Pursuing an undergraduate college degree in the U.S. or Europe can be a tough decision, but understanding some of the key differences can help.
As a prospective undergrad student, Pakistani national Huzaifa Islam Shah applied to more than 20 schools in the U.S., a few in Turkey and several in the United Kingdom. He says he received acceptances and scholarship offers from European schools like the University of Glasgow in Scotland, the University of Sheffield in England and Cardiff University in Wales, but chose to attend the University of Northern Iowa in the U.S.
“UNI has a good reputation in the Midwestern region for its quality education, a lot of opportunities and peaceful campus environment,” says Shah, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2019.
Here are four factors for prospective international students to consider about how bachelor’s degree programs in the U.S. and Europe differ:
— Length of time and cost
— Majors
— Type of schools and programs
— Campus life
Length of Time and Cost
One factor to weigh when comparing higher education in Europe vs. the U.S. is how long it takes to get a degree. U.S. colleges tend to offer breadth, requiring general education courses and exposing students to a variety of fields, while European universities favor depth, focusing more on a specific area of study.
“A notable difference between the U.S. and the U.K. is how long a degree will take. Typically, a bachelor’s degree in the U.S. takes four years to complete. While this is the same in Scotland, in England and Wales a degree will typically take three years,” says Maddalaine Ansell, director of education at the British Council, the U.K.’s international organization for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
[Read: Understand the Difference Between a B.A. and B.S. Degree.]
But not all U.S. bachelor’s degrees take four years. Some can be fast-tracked through summer courses or college credits earned in high school via dual-enrollment, CLEP or Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes. Conversely, students may take longer than four years to graduate “due to changing or adding majors, unexpected issues or opportunities such as research or studying abroad,” says Kristi Marchesani, director of international recruitment and admission at UNI.
The length of the degree also raises the issue of cost, which can vary widely when comparing U.S. universities to European schools.
“Most public universities in Germany are effectively tuition-free, even world-class institutions like Heidelberg University. France costs about 3,000 USD per year for bachelor’s and 4,000 for master’s programmes,” Gerrit Bruno Blöss, founder and CEO of Study.eu, a website that helps students find universities in Europe, wrote in an email.
Majors
There are differences when it comes to choosing a major at U.S. and European universities.
“The U.S. offers students a great amount of flexibility and freedom,” Marchesani says. “While new students will still identify a field of interest, most bachelor’s programs include general education courses, which give students both time and opportunity to explore different fields and confirm their commitment to a specific major.”
Shah says he was grateful for the extra time.
“Studying in a college with an undeclared major allows you to grow and learn parallel to making a lifelong career decision,” Shah says. “It gives a smooth transitioning period where you can see the world and then decide what you want to do rather than decide before and regret later.”
Marchesani says while students at U.S. schools may diversify their program by adding an additional major or minors, at most European universities, “students have to apply to a specific degree program and start immediately into this area of study.”
[Read: International Student Numbers in U.S. Show Fastest Growth in 40 Years]
Part of a student’s decision-making process should include post-graduation goals, says Jessica Szubart, executive vice president at Hult International Business School in Massachusetts, which has undergraduate programs in London and Boston.
“Cities with appealing job prospects, not only for internships, but also post-graduation placements, make considerably more sense than more remote, rural locations that would offer fewer of these opportunities,” Szubart says.
Type of Schools and Programs
Both the U.S. and Europe have higher education institutions with long histories. But as international students compare their options, they’ll notice differences in the type of schools and programs offered. The U.S., for example, has hundreds of liberal arts colleges, while Europe has comparatively few.
“Many students who look at programs in the U.S. are attracted to the wide diversity in types of institutions. In the U.S., students can study at large public research institutions, small private liberal arts institutions, urban or rural institutions,” says Cheryl Matherly, vice president and vice provost for international affairs at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.
In one popular European destination, the U.K., students will find “a huge variety of universities in diverse locations from big metropolitan centers to remote countryside,” Ansell says. The U.K. boasts more than 160 universities, covering a range of specialties.
Ansell notes that U.K. institutions include ancient universities dating to the 11thcentury, colleges developed after the industrial revolution and schools established in the 1960s to equip students for new industries.
“All value connection to business and industry and work to ensure their students are equipped to progress in their chosen careers,” Ansell says.
Experts say there may not be many English-taught programs in Europe, so prospective international students should be aware they might have to learn the native language.
[Related:U.S. Students Who Should Consider Getting a College Degree Abroad]
Campus Life
Prospective international students should also consider differences in campus life at U.S. and European colleges.
While some European schools may offer campus housing, “there is no strong campus culture,” Audron? Ra?kauskien?, acting international relations director and head of the international studies office at Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania, wrote in an email. “So students typically tend to integrate more with city life.”
Blöss says especially in continental Europe, there are few universities where all or most activities are concentrated at one campus location, and students rarely live on campus. Student housing is close to the campus but can be located anywhere in the city, and university departments may also be in different areas.
“For example, the University of Hamburg has one large central campus but various departments scattered across the city,” Blöss says. “This also means students may have to travel between lectures, and that’s quite typical in Europe.”
In contrast, U.S. higher education typically features a robust campus life, often centered around residence halls, college sports, fraternities, sororities and clubs. Students “develop a strong identity with their campus community and most of their social life will be based on campus,” Matherly says.
Safety is typically a topic in discussions of campus life.
For parents who might worry about the safety of their child, a European city might feel like a safer choice, says Mats Engblom, marketing specialist at the University of Helsinki in Finland. He notes that the capitals of Nordic countries are among the safest in the world, plus students may find a higher-ranked university with a much lower tuition compared to the U.S.
“In the end, it of course comes down to that the student needs to find a suitable program for him or her,” Engblom says. “And if you want to live in the U.S. and have that experience, then a couple of years in Helsinki probably won’t feel like the right choice for you no matter how good the education is, and vice versa.”
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How Bachelor’s Degrees in the U.S. and Europe Differ originally appeared on usnews.com
