A study says that more than half of the world’s top 200 universities are located in either the U.S.A. or the U.K. as both countries share a rich tradition of quality higher education, excellent research facilities and a culture that promotes intellectualism as well as academic freedom. While both these countries provide outstanding education facilities, there are many differences between the two and one must be aware of them before coming to a conclusion.

Universities in the U.K.

Britain has some of the top universities in the world like Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews etc. More than 60 million people live in the UK, creating a multicultural society with people from all over the world. Students receive free medical and subsidized dental and optical treatment under the National Health Service. There are almost all the courses available here that one can think of and the tenure of the courses are as follows:

·     BA (Bachelor of Arts): 3 Years

·     MA (Master of Arts): 1 year

·     PhD: 3 Years

Most British Universities use the semester system, but some use trimester or quarter systems. The start and end of an academic year vary by university. Unlike universities in the U.S, the colleges are independent of the universities and the universities act as an umbrella organization for the colleges. The style of education is the U.K. is different from that if the U.S. as the classes are conducted in the college itself. When it comes to homework and assignments, U.K. is on the easier as you rarely or do not get any assignments across the semester.

The fee of the British universities is lesser than that of the U.S. and the grades are mainly based on the final exams. A major drawback of universities here is that they do not provide with scholarships in sports. The standard of living in the U.K is very high and students generally have dormitories without room-mates. Students are allowed to stay outside the campus hence off-campus housing is available. British universities provide a wide range of degrees like:

·     Higher National Diploma

·     Certificate of Higher Education

·     Diploma of Higher Education

·     Foundation Degree

·     Bachelor’s Degree

·     Master’s Degree

·     PhD Degree

·     Variety of Professional & Vocational Degrees

Universities in the U.S.A.

As the home of over 150 universities in the QS World University Rankings®, the US remains the world’s leading destination for international students with institutes like the University of Stanford, Harvard, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) etc. The most popular states for international study in the US are California, New York, and Texas, and the most popular subjects are business and management, engineering, mathematics and computer science.

The U.S has all the courses possibly available for students and the tenure is as follows:

·     BA (Bachelor of Arts): 4 Years

·     MA (Master of Arts): 2 Years

·     PhD: 5-7 Years or longer

Most American schools use the semester system too, but some use a trimester or quarter system. Most schools start in mid to late August and end in May. Universities here are often divided into schools by the subject, but these schools do not typically have a lot of autonomy from the university. The style of education here is more varied and you can study outside your major. Students get constant reading and writing assignments throughout the semester. American universities are on the expensive side as compared to the British ones and the grades are based on the overall performance of all assignments. Students are required to do a lot of social activities and scholarships in sports are available. The standard of living is average as off-campus housing is occasionally available and students live in dormitories with room-mates.

There are a lot of degrees available in the U.S. and some of them include:

·     Associate’s Degree

·     Bachelor’s Degree

·     Master’s Degree

·     PhD

·     Variety of Professional & Vocational Degrees

While both the countries provide a great education, each of the two has a slightly different approach towards the system and there are advantages & disadvantages to each. If you are wanting to pursue your further education from either of the two countries, you must know the differences between the education systems in both and choose your university accordingly. 

Dushyant Singh