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One of the main differences between the American system of higher education and the British one is the longer education process. If in the UK a bachelor’s degree can be obtained in 3 years, then in the USA all bachelor’s programs last 4 years. An exception in Britain is Scotland’s universities, where undergraduate students study, as in the United States, for 4 years.

As for the master’s degree, the duration can be from a year to two in both countries. At the same time, there are much more one-year master’s programs in the UK than in the USA. Studying for a master’s degree for two years is still much more typical in America.

In the United States, you can go to graduate school right after the bachelor’s degree, by passing the master’s degree, while in the UK you cannot do this. This is a conditional distinction, since in American graduate school you still have to master the master’s program.

In general, the availability in the UK of the opportunity to complete their studies faster than on similar programs in the United States is due to the narrower focus of academic programs in universities in this country.

At most US universities, the academic year begins in mid to late August. Some small colleges specializing in liberal arts education may open their doors to students a little later, in September. Almost all universities have autumn holidays, sometimes in conjunction with Thanksgiving, and sometimes starting in December. The second semester usually starts in early or mid-January. There are also universities in which the annual schedule is based on terms or quarters.

There is more variety in the UK in terms of the types of study calendars that universities use. Although most universities live according to the classic two-semester schedule, trimesters and quarters are much more common than in the United States. Most often, university studies begin in September or October and end in May or June. In general, the academic year at British universities is slightly longer than at American universities.

As a rule, universities in the UK consist of colleges, each of which has its own academic and scientific focus. Although all colleges are run by a university, each college has enough autonomy to live its own life, independent of the life of other colleges. Students spend all their time within the walls of their college, which has everything you need: classrooms, libraries, gyms, cafeterias. Upon admission to a university, applicants submit documents to a college, and not to a university-wide admissions committee, as is customary in the United States. Also in the UK there is a system that allows you to apply to several colleges at once — Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). In both cases — when applying to UCAS or directly to college — the applicant must know their future specialization.

In the United States, on the contrary, you apply to the university’s admissions office, and for the first year or two years you don’t even need to know what you are going to specialize in in the future — this is the time when all undergraduate students take general or introductory courses from different fields of knowledge. American universities are divided into schools and departments (for example, business school or anthropology department). Each school or faculty offers several majors to choose from. Choosing one or two specializations in the third year, a student of an American university is «attached» to a particular faculty. But even after choosing a specialization, a student has the right to take courses outside the faculty or school.

Differences in the structure of universities in the United States and Great Britain underline the different focus of these two educational systems: within the American system of higher education, the student receives a wide range of knowledge around one or two specializations, while the British system focuses on the depth of knowledge within one specialty.

Every subject in an American university requires regular homework. As a rule, the assignment includes reading books and articles on the topic, small written work, group and individual projects, presentations, as well as individual coursework, which are submitted once a semester. All these works make up the student’s assessment.

The UK has a lot more lectures and less homework during the semester. The student’s knowledge is checked at the final exam. The grade that the student receives for the course depends on this exam.

In both countries, education is not cheap. At the same time, it is generally more expensive to study in the USA than in the UK. According to a law passed in 2012, universities in England cannot raise tuition fees above £ 9,000 (approximately $ 14,300) per year. This figure applies to tuition fees for UK and EU citizens.

For international students, the tuition fees are different, they can significantly exceed the prices for local ones.

If in the UK the government sets a limit on the cost of education, within the framework of which universities form their pricing policy, in the United States, in this sense, there is complete freedom. State control of American universities is minimized. Hence, there is a huge range of prices for education. You can study at a two-year college for $ 3000 per year or at an elite private university for $ 50,000 per year. The choice depends on your goals and financial capabilities. US citizens have access to various educational loan schemes, financial assistance for members of low-income families, and various scholarships.

In both countries, universities are whole cities that occupy a huge territory and can provide their students with housing in comfortable student residences. The level of beautification of residences in the United States and Great Britain is approximately the same. British universities, as a rule, offer single rooms, while in the United States it is customary to live with a neighbor. The differences between the residences in the universities of the two countries also lie in the fact that British students must organize their own meals: they can cook or go to the student cafe. US universities offer a variety of meal plans, a kind of set meal that is paid for once a semester and removes the need for the student to cook or buy food.

As you can see, an equally brilliant higher education can be organized in different ways. If a person plans to study in the United States or Great Britain, then the differences in the educational systems of these two countries must be taken into account. Much will depend on how much time and financial resources a person is willing to spend on education, whether he prefers to move in depth or strive to cover the professional sphere as widely as possible.