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Undergraduate Science in Calfornia

 text 22/9/15 for discussion posted in sections below. This page is open to Warwick Staff to comment using "Reply".

Undergraduate Science in Calfornia Background

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  1. Particularly in the first few years, the regulators largely impose what we might recognise as the norms of a US-style four year Batchelor’s degree. This includes a hefty “General Education” requirement (often implemented as “Distribution Requirement”) totalling 25%.

    The mainstream US admissions market works from nationally set SAT test scores. SATs are definitely sub A-level, but they are probably more consistent.

    Admissions are typically considered at a School/College level, anything as broad as “Arts and Sciences” or for professional-facing subjects as specific as “Law” or “Engineering”. Except for such professional schools, they are not departmentally specific.

    US students expect to be able to transfer credit between universities, at least prior to Major. Typically this might include nearly a year’s worth of credit for a full set of IB or A-levels as we know them, and up to two years’ credit carried in from a Junior College (a post-High School institution).

    They also expect considerable scope to take their degree at their pace. Requirements and prerequisites are just that: there is not the notion of failing a year, although there can be limits on how slow a student can go. Bright students also expect some scope to pull forward more advanced modules: this enables the degree to have structure and baseline expectations pitched at a much more inclusive majority of students than typical in the UK.

    The big subject commitment is typically made by students “declaring Major” after about two years. Departments can set subject and even GPA prerequisites for this, which is the point at which they control who “their” students are, and beyond which they really control the curriculum in detail.

    Anyone who thinks the US Batchelor’s degree is a bit soft should probably think again. Students have just four years to get from pre A-level to graduating level with the equivalent of one year given over to General Education requirements. Moreover if they have research ambitions, they will want to pull forward all the way so that they can take some of the PhD qualifying exams within their undergraduate study.

    Note that pulling forward of graduate level courses provides something like the equivalent opportunity to the four year UK undergraduate Masters.

     
  2. Background - test reply

    Just to find out how replies appear.  R.

     

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