As any foreign professional who has tried to transfer their degree of higher education to the United States knows, America is very particular* about its higher education system.  Many degrees earned in institutions outside the United States cannot be transfer to work or study in the United States.  The reason for this is that there are very rigorous accreditation** standards at all levels of higher education in the United States and some of these standards do not exist in higher education institutions abroad.  This often makes it hard for people from other countries to transfer their degrees earned outside the United States to the United States, because the standards used in other countries are not equivalent to those used here.  These higher education standards also make acceptance into schools of higher education in the United States difficult and well sought after.  In order to help you understand the higher education system in the United States better I am going to give a brief overview of what the different levels of higher education are and what is involved in attaining these degrees of education.

First, let me define the term “higher education.”  Higher education refers to the education one receives past a high school education.  This can include: colleges, universities, academies, seminaries, institutes of technology, as well as vocational schools, trade schools, and community colleges.

There are a number of levels of degrees of higher education awarded in the United States.  Below I have listed the most common levels of education and the corresponding abbreviated degrees (in parentheses).

Associates Degree (AA) : An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree earned at a community college, junior college, or technical college after a minimum of two years of full-time study.  In the United States an associated degree is often equivalent to the first two years of a four-year college education.  Some people transfer from a two-year college to a four-year college after they have finished their AA degree.

Bachelors Degree (BA or BS): A bachelors degree (often a bachelors of art or science) is an undergraduate degree earned at a college or university after a minimum of four years of full-time study.  Students can study almost any subject that they choose as their “major” (their major course of study), but the most common majors in the United States according to a CNN poll are: Biology, Communications, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Elementary Education, Marketing, Nursing, Psychology, and Political Science.  After attaining a bachelors degree, students are prepared for an entry level position at an organization or business.

Master’s Degree (MA, MS, etc. ): A master’s degree (often a master’s of arts or science) is a graduate degree awarded to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a high level overview of a specific field of study or professional practice, beyond undergraduate study.  Master’s degrees generally take a minimum of two years (beyond a bachelors degree) or full-time study to complete.

Doctoral Degree (Ph.D., M.D, etc.): A doctorate is a graduate degree that is the highest level of academic education in the United States.  This level of degree often qualifies an individual to teach in the specific field in which they have studied or to practice their profession independently.  Completing a doctoral degree in the United States takes a minimum of 4 years of full-time study (after completing a master’s degree), but it may take as many as six or more years of study to complete.  Completing a doctoral degree in the United States generally requires a student complete an original research project and write a dissertation (or book) about their research.

I hope this review of degrees of higher education awarded in the United States was educational!

* particular = specific about likes and dislikes

** accreditation = the act of granting credit or recognition to an educational institution that maintains suitable standards