US education system

[clairobscur]

How does the US education system work?

Does everybody go to high school (including people who have technical jobs, say, a plumber) or are there other schools?

Is college education received in specific schools, or is part of the universities?

Do you enter in a college immediatly after high scholl, or is there something inbetween?

How long do you go to college (4 years?)?

How is called the college diploma?

What do you learn there? I mean are there science colleges, art colleges, etc…? Can you freely pick whatever topic you want (for instance a class in english, another in chemistry, a third one in drawing, etc…) or are there mandatory subjects (For instance, you must pick mechanics, and organic chemistry and geometry, but you can add another topic of your choice)?

Are colleges dedicaced to general studies, or are there technical colleges?

Are there other options than college, after high school? If so, what do you learn in these schools?

What are the degrees (master’s, PhD, etc…)? How many years of study to get them? And where do you get them?

Is a college education mandatory to enter in an university? Or is it something completely different?

If you want a technical but highly skilled job (like, say, engineer), where do you go? College, university, something else?

What about a less skilled job (say, a technician)?

Are universities specialized (sciences, for instance) or general (with students in physics and archeology in the same university, for instance)?

At what point do students begin to specialize? High school? College? University?

Do diplomas of similar level have the same “value”? I mean, is there a difference between a high school diploma, master’s degree, whatever… given by the school X and the same diploma given by the school Y? To what extent (are there, for instance, diplomas which have actually no recognized value?) Are the requirements roughly similar everywhere for the same diploma?
I know, a lot of question…But I really don’t understand how the american education system works…

[Lsura]

Try http://www.studyusa.com/articles/understanding.htm hopefully it will answer most of your questions.

[Whack-a-Mole]

*Originally posted by clairobscur *
**How does the US education system work?

Does everybody go to high school (including people who have technical jobs, say, a plumber) or are there other schools?

Everyone goes to high school although school is only mandated through some portion of high school (depending on the individual state’s laws). That is, at some point in high school the parents can legally withdraw their child from the system. There are some vocational high schools that tend to focus more strongly on technical skills but I believe they all count as high schools and the students there still take a broad range of classes (math, english, etc.).

Is college education received in specific schools, or is part of the universities?

IIRC a university is just a collection of colleges in one place (i.e. College of Fine Arts, College of Business, etc.). IIRC a university also offers graduate degrees whereas a college does not.

Do you enter in a college immediatly after high scholl, or is there something inbetween?

Generally there is nothing inbetween. There are some colleges called Junior Colleges that are two-year programs. These are generally much easier to get into than a four-year college is and provides either some training in a given discipline or is used as a stepping stone into a four-year college. Also, some students choose to work or travel or just be bums after high school. Nothing says you have to immediately move on to college after high school.

How long do you go to college (4 years?)?

Most undergraduate degrees are four-years. Some disciplines are 5 years (I think Pharmacology might be one thing like this). If you are going for a law degree, medical degree and a few other discliplines they are by nature graduate programs and you will spend anywhere from 6-10 years in school.

How is called the college diploma?

Diploma or Degree

What do you learn there? I mean are there science colleges, art colleges, etc…? Can you freely pick whatever topic you want (for instance a class in english, another in chemistry, a third one in drawing, etc…) or are there mandatory subjects (For instance, you must pick mechanics, and organic chemistry and geometry, but you can add another topic of your choice)?

You can pick whatever you want with a few restrictions. You have to be admitted into the program you want to study first of all. For example, the University of Illinois has an excellent engineering program (one of the best). It is MUCH easier to go to U of I for, say, theater than it is to get into their engineering program.

Once you choose a discipline to study there are a host of requirments that you must meet to get your degree. This mostly means that the majority of your classes are stipulated for you. Most universities also want their students to have a rounded education so everyone will endup taking at least a little math, english, philosophy, science, art and so on. There is some latitude in choosing those classes. You might choose astronomy instead of physics to meet your science requirement. After that they leave a few slots (maybe one or two a year) available to take whatever you please and interests you.

Are colleges dedicaced to general studies, or are there technical colleges?

Technical colleges definitely exist. Pretty much you can find anything from a liberal arts education (vague stuff, heavy on art, philosophy, literature and so) that are designed to make you think without actually knowing anything specific that is of use to technical colleges that specifically teach you a skill and don’t care if you kow how to (say) write.

Are there other options than college, after high school? If so, what do you learn in these schools?

As mentioned above there is pretty much anything you could want in this country. Whatever floats your boat, whatever interests you, whaever learning style works best for you there is probably a school somehwere in the US that will meet your needs.

What are the degrees (master’s, PhD, etc…)? How many years of study to get them? And where do you get them?

There are Bachelors degrees, Masters Degrees and Doctoral Degrees. Each degree can be further subdivided (such as a B.A. for Bachelor of Arts or a B.S. for a Bachelor of Science, a Ph.D. for Doctor of Philosophy, J.D. for a Doctor of Jurispridence [lawyer] and so on).

As it was described to me this is the better way to think of them:
[ul]
[li] B.S. – Bullshit[/li][li] M.S. – More Shit[/li][li] Ph.D. – Piled High and Deeper[/li][/ul]

Is a college education mandatory to enter in an university? Or is it something completely different?

As mentioned before college and university are pretty much the same thing.

Sorry…gotta run. I’ll try and answer the rest later if no one beats me to it…

[g8rguy]

Picking up where WAM left off…

If you want a technical but highly skilled job (like, say, engineer), where do you go? College, university, something else?

If you want to be something like an engineer, you’d go to a university or a college and study engineering.

What about a less skilled job (say, a technician)?

Here you’d go to a technical school instead.

Are universities specialized (sciences, for instance) or general (with students in physics and archeology in the same university, for instance)?

Here it depends a bit. Most state run universities have people in physics, history, and archaeology in the same university, but in different colleges. Many private universities (not publicly funded, and often hideously expensive) tend to concentrate more, to the point where the college that I went to only put out students with degrees in physics, biology, chemistry, math, computer science, or engineering. So you have quite a range.

At what point do students begin to specialize? High school? College? University?

College/university, typically, and often part way through. It’s often the case that an undergraduate will be required to take “core courses” (the general knowledge stuff WAM was referring too) in the first year or so, and the specialization really happens in the last two or three years.

Do diplomas of similar level have the same “value”? I mean, is there a difference between a high school diploma, master’s degree, whatever… given by the school X and the same diploma given by the school Y? To what extent (are there, for instance, diplomas which have actually no recognized value?) Are the requirements roughly similar everywhere for the same diploma?

Umm… I’m not quite sure. Many programs are often accredited by various organizations, and lack of, say, an American Chemical Society accredation for a chemistry program will hurt it a goodish bit. In general, some diplomas will be worth more than others simply because the quality of education is perceived to be higher. (For instance, a degree from Harvard will tend to be worth more than a degree from U. Mass.)

[friedo]

First, it’s important to realize that there is no such thing as The US Educational System.

High schools are run by each state’s government. Most get some funding from the federal government as well.

In most states, school is mandatory until the age of sixteen. Education through the end of high school (usually around age 17-18) is provided for free in every state. There are also private schools if you can afford it.

Many states have vocational high schools in various fields, but these are not that common.

As for “higher education,” there are community run colleges and universities, state run schools, and private schools. Almost all require some sort of tuition to be paid and all offer some form of financial aid to encourage poorer students to enroll.

The previous posters described the university and college situations pretty accurately.

[msmith537]

*Originally posted by clairobscur *
Do diplomas of similar level have the same “value”? I mean, is there a difference between a high school diploma, master’s degree, whatever… given by the school X and the same diploma given by the school Y? To what extent (are there, for instance, diplomas which have actually no recognized value?) Are the requirements roughly similar everywhere for the same diploma?

All diplomas have a value. Where the school name really matters is when you are applying for certain high-prestige jobs or jobs that are extremly technical. Law, finance, medicine and consulting tend to look at pedigree schools for the big money jobs.

There is some debate however whether the top schools actually have better programs or simply attract smarter students because of the name. I suspect accounting taught at Harvard is similar to accounting taught at BC.