The System of Higher Education in Great Britain
There are 90 universities and 60 other higher educational institutions in Great Britain. Many big cities have a university and a college of higher education. There are also such higher institutions in Great Britain as polytechnics.
There are the following main types of universities in Great Britain: ancient, Redbrick and New. There is also Open University.
The first group is ancient universities: Oxford and Cambridge. They were founded in 12th and 13th centuries. They are the oldest and the most famous universities in Great Britain. They have a lot of rules and traditions. They have a collegiate system. It means that a university is a federation of colleges. Now Cambridge consists of 20 colleges and Oxford consists of 48 colleges. Each college is largely independent: it has its own staff of teachers, a separate building, its own financing and individual curricula. It organizes term exams, but university is responsible for final exams and for awarding degrees to college students. The next tradition is that some colleges are only for men and others only for women students. There are also coeducational colleges. The third tradition is that the university tutors teach students one-to-one or in very small groups. Such lessons are called tutorials.
Most universities in Great Britain are national universities. That is UK government pays three quarters of tuition fee and a student pays only one quarter of it. If the students family income is low the government helps him (her) with the grant. There are also some private universities in Great Britain (for example, Westminster University). Education in such universities is very expensive.
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Lets speak about the second type of UK universities Redbrick universities. The period of foundation of Redbrick universities is between 1850 and 1930.They have a name Redbrick because the material used for their construction was red brick. The most famous Redbrick university is London University. It is a federation of 44 schools and institutes. The number of its internal students is over 40 000 and it has also a great number of external students, who come to London only for examinations.
The next type is New Universities. New Universities were founded after the Second World War, as a result of Industrial Revolution. After the Second World War UK began to develop its industries very quickly. British plants and factories needed a lot of qualified specialists. Thats why a number of New Universities appeared in large industrial cities, such as Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and others.
Now a few words about Open University. Its a very interesting type of university. It started in 1960 for people, who wanted to continue their education, but couldnt attend classes because they worked full-time and studied only in free time. University provides its students with lecture materials and tests by e-mail, TV and radio programs. Such form of education is called distance training. Every year in October OU students take exams.
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Now we shall say some words about the degrees you can get at British higher schools. After three or four years of study you can get a Bachelors Degree (usually BA=Bachelor of Arts or BS=Bachelor of Science). After one or two years of further study a student can get a Masters Degree (MA or MS). If students wish to teach at university, they work for a higher degree, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
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Cambridge University
Cambridge University was founded at the beginning of the 12-th century. Now it consists of about 20 colleges. Each college is mostly independent. The teaching includes lectures organized by the University and tutorials. The system of individual tuition is organized by the colleges. Tutorial system of Cambridge University is famous all over the world. Each student has a tutor who practically guides him during the whole period of study. The tutor plans the students work and the student discusses every task with his tutor.
After three years of study a student can get a Bachelors Degree. If you continue the study you can get a Degree of Master and later a Doctor.
There are many rules and traditions in Cambridge University. For example, there still are colleges for men or for women only. The next thing is that students wear gowns* at lectures, in the University library, for dinners in the college and for official visits.
The education in Cambridge University is expensive. Some students have grants, for the other students pay their parents.
It is interesting that until the 15-th century the history of Cambridge University was not as great as the history of Oxford University. But when Isaac Newton was a professor of mathematics in Cambridge the situation changed. At that time candidates for degree began to take serious exams. Also many laboratories for natural sciences appeared at the end of the 17-th century. For example, Cavendish Laboratory, which is now one of the greatest physical laboratories in the world.
* gown (n)
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Manchester University
The city of Manchester is in northern England. It was a typical city of the Industrial Revolution, which influenced the development of such type of higher schools as Redbrick Universities. So Manchester University was founded in the second half of the 19-th century. It was one of the first Redbrick Universities in England. It is a public university.
The University of Manchester was formed on the basis of several higher educational institutions. One of the most important of them is Victoria University of Manchester. Lets say some words about it. It was founded in 1851.By 1880 it included the number of colleges from Leeds and Liverpool. One of its faculties the faculty of technology later became fully independent. Now it is the Institute of Science and Technology.
Now lets return to the University of Manchester. The number of its students is over 40 000. They study about 500 academic programs. Students of Manchester University can study more academic subjects than in any other university of Great Britain. The most notable areas of study are engineering, humanities, economics, social sciences. The number of teachers of the university is more than 10 000.
It is interesting to say that the University of Manchester gained the title University of the Year 2006.According to the quality of teaching the university is on the 5-th place in UK and on the 9-th place in Europe.
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University of London
The University of London is a federation of about 44 schools and institutes, which are located primarily in London. The number of students of London University is more than 40 000.A lot of students of the University of London are foreigners.
Now well look at the history of the University. It was founded in1836.It was created as the university for middle class students. At first its function was only to provide examinations for the degrees. Then in 1900 it was reconstructed in its present form. A lot of institutions within the County of London now form the University of London. Some of them are large and the others are quite small. The largest institutions which are part of London University are University College and Kings College. It is interesting that the first female students were admitted in London University in 1878.
The buildings of colleges of London University are situated in many parts of London. They all are quite independent. The schools, institutes and colleges of the University of London are teaching institutions, which provide the study mainly by means of lectures attended mostly by day students. It is necessary to mention that students who attend the university classes are called internal students, and those who only sat for the University examinations are called external students.
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Moscow State University
One of the oldest Russian institutions of higher education, Moscow University was established in 1755.In 1940 it was named after Academician Mikhail Lomonosov (1711 - 1765), an outstanding Russian scientist, who greatly contributed to the establishment of the university in Moscow. In 1755, on the 25th of January, St. Tatiana's Day, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna signed the decree that a university should be founded in Moscow. According to Lomonosov's plan, there were originally three faculties. First all the students acquired a comprehensive knowledge in the field of science and humanities at the Faculty of Philosophy, then they could specialize and continue at the faculty of philosophy or join either the Law Faculty or The Faculty of Medicine. Lectures were delivered either in Latin, the language of educated people at the time, or in Russian. Originally tuition at Moscow University was free for all students.
Now lets say some words about the present-day university life. The total number of full-time students is more than 40 000. At the beginning of the21st century Moscow University became an international educational centre, with the Faculty for the Russian Language which has been teaching international students since 1959.
In June 1992 the President of the Russian Federation issued a decree, which established the status of Moscow University as a self-governing institution of higher education. In November 1998, after a wide-ranging discussion, the Charter of Moscow University was approved.
Today Moscow State University comprises 29 faculties and over 350 departments, 15 research institutes, 4 museums, the Science Park, the Botanical Gardens, The Library, the University Publishing House and printing shop, a recreational centre and a boarding school for talented children. 9 faculties have been recently established, along with 47 new departments and 22 research laboratories. Research has recently started in 30 new interdisciplinary areas. At the moment the University Computer Centre represents more computing power than any other educational institution in Russia. There have been major changes in the curricula, with over 200 new academic programmes added.
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Higher Education in the USA
There is no national system of higher education in the United States of America. One can get higher education in colleges and universities. There are over 2 100 different higher educational institutions in the USA. The course of study usually lasts 4 years. The academic year is usually 9 months or 2 terms. As a rule, classes begin in September and end in June. It is interesting that the first-year students are called freshmen.
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Students choose a major subject and take many courses in this subject. After four years, they get a traditional Bachelors degree. Then the students may go on to graduate school () and after a year or two get a Masters degree.
The highest degree is usually Doctor of Philosophy. The students progress is evaluated by means of tests, term work and final examinations in each course. Teachers usually give marks on a five point scale, where letters indicate the level of achievement. A is the highest mark.
The methods of instructions in the universities are lectures, discussions, laboratory and course works or seminars.
Most cities have colleges or universities that hold classes at night as well as in daytime. In this way people may work for a degree or just take a course in the subject that interests them.
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Washington University
The University of Washington was founded in 1861. It is one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the Pacific coast. The university includes three campuses: the Seattle campus, the Bothell campus and the Tacoma campus. The academic core of the University of Washington is its College of Arts and Sciences.
Washington University offers full-time courses, distance learning, evening-degree courses. Such diversity of forms of study extends educational opportunities to many people. Programs in law, medicine, forest resources, oceanography and fisheries, library science, aeronautics are offered exclusively (in accord with the state law) by the University of Washington. The schools and colleges of agriculture and urban planning, business administration, education, engineering, nursing, pharmacy, public affairs, social work have long tradition of educating students for service to the region and
nation.
No wonder, that the admition to the University of Washington is highly competitive and the university offers programs and exchanges in over 50 countries of the world.
The head of the university is the president of the university. Now the president of the University of Washington is Mark A. Emmert. He believes the role of the administration is to shape the university in such a way that supports the work of the faculty and staff.
Since 1974 the University of Washington has been the number one public university in America in receiving federal support for research and training. Private support also helps the university to contribute some programs and researches.
