Understanding the American Educational Structure

Studying in the United States is slightly different from rest of the countries. There are variety of academic disciplines for a student to get their choice of specialization. As you begin your education search, it is first important to make yourself aware with the U.S. education structure. Understanding the structure will help you select your choice of field.

Primary and Secondary School

It is mandate in the United States to attend a total of 12 years of primary and secondary school. At age six, children study in primary school, which is commonly called 'elementary school'. They attend five or six years and then go to secondary school.

Secondary school consists of two programs

1. Middle school or junior high school and
2. High school

After completing graduation from high school, i.e., Grade 12, a diploma or certificate is awarded. 

After graduating high school,  students can go to any college or university.

College or university study is known as Higher Education.

The U.S Higher Education Structure Levels

There are two levels of higher education in the United States.

1. Undergraduate study and
2. Graduate study

Undergraduate Study: Students who are attending a college or university and is pursuing a bachelor's degree are called 'undergraduate study'. Undergraduate generally takes about four years to earn a bachelor's degree. The four years of an undergraduate at a university are - the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year.

Each course has a number of credit hours (most courses are three credits, but some might be one, two, four or five credits depending upon the field of study) and is composed of 120-128 semester credit hours. To be eligible for graduation, all degree programs require to complete a minimum number of credits.

Graduate Study: Students who are pursuing a Master’s or Doctoral degree are called 'graduate study'. This is a school that offers specialised advanced academic degrees to students who have previously earned an undergraduate degree. There are different types of master’s program in the U.S., it usually takes between two and three years to earn a master’s degree. It is possible to earn some degrees in just one year, that is known as 'Graduate Certificate". Generally, master degrees require a student to complete six to eight advanced-level courses, in addition to an intensive study project. Some graduate programs may offer apprenticeship.

On the other hand, however, the doctoral degree (Ph.D)  is the highest academic certification that a student can earn in the U.S. It usually takes a student four to six years to earn a doctoral degree. Once the thesis is complete, students only earn a Ph.D. after defending the thesis to a committee of three or five professors in the program.

For more information about different fields of study, please see the web sites of the respective universities directly.