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Types of educational institutions in the United States

Griffis Helen

Globally, institutions of higher education in the United States are divided into two types: colleges and universities.

Colleges in the USA

College in the United States is a higher education. Here enter graduates of the last class of high school. At the same time, they have a key difference:

  • Two-year colleges (two-year / community / junior colleges) are autonomous institutions. They mainly teach applied majors. Upon graduation, you will receive an associate degree.
  • Four-year / liberal arts colleges (four-year / liberal arts colleges) – can be stand-alone, or they can be part of a university. They are academically equivalent to a bachelor’s degree and award this degree to their graduates.
  • Four-year colleges are more or less self-explanatory. There you get the same bachelor’s degree that you get at a university. Perhaps the cost will be lower. Perhaps, due to the size of the college itself, you will have more individualized work with a faculty member. But that’s about it. All other things being equal, it is better to choose a university, especially if you are planning an academic career. Master’s and doctoral programs at colleges are rare.

Two-year community colleges are one of the most striking features of education in the USA. For this we will consider it in more detail.

Mostly in community colleges teach applied specialties, such education allows you to quickly assimilate into the labor market. Training lasts two years. Upon completion, students receive an associate’s degree. And the opportunity to work at junior positions.

But what is more important and interesting – after two years of community college it is possible to enter the 3rd year of “ordinary” bachelor’s degree in the university. For this purpose in many colleges there is a separate type of degree – Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT).

Universities in America

Universities in the United States are larger educational institutions. Here you can get any degree from Bachelor’s to PhD.

They can be private or public. It is interesting that in both of them tuition is paid.

Public universities receive money from the state in which they are located. That’s why they are cheaper for in-state students – local students. It is as if a person with Moscow residence registration pays less for studying at Moscow State University than a person who came from Astrakhan.

Everyone else in public universities in the United States pays more. They are called out-of-state students. As you have already guessed, this also includes foreigners.

Private universities do not depend on funds from the state. Their budget consists of donations from sponsors and students’ tuition. The cost here is the same for everyone, including foreigners.

Private universities, in turn, also come in two types: for-profit and non-profit. The non-profit ones spend their income entirely on education, while the for-profit ones invest more in their promotion.

Now it can be a little complicated and confusing, but we’ll try to lay it all out.

Universities train everyone from bachelors to PhDs. But it happens in different divisions:

  • college – already familiar to us four-year college, but now as part of the university. Bachelors study there;
  • graduate school – this includes master’s and doctoral programs;
  • professional school – this is a combination of master’s and doctoral programs in a particular specialty. Professional schools include Medicine, Nursing, Business, Engineering, and Law schools.

A prerequisite for obtaining a student visa is enrollment in one of the SEVP-certified schools.