institution that offers only a two-year Associate degree (junior colleges) as well as one that offers a four-year Bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, a full-fledged university offers Bachelor’s degrees and advanced degrees. But this is changing and, with more colleges offering Bachelor’s degrees, the lines between universities and colleges get less distinct with each passing year. The take-home message here is that although this chapter focuses specifically on universities, other types of higher education institutions also exist.

Depending on the university, the complexity and diversity of the curricula will vary considerably. Thus some places will offer Bachelor of Arts and/or Bachelor of Science degrees in a limited number of disciplines while other, larger institutions will offer almost the whole gamut of possible programmes. If you have any questions about the offerings at various universities, look up their websites. If you have long-term academic ambitions, universities that offer Master’s and PhD programmes may hold more appeal for you. In addition, the presence of graduate students working towards their Master’s or PhD degrees provides the university with a large source of qualified teaching assistants, laboratory demonstrators, tutorial leaders, etc., in addition to the full-time faculty. Another advantage of an institution that is training postgraduate students is that it will be more in the mainstream of what is happening in your area of study—it has to be in order to survive in the competitive academic world.