Hello all, I have serious, but silly question. Is the average U.K. university more rigorous academically than in the United States? I ask this as some persons I have known whom have attended school overseas as a university student have said education in the U.K. is academically superior than in the United States. Others have told me it is about the same. What is your opinion or experience? Thanks!!!!!
I think this has been discussed before. At one time it was said/claimed that UK degrees could be regarded as roughly one step higher than US degrees - e.g. a UK ordinary degree was about equal to a US honours. However, these days there is so much publicity about 'easy options' and fiddling with the entrance qualifications that it might be difficult to claim this now.
In the british systems (U.K., Austrailia, South Africa) there are no general education requirements per se. You would plan of study, meaning all of the credits for your degree are in your field of study and can last anywhere from 3 to 4 years. Usually the fourth year is if you are pursuing an honors degree. That being said, british system undergrads are more prepared for graduate independant research than their American counterparts. Most british system postgraduate degrees are research only meaning no classroom components. American undergrads are not necessarily ready for independent research. HTH, cbryant
I can't speak to British universities, but students at the community college in Dominica sure seem to study harder than I did at an American community college, and the University of the West Indies has a reputation for rigor. -=Steve=-
comparison About15 years ago I was doing my undergrad degree in Archaeology at Leicester. We had a joint research project in Roman field survey in Italy with Ann Arbor Michigan. We were very impressed with the American students, particularly their general knowledge spanning a variety of subjects. Year for year they were a little behind us on the archaeology but I believe this was areflection of the degree structures at the two universities: Ann Arbor having the first year of study over a multitude of subjects and Leicester beating archaeology into our vacant heads from year one. Roy Maybery
