UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN THE USA

(An English professor is taking an interview from his American colleague)

“I am glad to have this opportunity to talk with you, Dr Barton. Do you mind my asking some questions about the Universities in America?”

“Certainly not. Education is my business and my hobby. What do you want to know?”

“First, do you have a National University?”

“No, we don’t. Each State controls and supports at least one University. The National Government gives no direct financial aid to these state schools”.

“Can the students go to the University free of charge?”

“No. Everyone must pay a tuition fee. The amount varies from state to state. A student’s total expenses throughout the year are about 1,500 dollars. This creates a financial hardship for some people. Though each University offers a number of scholarships many of the students have to work to pay part of their expenses”.

“Most of your Universities have a central campus, don’t they?

“Yes, they do. For example, you generally find the colleges of Law, Business, Medicine, Engineering, Agriculture, Music and Journalism on one campus. So a student can attend courses at the various colleges.”

“Don’t all students take the same courses?”

“Well, yes and no. During the first two years they follow somewhat basic program. That is each student must select at least one course from each of these basic fields of study: English, science, modern languages, history and physical education”.

“When do they specialize in their particular field of study?”

“After the first two years each student majors in one subject and minors in another. My son, for example, is majoring in history with a minor in sociality. In addition to these major and manor courses he can select other subjects according to his interests or profession”.

“What degrees do American Universities offer?”

“After completing 4 years of work the students receive the Bachelor’s Degree. It might be either a B.S. (Bachelor Science) or B.A. (Bachelor of Arts). With an additional year of study he may receive a Master’s Degree and after 2 or 3 more years of graduate work and the writing of a dissertation he receives a Doctorate”

“Do your students take an oral examination over 4 years of work before receiving a Bachelor’s Degree?”

“No, they don’t. They have a final written examination at the end of each course. They take an oral examination, and write a dissertation only for the advanced degree”.

“That clears up most of the questions, Dr. Barton. It’s good to have this information from someone directly connected with University life. I hope to visit several American Universities while I’m here in the United States”.

“It has been a pleasure to talk with you”.

Ex. 5. Discuss the text in the groups of four. Imagine that you are:

a) a journalist, who asks questions;

b) a British student;

c) an American student;

d) a student of our University.

TEXT B.

SOME ASPECTS OF BRITISH UNIVERSITY LIFE

A university in Great Britain is a place of higher education to which young men and women may go after finishing the course at a high school, that is, when they are about eighteen years old.

It is true that most students go to a university to study some special subject or group of subjects, a knowledge of which will make it possible for them to earn their living as doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, etc. But it is recognized that a university must do more than supply the facts of medicine, law, engineering or whatever a man may have to do or teach: it must train its students in such a way that they themselves will always be eager to search for new knowledge and new ideas.

Of the full-time students now attending English universities three quarters are men and one quarter women. Nearly half of them are engaged in the study of arts subjects such as history, languages, economics or law, the others are studying pure or applied sciences such as medicine, dentistry, technology, or agriculture.

The University of London, for instance, includes internal and external students, the latter coming to London only to sit for their examinations. Actually most external students at London University are living in London. The colleges in the University of London are essentially teaching institutions, providing instruction chiefly by means of lectures, which are attended mainly by day students. The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, however, are essentially residential institutions and they mainly use a tutorial method.

This tutorial system began at Oxford and Cambridge, where each college is a world of its own, with the students in residence, and they can easily appoint tutors to look after each student individually. The system is also used to some extent in the other universities to supplement lectures. Generally speaking there’s one member of the teaching staff for every eight students in the universities. The tutorial system brings the tutor into the close and personal contact with the student. The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, being residential, are necessarily far smaller than most of the colleges of the University of London.

Education of University standard is also given in other institutions such as colleges of technology and agricultural colleges, which prepare their students for degrees or diplomas in their own fields.

The three terms into which the British University year is divided are roughly eight to ten weeks. Each term is crowded with activity. The students have vacations between the terms.

A university usually has longer holidays than a school, and in England, in addition to the long summer holiday, which lasts three or four months, there are a few weeks at Christmas and Easter during which the students can go home. Many of them arrange to travel in July, August and September, partly for pleasure and partly for study. The students of some universities, who have to earn the money to pay for their education, spend the summer in doing various kinds of work. But it is not always easy to find employment.

If a person has a London degree, that means he has graduated from the University of London. A person studying for a degree at a British university is called an undergraduate; one who has taken a degree is called a graduate.

B.A. or B.Sc. stands for Bachelor of Arts, or of Science, the first degree. M.A. or M.Sc. denotes Master of Arts, or of Science. One can become a B.A. after three years of hard study, and an M.A. at the end of five years.

Life at a university is not all hard work. In fact at some universities in England and America success in sports and games seems almost as important as success in studies and it is considered a high honour to be chosen to play for one’s university at cricket or football. Students of Oxford and Cambridge meet at almost every kind of sport, including tennis, running and jumping. And sometimes there are sports meetings between American and British universities.

Ex. 1. Choose the right answer.

a) 1. Arts subjects include (languages, history, psychology). 2. Applied sciences include (dentistry, literature, technology). 3. The University of London includes (internal, foreign, external) students). 4. Many English students arrange to travel in summer for (pleasure, study, getting sunburnt). 5. Success in sports, drama, games seems almost as important as success in studies.

b) 1. A person studying for a degree at a British university is called a(n) (graduate, post-graduate, undergraduate). 2. One can become a B. A. after (five, six, three) years of hard work. 3. A university is a place of (higher, primary, secondary) education.

Ex.3. Be ready to speak on the following topics:

Aims of universities, the subjects the students study at a university, the arrangement of English universities, the tutorial system, terms, holidays, degrees, sport and public activities of universities students.

Ex.2. Answer the questions on the text.

1. Where do English young men and women get higher education?

2. At what age do they enter a university?

3. What is the proportion of men and women attending English universities?

4. What subjects are considered to be arts subjects?

5. What do they call pure and applied sciences?

6. What do you understand by internal and external students?

7. How do teaching institutes provide instruction to English students?

8. Why are the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge called residential institutions?

9. What is understood by tutors and the tutorial method?

10. Is it characteristic only of England?

11. At what colleges did it begin?

12. Why was it easy to appoint tutors there?

13. Do tutors look after each student individually or after a small group of students?

14. Is the tutorial system used in other universities of England?

15. At what other institutions can Englishmen get education of University standard? 16. How many terms is the University year divided into?

17. How long do they last?

18. What vacations (or holidays) have English students?

19. How long do Christmas and Easter holidays last?

20. What do they call the long summer holidays?

21. What do many English students do during their long summer holiday?

22. What do they call a person studying for a degree at a British university?

23. What do they call a person who has taken a degree?

24. What do the terms B.A., B.Sc., M.A. or M. SC. stand for?

25. How do English students rest?

26. What role does sport play in the life of an English student?

Ex.3. Be ready to speak on the following topics:

TEXT C.

OXBRIDGE

The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.

Oxford is a collegiate university, consisting of the central University and colleges. The central University is composed of academic departments and research centres, administrative departments, libraries and museums. The 38 colleges are self-governing and financially independent institutions, which are related to the central University in a federal system. There are over 22,600 students at Oxford, including 11,603 undergraduates and 10,499 postgraduates. 41% of our total student body - over 9,200 students are citizens of foreign countries. Students come to Oxford from over 140 countries and territories.

The start of the University of Cambridge is generally taken as 1209, when scholars from Oxford migrated to Cambridge to escape Oxford’s riots of “town and gown” (disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk). The first college, Peterhouse, was founded in 1284. Today there are 31 autonomous Colleges in Cambridge. Before the 1970s all Oxford colleges were for men or women only. Now “co-residence” is usual. Today the University has grown to around 20,000 students, 7,500 of whom are graduate students. Of those graduate students, 50% come from overseas, and over 40% are women.

Two universities, Oxford and Cambridge, Oxbridge, as they are sometimes jointly called, for 7 hundred years dominated British education, and they still do. They are federations of semi-independent colleges, each college having its own staff, known as “Fellows”. The organization systems of Oxford and Cambridge have very much in common and differ from other universities and colleges. Each college in Oxford has its own building, staff and students. The Fellows teach the college students, either one-to-one or in very small groups known as “tutorials” in Oxford and “supervisions” in Cambridge. Oxbridge has the lowest student/staff ratio in Britain. Few universities can afford this level of contact time, and the regular individual attention means all students should be fully challenged and supported in their academic development. This also means a particularly intense workload. Depending on the subject, students have one or two tutorials each week – each requiring a significant amount of preparation. As the workload is generally much heavier than at most universities, it’s relatively uncommon to find Oxbridge students with part-time jobs during term-time.

Students study at Oxbridge for 3-4 years (Medical Sciences, Veterinary Medicine – 5-6 years). Each academic year is split into three terms of about eight or nine weeks each, that is shorter compared to other UK universities, so long holidays in between many students may use to find temporary work.

Oxford and Cambridge are rather far from London and other large cities. Therefore the students have to live in the university hostel or in private room, but the rent for it is rather high. Besides special fees are taken for books, for lab work, teaching aids, etc. Some students get scholarship, but they are few.

There are many societies and clubs in Oxbridge. Sporting activities are numerous. There is keen rivalry between the colleges, especially in rowing, rugby and cricket. Many annual competitions are held between Oxford and Cambridge, including the annual Boat Race, the Rugby Union and Rugby League Varsity Matches.

Many great men studied here, such as Bacon, Milton, Cromwell and Newton. Members of the Royal family, future MPs and ministers study here.

To enter the university you must apply to a college and become a student of the university through a college. Despite the popular opinion, the colleges are not connected with any particular science. Students studying literature and physics may belong to the same college.

Ex.1. Choose the right word.

1. The first college at Cambridge is:

a) Robinson

b) King’s

c) Peterhouse

2. Student study … terms a year.

a) two

b) three

c) four

3. Students who get scholarship are …

a) numerous

b) 50% of all students

c) few

4. Sporting activities are …

a) not popular

b) popular

c) forbidden

5. For many student rowing is …

a) relaxation

b) profession

c) competition

6. To enter the university you must apply to a …

a) rector

b) college

c) university

Ex.2. Define the true/false statements.

1. Two universities, Oxford and Cambridge, dominate British education.

2. The University of Oxford is only for the British.

3. Cambridge is exclusively for men.

4. The organization systems of Oxford and Cambridge have many differences from each other.

5. The colleges are not connected with any particular science.

6. Each tutor has one student.

7. Students study at Cambridge for two years.

8. Oxford and Cambridge are not far from London.

9. Special fees are taken for books and lab work.

10. Members of the Royal family do not study there.

11. There is keen rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge in football.

Ex.3. Answer the questions:

1) Which are the main two universities in the British education?

2) When was the University of Oxford founded?

3) How many students are in Oxford?

4) When was Petershouse founded?

5) What is the difference between Oxford and Cambridge?

6) How are the studies organized?

7) What is a tutorial system?

8) Where do the students of Oxford and Cambridge live?

9) Do the students have to pay for their studies?

10) Does sport have an important role in Oxbridge?

UNIVERSITY CLASSES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Students from other countries often ask questions concerning university classes in the United States. There are usually four kinds of classes in American universities. First, many subjects are taught in Lecture courses. Lecture classes are often large. The professor speaks from notes or from a written lecture concerning the subject of the course. Lecture courses are valuable because the professors who teach them are specialists in their fields, and students who take accurate notes of a lecture profit by the experience and knowledge of the lecturers.

The second kind of university class is the Recitation class. Recitation classes can be divided into two groups. When recitation classes are held in addition to lecture classes during the same course, the class is called a Quiz Section. The second kind of recitation class is not combined with a lecture class. In such classes the instructor talks informally and asks questions. The student can also ask questions. Recitation classes are usually rather small, so that each student can have an opportunity to participate in the discussion.

The first two kinds of university classes are for both elementary and advanced students. The third kind of class is the Seminar. Class, is for advanced students only.

The seminar class meets in a room which contains a large table. The students and the professor sit around the table and discuss special problems which pertain to the subject of the course. In a seminar class, the students prepare reports upon their own research and read these reports to the rest of the class.

The fourth kind of university class is the Laboratory Class. Laboratory classes are especially important in technical and scientific courses. A laboratory section often meets for three or four hours for experiments and technical research.

Ex. 1.Answer the questions on the text.

1. How many kinds of classes are there in American universities?

2. What are lecture courses?

3. How does the professor usually speak at lecture classes?

4. What makes lecture courses so valuable for students?

5. What is the Recitation class?

6. What class is called a Quiz Section?

7. Why can each student take part in the discussion?

8. What is the third kind of classes in American Universities?

9. Is the seminar class for advanced students only or for ordinary students as well?

10. What reports can the students prepare in a seminar class?

11. What is the fourth kind of university class in America?