Hello everyone welcome to better PhD. Are you planning to get your master’s degree or PhDs abroad? Do you have no idea which country is better for you? today I’m going to talk about the key differences between the United States and United Kingdom’s education systems. Especially graduate programs a masters or PhD from a prestigious program from either of these two countries is highly regarded in the workforce but which one is better. When it comes to the entire process of getting a degree as well as the value after getting it.
The United Kingdom is home to a few globally prestigious universities such as Cambridge Oxford and Edinburgh having one of these names on your resume gives you an advantage. The US should not be underestimated though according to a report by The Times Higher Education six out of top ten universities. In the world are on American soil Stanford Harvard Princeton MIT Yale car Tech a few of the distinguished names.
When it comes to higher education many international students strive to secure a spot in a graduate program at one of these universities. If you are at the point of deciding whether to relocate to either the UK world of us to pursue a graduate program here are the four major differences between the two education systems.
First iteration let me start with UK graduate program getting a master’s degree in the UK takes less time than a US graduate program but depending on the type of category. In the UK there are three types of master’s degree first a taught master’s degree which usually takes one year to complete.
This program is less intensive and may or may not include the research depending on your field of choice second type is a post graduate diploma which usually takes two semesters with our thesis. Third option is a research-based master’s degree which it usually takes two years students. Who intend to pursue a Ph.D. program usually take this third option while this is the UK master’s standard course lengths you might find different masters will vary in length depending on the course or institution.
The UK graduate program is certainly more appealing to students who want to enter the workforce sooner. The duration would be also affect costs which I will talk about in my second point let’s move on to yes graduate program. The most of a browser program in the US requires that this is in a standard 24 month period why are there are some non T’s. This option if you proceed to a Ph.D. program it can take five to seven more years depending on the requirement why are some PhD programs let you immediately proceed to a Ph.D. program from an undergraduate program most require of master’s degree in a related field and the part of the admission requirements.
It is the same for the UK PhD programs but the extra year required in a us master’s program is a stretch many students want to skip or together. Second coast let’s start with the UK graduate program Coast the ever east coast of the UK master’s degree is about 13,000 pounds. In today’s currency it is about seventeen thousand US dollars considering that most people only need one year to get a masters degree in UK.
It may seem more affordable than studying in the United States but this amount does not include the living cost according to invest to media living expenses in London amount to roughly $25,000 per year and about $15,000. If you live outside of London then how about the us graduate programs cost Ivy League universities in America offer accredited programs for starting from ten thousand dollars and can go up to forty thousand dollars per year.
However tuition fees can be significantly lower in the state universities smaller town regarding living expenses and costs also depends on the location of your graduate program living. In a small college town could obviously be a cheaper choice than being in larger cities oscine getting into a $10,000 per year program. In a smaller town might seem like more affordable route but if you have to multiply by two because most people will take two years to complete their master’s degree in the United States.
If you can calculate it UK graduate program is slightly cheaper because of the shorter duration one plus for opting for a us program is the availability of more funding compared to the United Kingdom financial aid. In the us comes in various forms such as a work-study funding scholarship grants and assistantship but may only be offered to us citizens.
However there are big universities that have their own funding which is allocated specifically for overseas students. In addition there are universities that offer a guaranteed working study program. There are government funded scholarship for international students. In the US as well third term arrangement graduate programs in the United States usually follow a semester system most programs in the United States start in sometime in the mirror or at the end of August and go until mid-December with a long break for winter holidays then it picks up around the middle of January and until May some schools of course adopt a chorus system as well most of the program in the UK.
However follow a trimester arrangement or a poorer system normally. It is thirty weeks broken into three with roughly each term having ten weeks of classes around that the holidays fits very between one week and four months. Your first and second term will often be your lesson time so you will attend the lectures and seminars with the reading weeks in the middle.
In the UK the third term tends to have no teacher contact and is actually time for you to revise and submit major work. Such as your thesis however you will find tutors and lecturers are available on request. If you’ve booked in advance then once you have finished to your last exam you are off for the year.
So while you may think your summer vacation starts in July if your last exam was in May that is when you will finish number four program and teaching approach. So let’s start with the UK rather programs teaching approach the British higher education system lives in teaching in small groups lectures. Usually have twenty students or less they also follow an individualistic of learning. Where course lectures are available online interactions with professors were working together as a group doesn’t often happen in UK classroom another thing that is very different in UK is the examination style. Most programs do not test their students during the course.
However the students are required to undergo a three hour long examination per course at the end of the semester and examination great who will significantly affect. Their final grade the examination rate is a dominant factor of the course grade and how about us graduate programs teaching approach.
The grading system is accumulative in us graduate programs factors such as class participation quizzes assignments and group grades are added up to calculate. The final grade in addition to the course grade you receive the success of your program may depend on how well you work with your advising professor and how well-written your thesis is graduate programs. In the US are driven by interactions and connections with peers and relevant faculty members graduate programs.
In the US and in the UK are both equally useful to your resume but choosing one over the other will depends on your knees. If at on masters degree which is a less intensive and last nine to 12 months without research is enough for you to get the job you want UK graduate programs might be more of your early Todd masters are recognized globally.
But if you want to expand your horizons in a certain field of study going through a research-based us program would definitely be worth the extra years before you make choice consider the differences. I have discussed here duration cost Tom arrangement and teaching and program approach. If you already have decided on getting your advanced degree in either of these two countries and please share the determining factor on your choice in the comment section below a few minutes of your time sharing your experience can help the members of this community make more informed decision.
