About Education

中小学

• Age of 3 Nursery school
• Age 5 Primary school
• Age 11 Pupils(secondary school)
• Age 16 College（学院）
• Age 18 University（大学）

College vs University

College is smaller than university and often only offers undergraduate degrees. Universities offer more diverse subjects and offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Masters vs PhD

A master degree needs 2 years to complete, often is career-oriented. Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) need 5 to 8 years to complete, it is research-oriented. Ph.D. is practically mandatory to become a postsecondary(高等教育) teacher, such as a professor.

Three Terms(periods of study)

The schools year is usually divided into three terms. Each term is about 13 weeks.

GPA(Grade point average)

If you want to go to a better university after graduate, your GPA should be higher than 3.0(80% higher).

Grade and Mark

During each lecture, there are exercises for you to practice. After each week one homework will be released. Exercises and homeworks have due time, they should be submitted before due. There are usually two mid-term exams and a final exam. If you get higher than 90%, you had a high mark or good grade.

• 大学（university and college）

• 本科（undergraduate）4 years degree, first degree

• BSc (Bachelor of science) 4 years

• MSc(Master of Science) 2 years

• Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) 3-5-8 years

He’s got a Ph.D. in computer science. She hopes to get a place at Oxford.

When you complete your first degree, you are a graduate. Some students then go on to do a second course or degree, called a postgraduate course/degree.

When people study one subject in great detail, we say they are doing research.

中小学 vs 大学

The school has teachers and lessons; at university, you have lecturers(讲师) and lectures(讲座)。

Professor(系主任)

The head of the department(also called a ‘faculty’(学院、系), but less common in spoken English) at a university is usually called a professor. (An ordinary teacher or lecturer is not a professor)