The bachelor's degree typically takes four years to complete, though
some students take slightly less time to finish, and others may take
longer. The associate degree usually takes two years to complete.
Associate degree programs may be "terminal" programs, which lead
into specific careers upon graduation, or "transfer" programs, which
correspond to the first two years of a bachelor's degree and tend to
be more liberal arts based. Under the latter option one could then
transfer into the third year of a four-year bachelor's degree
program. Associate degree programs are offered at two-year colleges
known as junior or community colleges. Four-year colleges and
universities offer bachelor's degree programs, with a small number
also offering associate degree programs.
One of the most attractive features of the bachelor's degree program
in the United States is that it is highly flexible. You can usually
choose from a wide variety of courses and create your own unique
program of study. The degree is awarded after you complete a
specified number of credits, which are usually completed in four
years of full-time study. The first year is called the freshman
year; the second is called sophomore; the third, junior; and the
fourth, senior. You may read that students in the United States
often take longer than four years to complete their degrees. This
may be because they change majors and need to accumulate enough
credits in the new major field to earn the degree. Or it may be
because they take less than a full-time course load per term for
academic, personal, or financial reasons. International students,
however, cannot study part-time and must maintain full-time status.
Courses taken in the first two years are known as lower division
courses, and courses taken in the final two years are called upper
division courses. College catalogs usually assign a number to a
course, which indicates the level of study as follows:
100 – 199 Freshman
200 – 299 Sophomore
300 – 399 Junior
400 – 499 Senior |
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