Doctoral Degrees: Aiming for the Top

Many doctorates in US go to international students

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Today we continue our discussion of the academic degrees offered by American colleges and universities. Last week, we talked about the associate, bachelor's and master's degrees.

The highest degree that a student can earn is a doctorate. Some doctorates are professional degrees, as opposed to a degree based on research. Medical students, for example, receive an M.D., from the Latin "medicinae doctor." Future lawyers receive a J.D., for "juris" or "jurum" doctor, meaning a doctor of law or laws.

Someone with a PhD is a "doctor of philosophy." Many people earn a PhD, yet not many are philosophers. The name has survived since the Middle Ages when many areas of study were called philosophy.

Students can receive a PhD in engineering, social work, education, music, history and a lot of other areas. Requirements can differ from one university to another, and from one area of study to another. But the National Science Foundation says American doctoral education is organized around a research experience.

A PhD usually requires at least three years of full-time study after a bachelor's degree. Some people first get a master's degree, other do not.

PhD candidates must also pass special examinations and carry out original research. Students present their findings by writing a dissertation, a long paper that they have to defend before a group of experts.

Every year, the federal government collects information on research doctorates awarded in the United States. More than 43,000 students received a research doctorate in 2005, the most recent year reported.

Close to one-third of those doctorates went to foreign students in the United States on a temporary visa. The largest numbers came from China, South Korea, India, Taiwan and Canada. Most of them studied engineering, physical science or life science.

The University of Illinois awarded the largest number of doctorates to foreign students. The other universities in the top five were Purdue, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Pennsylvania State.

Studying Agriculture in the US

Our Foreign Student Series looks at agricultural programs

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A listener from China named Walker would like information about agricultural programs in the United States. This is our subject today in week number thirty of our Foreign Student Series.

About one hundred colleges and universities began as public agricultural colleges and continue to teach agriculture. These are called land grant schools. They began with support from the federal government. Federal aid supported the building of most major state universities.

The idea of the land grant college goes back to a law in the nineteenth century called the Morrill Act. A congressman named Justin Smith Morrill wrote legislation to create at least one in each state.

The name "land grant" came from the kind of aid provided by the government. The government wanted Americans to learn better ways to farm. So it gave thousands of hectares of land to each Northern state.

The idea was that the states would sell the land and use the money to establish colleges. These colleges would teach agriculture, engineering and military science.

Congress passed the law in 1862. This was during the Civil War. Southern states had rebelled against the North and withdrawn from the Union.

Another law created a center at each land grant college to develop new scientific ideas and to help farmers solve problems.

The Agricultural College of the State of Michigan was established in eighteen fifty-five. That was seven years before the Morrill Act. It later became the first college to officially agree to receive support under that law. The college grew into what is now Michigan State University in East Lansing.

Today, the university has more than 40,000 students. These include more than 3,500 students from 130 other countries.

Last year the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State had 336 foreign students. More than 200 of them were graduate students in the areas of agricultural economics, packaging, and crop and soil sciences.

Undergraduates majoring in agriculture can also study other related areas. These include agricultural education and food industry management.

Getting an Education at the US Military Academy at West Point

Graduates of West Point become army officers, but not always in the United States Army.

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This week, in our series for students who want to study in the United States, we tell about the United States Military Academy at West Point.

West Point is a four-year school in New York State that educates future Army officers. The students are called cadets. They do not have to pay for their educations. But they must agree to serve on active duty in the Army for at least five years after they graduate.

A young man or woman must be nominated to the academy, usually by a federal or state lawmaker. Nominees also must satisfy the entrance requirements. These include being in excellent physical condition and getting good grades in high school.

About 4,000 American cadets are at West Point this year. In addition, 59 cadets from foreign countries are attending.

These international students are nominated by their home governments. They also must satisfy the physical and educational requirements. And they must do well on the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

Home governments may have to pay up to sixty thousand dollars a year for each student they send to West Point. Among the countries with cadets at the academy this year are Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.

Each year, the United States Defense Department invites countries to nominate students to West Point and to the Navy and Air Force academies. This year, 159 countries were asked to nominate students for the next school year. Not all countries take part in the program.

We spoke to Major Robert Romans, chief of the international affairs division at West Point, and Major Michael McBride, head of the international cadet program. They say up to 60 foreign cadets at any one time can attend the academy. And they say that interested students must seek information about the program at their local American Embassy. The embassy's Defense Cooperation Office will know how the student can be nominated.

The West Point Web site provides some information about the international cadet program and its requirements. The address is admissions.u-s-m-a.e-d-u.

A Military Education, Though Not Necessarily for a Military Life

We look at two military colleges in the American South.

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Our Foreign Student Series continues this week with two examples of military colleges in the United States.

One is the Virginia Military Institute. V.M.I. is a public, four-year military college in Lexington, Virginia. It accepts women as well as men. Its 1,300 students are called cadets.

Older cadets teach new arrivals about the honor system at V.M.I. Cadets risk expulsion if they lie, cheat or steal -- or accept lying, cheating or stealing by any other cadet. V.M.I. officials say an important part of a college education is learning self-control.

Lieutenant Colonel Stewart MacInnis is associate director of communications and marketing at the Virginia Military Institute. He says V.M.I. this year has 23 cadets from countries including Britain, Egypt, Poland, Russia and Thailand. Most of them are studying engineering.

The cost for one year at V.M.I. for someone from outside Virginia is about thirty thousand dollars. Graduates are not required to go into the military, but Colonel MacInnis says about fifty percent do. And twenty percent make it a career.

Another public military college in the South is The Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina. It also accepts both men and women for its four-year program.

The Citadel says it offers a traditional military education to its more than 2,000 students. 38% of its graduates choose to enter the military.

This year, The Citadel has 49 students from 24 countries outside the United States. They are mainly studying business and engineering. The Citadel costs about 27,000 dollars for the first year. After that, it drops to about 24,000.

You can find links to the V.M.I. and Citadel Web sites at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find transcripts and audio files of our Foreign Student Series. Next week, learn about the United States Military Academy at West Point.

We began our series on studying in the United States in September. So far we have dealt with the application process, college admissions tests, English language testing, financial aid and other subjects. In the weeks to come we will talk more about individual schools and programs. If you have a suggestion for our series, write to special@voanews.com. And please include your name and country.

Studying in the US - Rules About Alcohol

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The legal age for drinking alcohol in the United States is 21. Underage drinking is a crime but also a common part of college social life. This week in our Foreign Student Series, we look at alcohol policies at American colleges and universities.

These policies differ from school to school, as do enforcement efforts. But many schools have been moving to strengthen their rules.

The United States has more than 17,000,000 students in higher education. Each year, 1,700 of them age eighteen to twenty-four die from alcohol-related road crashes and other injuries.
600,000 more are injured while under the influence of alcohol. And almost 700,000 are attacked by another student who has been drinking.

These numbers, from a 2005 report, are on a government Web site: collegedrinkingprevention.gov.

One behavior that college officials are trying to prevent is binge drinking, having four or five drinks or more in a short period of time. Some researchers have found that students who think binge drinking is normal often overestimate how much other students really drink. A person can die of alcohol poisoning.

For example, the University of Oklahoma implemented new policies after a nineteen-year-old student died in 2004. He had been drinking heavily at a fraternity party.

Now alcohol is banned from all fraternity and sorority houses and university housing. Student organizations can serve alcohol at events but only on Friday and Saturday nights. And they must provide for transportation to and from off-campus parties. Other new requirements include an alcohol education program that first-year students take online.

At the University of Oklahoma , these policies govern behavior on campus and off. With a first violation, students pay $75 and their parents are told. They must also take an alcohol education class. For a second "strike," they have to pay $150. A third strike means a suspension for at least one semester.

Since January of 2005, 633 students have had a first strike. 30 have had a second strike -- and one has been suspended. An official at Oklahoma tells us the aim is not just to punish but to change behavior and the culture at the university.

Choose Your Degree at an American College or University

International students may attend an American university to earn a degree, including a BS, BA or MBA.

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Today, we answer a question from Martin in Mexico City. He asks about the kinds of degrees that students can earn at an American college or university.

American higher education offers degrees in many areas of study. A community college student earns an associate degree after two years of general study. The student may then continue at a college or university for another two years to earn a bachelor’s degree.

An undergraduate student at a four-year school earns a bachelor's degree. Students majoring in an area of science receive the bachelor of science, also known by the letters B.S. Arts or humanities students get the bachelor of arts degree, or B.A.

Students who continue in school may earn a master’s degree after two or three more years of study. Many Americans earn master’s degrees at night or on the weekends while they are working. One example of this is the M.B.A., a master's degree in business administration. Students learn to deal with all kinds of business situations. They develop skills needed by many companies.

M.B.A. programs teach about economics, finance and marketing. They also teach about the structure of organizations and other subjects. Business is a popular subject for students who come to the United States. To be admitted to an M.B.A. program, a foreign student must have a bachelor’s degree and a good score on the TOEFL. Most students also take the Graduate Management Admission Test. Most of the one thousand eight hundred M.B.A. programs around the world use these test scores.

The Graduate Management Admission Council says that foreign students should find out what different schools could do to help them find a job after they receive their degree. Representatives from many companies visit colleges to hire students. You should ask how many companies are willing to hire international students. The council says even the best schools may have fewer job placements for international graduates than for others.

Our Foreign Student Series continues next week with a report about the highest degree a student can earn at an American university -- the doctorate.

Helping Foreign Students in the US Feel at Home

A college's international student office is a good place to start getting to know the country.

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A college is more than just classrooms and laboratories. It represents a working community with a population that can be greater than that of many towns. And college communities have to deal with many of the same issues and problems as the general society around them.

All this can be a little scary, especially if a student is new not only to a college but also to the country. This week in our Foreign Student Series, the subject is college support services for students who come to the United States.

The school we have chosen for our example this week is Indiana University in Bloomington (pictured to the right). About ten percent of its almost 40,000 students are from other countries.
The Office of International Services at Indiana University provides assistance to foreign students and scholars. For example, the office organizes a special week-long conference for new foreign students before the start of each semester.

The conference is called the New International Student Orientation. It provides information about classes, social clubs and health services. New foreign students also take placement examinations and a required English language test.

Also, the office of international student services organizes programs to help foreign students feel more at home in the United States. For example, the office works with a group called Bloomington Worldwide Friendship. This group helps international students at the university meet and get to know people who live in Bloomington.

The university also has advisers who explain the rules of student life and try to help international students feel at ease.

Most American colleges and universities have a similar office for students from other countries. These offices can help guide students through the steps to come to the United States. Later, they can provide support so the students become involved in school life and make American friends.

The job is not always easy when students want to spend their free time with friends from their own country or group. But an international student office is one of the best places to start getting to know a new country and its people.