Post-Graduate Research Work and Degrees in Britain

 

The undergraduate course of studies at English uni­versities is completed when students are ready to take their degree examinations. After graduating they obtain the first academic degree or distinction of a Bachelor of Arts, depending on satisfactory examinations results. Bachelor's degrees are at two levels, Honours and Pass. Honours degrees are first, second or third class, and usually only about 5 per cent of the students are placed in the first class. Those that have a bent for research work may apply for an advanced course of study extending over not less than two academic years for full-time post-graduates and not less than three academic years for part-time graduate students.

The first post-graduate degree is normally that of Master, conferred for a thesis based on one or two year's full-time work. In a few of the biggest universities there are some seminars for post-graduate students, but usually there are no regular courses for them. In most universities it is only at the science faculties that any large numbers of students stay to do post-graduate work.

Every post-graduate working on a research problem is provided with an adviser and referees for the refereeing and evaluation of his thesis. On completing his course of study every candidate must submit a thesis. He is also required to forward a short abstract of his thesis comprising not more than 300 words. If the thesis is satisfactory on all points, the candidate will be awarded the degree and will continue his work in the academic field.

Everywhere the degree of Doctor is given for a thesis which is considered to be an original contribution to knowledge.

 

US Colleges and Universities

American colleges and universities are either public or private, that is, supported by public funds or sup­ported privately by a church group or other groups acting as private citizens although under a state charter.

A public institution is owned and operated by a government, either a state or a municipal government. The government appropriates large sums of money for the institution's expenses. Yet these sums are normally not sufficient to cover all expenses, and so the institution is partially dependent on student fees and on gifts. A private institution receives no direct financial aid from any government, municipal, state or federal. The money used to pay the operating expenses has a threefold origin: tuition fees paid by the students, money given in the form of gifts for immediate use, and the income from invested capital in the possession of the institution and originally received by the institution in the form of the gifts to be invested with only the income to be spent.

A college is generally defined as an institution of higher learning which offers a course of instruction over a four-year period, and which grants a bachelor's degree at the conclusion of studies. As part of university, a college graduate is distinguish­ed from a graduate of professional school. However, the profess­ional schools in some universities are called colleges.

A college prepares the student for two things: either graduate study leading to master's or doctor's degree or a job immediately after graduation. Students are classified as freshmen, sophomers, juniors and seniors. A freshman is a first year student, a sophomer, a second year student, a junior, a third year student, and a senior, a fourth year student. All students who have graduated from the senior class and who con­tinue studying at a university are classified as advanced stu­dents or graduate students. Some graduate students receive grants which cover the cost of their education; a person on such a fellowship is called a university fellow.

 

Библиографический список

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