Share this article on...
Contact Us
- Report errors or inaccuracies topmba@qsnetwork.com
- Contribute articles contribute@qsnetwork.com
- Advertise advertise@qsnetwork.com
Grad School USA
The giant of international postgraduate education providers, the universities of the USA offer more scholarships across the full range of masters and PhD than those of any other country.
Postgraduate study overseas is a challenging and rewarding process – and the United States has more international graduate students than any other country. Statistics from the International Institute of Education (IIE) show that in the last academic year, over 500,000 international students were enrolled in full-time studies in the US, with almost half of the students engaged in graduate study received funding from their US institution or an awarding body. Many of these students would not have received funding for their study in their home countries, or have had access to the courses they wished to study.
US Departments are known as ‘schools’, and it is quite common for students to talk about applying to ‘grad school’ when discussing US postgraduate study. Degree programs in the US usually take longer to complete than in the UK and other countries: a masters degree often lasts for two years, and a PhD course generally takes a minimum of five years to finish. Both courses require one to two years of taught coursework before students can pursue independent research, and this may be a factor in deciding whether to study in the UK, US or elsewhere. Logically, longer programs of study allow for more variation within each field, and a much broader understanding of one’s subject. In particular, the US excels in the study of business and international relations, but often has more funding and facilities for all university subjects than in other parts of the world.
Students must consider carefully their different options of where to study. Obvious choices of urban locations and ‘Ivy League’ institutions should be compared with lesser known universities that could prove to be best for the fields in which they intend to specialise. View rankings with a certain degree of suspicion, as there are no official US government league tables, merely those conducted by commercial newspapers and businesses. Students should be prepared to discover from conducting their own research, that the leading institution for their subject area might well be a university they have never heard of. Never compromise studies and future careers by feeling obliged to attend well known universities that may not even have a suitable department.
‘Attending a university away from the competitive East Coast could lead to securing financial aid.’
As with any international course of study, consideration must be given as to how qualifications will be viewed upon returning home. The best course of action when initially investigating US programs is to contact professional associations and careers offices in your home country and garner their opinions. The US institution or department awarding the qualification should be regionally and/or professionally accredited in order for graduates to be considered for employment or further study back at home or, indeed, in the US. Students attending unaccredited universities may well run into problems having their qualifications recognised outside of that institution.
The importance of gaining funding will also play a part in narrowing down the list of prospective institutions. Attending a university away from the competitive East Coast could lead to securing financial aid. Many such institutions are actively trying to diversity their campuses and obtain a more diverse student body by participating in fairs across the world. However, some private institutions with low acceptance rates offer remarkable financial aid packages once a student has secured enrolment. In both cases, these packages may offer free tuition and stipends in return for part-time teaching or research work within a department. This lends another advantage to studying in the US, particularly for students looking towards careers in academia. Although their course may be offered in their home country, US postgraduate study will not only allow them to study for longer, with a broader scope, but could also give them years of teaching or research experience which is invaluable in today’s competitive employment arena.
