Higher Education Systems in USA vs United Kingdom

The UK and US are the preferred top destinations by Indian students to pursue higher education abroad. Both are known for having the most prestigious and highest world-ranking universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford, MIT, Harvard. Both countries share a rich tradition of quality higher education, excellent research facilities, and a culture that promotes intellectualism as well as academic freedom. Though they share many cultural similarities, their education systems and higher education in particular are remarkably difference. The key differences:

Duration of Course
An important difference between the education system in the US, and the UK, is the amount of time it takes to finish your degree. A Bachelors degree takes 3 years to complete in UK and 4 years in USA (except in Scotland, where a bachelor’s degree also lasts four years). A Masters program is for 1 year in UK and 2 years in USA. In general, degree programs in the US take about one year longer than programs in the UK, although this varies depending upon whether you receive a Master’s degree prior to a PhD. In both systems, you can go directly to a PhD program out of your undergraduate program, but in the UK it is more common to complete a Master’s degree program before moving on to a PhD. Courses of study are shorter in the UK because the course programs are generally much more focused than in the US.

Academic Term/Semester
Most universities in the US begin their terms in mid to late August, although smaller liberal arts colleges may start later. Most take a rather lengthy break beginning in mid-December and begin the second semester in early to mid-January. Some universities follow trimester or quarter-based system, may begin their winter break at the Thanksgiving holiday, which falls at the end of November. The academic term in the UK is a bit more varied. Most use the semester system, many start in September or October and end in May or June, making for a slightly longer academic year. However, the academic term is less standardized throughout the United Kingdom; if you choose to study there, your university might use a much different calendar.

University Organization
Many universities in the UK are made up of “colleges” which are dedicated to a specific subject matter. While the colleges are still governed by the university, each college has a lot of autonomy from each other and the university itself. You live with others in your college, eat with others from your college, and generally stay within your college for the duration of your studies. Rather than applying to the central university admissions department, you either apply directly to the college of the subject you want to study. For Bachelors, you apply through Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), a centralized system which allows you to apply to 5 colleges at once. This means that you have to know what you want to study before you even apply.

In the US, for Bachelors, you apply to the larger university and for the first year or more, you take courses from a variety of fields and only declare a major at the end of the first year or perhaps even during the second year. Bachelors applications are through the Common App, Coalition App, Texas App, Cal State App, and few more. American universities have different “schools,” or departments, such as the School of Arts and Sciences, which houses a number of related majors. However, even after you declare a major at an American university, you are still expected to take classes outside of that field, known as “electives.” The general emphasis of higher education in the US is breadth, or getting a range of knowledge from a variety of different subjects. In the UK, the emphasis is more on depth; getting a very thorough understanding of your chosen subject.

Assignments, Projects, Presentations
Because the US system emphasizes breadth, courses require weekly or even biweekly readings as well as other assignments such as small writing projects, major research papers, and oral presentations throughout the course. In the UK, most schools are much more lecture-based, with only occasional assignments throughout the semester. In some cases, there may be no actual required assignments and instead your entire grade may be based on one final exam. In the US, your grade will be based on your performance on the variety of assignments, with a final exam making up only a percentage of your total grade.

Assessments
UK universities use an honors system from First Class to Third Class while the US utilizes a 4.0 GPA scale with the traditional A to F.
US universities often assess student’s performance through a large combination of methods throughout the semester such as presentations, quizzes, participation, discussion, assignments etc. Amidst that a substantial part of the grade is given to a midterm and final exams. Thus, in the US higher education system assessment is continuous. The UK is more heavily lecture and exam based. Though in many cases they do have a mixture of assignments, discussions and presentations. The big final exam is a much larger and significant portion of the grade. In same cases, the entire grade is based on the final.

Employment
In terms of work opportunities, in the UK you are able to work off campus part-time for 20 hours a week during school days and full time during holidays. However, in the USA , students are limited to working primarily on campus in places like the student center, bookstore or cafeteria. To work off campus students need to apply for a Curricular Practical Training (CPT). The job or internship needs to be directly related to your major. After graduation, US students get of Optional Practical Training (OPT). Under OPT status, students are granted the privilege to work in the US for a year. Students in STEM fields such as Engineering however are granted the opportunity to extend their OPT status by another 3 years. Currently, students have three months to find employment. If they wish to stay longer they need to apply for the H1B Visa where it needs to be shown that the position is one that cannot be easily fulfilled by an American worker.
In the UK, students must find a job Tier 2 sponsor licence within 2 years of completing their course. The job requires a salary at least £20,800. The visa can be granted for up to 5 years and will depend on the length of appointment. It’s important to note that many parents and students assume that students will easily gain employment and stay in overseas. In truth, the job market is highly competitive market in both countries.