Реферат: Образование в англоязычных странах

University education

The are 44universities (not counting  the Openuniversity*) in Britain.  Althoughthe  Government is responsible for  providing about 80 per cent of universities’income it does not control  their or teachingnor does it have direct dealing with the universities. The grants  are distributed by the University GrantsCommittee, a body appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Science.

The Universities ofOxford and Cambridge date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the ScottishUniversities of  St. Andrews, Glasgow,Aberdeen and Edinburgh  from thefifteenth and sixteen centuries. All the other universities were founded in thenineteenth or twentieth centuries.

There are five otherinstitutions where the work is of university standard: the University ofManchester Institute of Science and technology; the two postgraduate businessschools which are supported jointly by industry and the Government  — the Manchester Business School and the London Graduate School of BusinessStudies, associated with the London School of Economics and the ImperialCollege of  Science and Technology; Cranfield Institute of Technology for mainly postgraduate work in aeronautics and othersubjects; and Royal College of Art.

Studies and degrees

Courses in arts and science areoffered  by most universities.Imperial  College, London, the Universityof Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and some of the newer universitiesconcentrate on technology although they also offer a number of courses insocial studies, modern languages and other non-technological subjects. About 45per cent of full-time university students in Grate Britain are talking arts orsocial studies courses and 41 per cent science and technology: about 10 per arestudying medicine, dentistry and health, and the remainder agriculture,forestry, veterinary science, architecture and town and country planning.

University degree courses generally extend overthree or four years, though in medicine, dentistry and veterinary  science five or six years are required. Thefirst degree of Bachelor(Master  in thearts faculties of the older Scottish universities) is  awarded on the  completion of such a course, depending onsatisfactory examination results. Further study or research is required at themodern universities for the degree  ofMaster and by all universities for that of Doctor. Actual degree titles varyaccording to the practice of each university. A uniform standard of degreethroughout the country is ensured by having external examiners on all examiningboards. In the last decades there has been a tendency for degree courses tobecome more broadly based in subject matter, particularly in the newuniversities.

University teaching combines lectures,practical classes (in scientific subjects) and small group teaching in eitherseminars or tutorials.

Most member of the academic staff devote timeto research and at all universities there are postgraduate students engaged inresearch.

Students

Admission to the universities is by examination and selection. Women are admittedon equal terms with men but at Cambridge their numbers may be limited byordinance. The general proportion of men to women students is about three toone; at Oxford it is over four to one, and at Cambridge seven to one. Over athird of  all full-time universitystudents in Britain are living in college and halls of residence, slightlyunder a half  are in lodgings, and theremainder live at home.

Despite recent expansion programmes, applications for places at universities forarts studies still exceed the number available. Prospective candidates fornearly all the universities apply for places through the Universities CentralCouncil on  Admissions. The only studentwho apply directly are applicants to the Open University and British candidateswho apply only for  the university ofGlasgow, Aberdeen and Strathclyde.

In 1971-72 there were about 234,000 full-timeuniversity students in Grate Britain including 43,000 postgraduates. In 1970-71there were some 22,822 part-time students. Some 30,000 home and overseascandidates were also registered in 1972 for London University’s external firstdegree examinations.  

Staff

In 1970-71 there were about 23,000full-time university teachers in Great Britain; about 10 per cent of them wereprofessors. The ratio of staff to students was about one to eight.

Awards

In England, Wales and Scotland mostadequately qualified British students can obtain awards from public funds inorder to attend full-time at a university, college of major further educationestablishment.  In England and Waleslocal education authorities provide awards. In Scotland  students’ allowances for advanced courses aregranted by the Scottish Education Department. The amount of these  awards depends upon the income of the studentand his parents. Grants for postgraduate study are offered annually by theDepartment of  Education and Science, theResearch Councils and the Scottish Education Department. In Northern Irelanduniversity and postgraduate award and teacher training scholarships by theMinistry of Education, the conditions of award being the same as those forGreat Britain

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