Part 2. Higher Education
Higher educational establishments for those who left school are usually called universities or colleges. There are today 90 higher educational establishments in the UK.
The universities fall into the following categories.
The oldest and most famous universities are Oxford and Cambridge (or ‘Oxbridge’), founded in the middle ages, and Durham founded in 1832.
Scotland has four old universities – Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and St. Andrew’s, all dating from the 15th – 16th centuries, and four new ones.
Provincial¹ universities (or “Redbrick”). It is the name for the group of universities founded between the late 19th and mid-20th century to serve the needs of their city or surrounding area. They include Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool, and some others.
The new universities, opened after 1960. They are: East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Lancaster, Warwick, York. Like Oxbridge, the new universities are "national", not “provincial”.
The University of Wales comprises several university colleges, the Welsh National School of Medicine and the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology.
The Open University was established in 1969 and has its own specific structure.
London University was opened in 1836. It is the biggest university in Britain and has its own specific structure as well.
In Northern Ireland there are two universities in Belfast and in Colerain.
In addition to universities there are also polytechnics² – the higher institutions which represent centres for advanced courses of university level in a wide range of subjects. They provide more work-oriented courses than universities which are aimed at giving an academic education and do not usually prepare students for a particular profession. Some of these courses are part-time when the students are released by their employers for one day a week or longer periods.
Universities in Britain enjoy complete academic freedom³, choosing their own staff and deciding which students to admit, what and how to teach, and which degrees to award. They are mainly government-funded except for the totally independent University of Buckingham.
The basic qualification for university admission is the GCE at “A” level or GNVQs at Intermediate and Advanced level, but applications for places at universities exceed the number available. Therefore entry to the universities is competitive.
Virtually all students on full-time courses receive grants or loans from the government, which cover their tuition fees, accommodation and everyday expenses. Full-time students may be provided with accommodation in a hostel also called ‘a hall of residence’ or ‘hall’. If a student has a room in a private house where the landlady provides his or her meals, he is said to live in lodgings4(or in ‘digs’)³ A student can also rent a flat which he or she usually shares with one or more others, or live at home with parents.
The university academic year (or more formal ‘session’) is divided into three terms: the first term (October, 5 – December, 15), the second term (January, 10 – March, 20), the third term (April, 25 – June, 30). Universities and colleges have vacations often called ‘vacs’ in conversation. They are the Christmas, the Easter and the summer vacations. At the end of each academic year sessional examinations are held. If examinations are also held in the middle of the session, they are called mid-sessionals.
The university day is usually divided into hours also called classes or lectures. If classes last two hours, they are called ‘a double period’ or ‘a double’. Student’s work is usually assessed by means of grades from A – the highest – down to D or E. ‘B’ is average, and ‘C’ or below is considered less than satisfactory.
Besides studies students are encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities, such as clubs, societies, choirs, dramatic productions, excursions, and others. The most popular among these are sports clubs, especially rowing, golf, football and tennis.
The number of faculties and subjects they include varies from one university to another. For example, the list of faculties of Birmingham University includes Arts, Science and Engineering, Medicine and Dentistry, Law, Commerce and Social Sciences.
The Faculty of Science exists in all English universities. It can be subdivided into pure theoretical science, applied science and agricultural science. The Faculty includes natural or physical sciences, such as biology, chemistry, mathematics, geography and others.
The university staff includes: assistant lectures – usually a beginner’s post - lectures, senior lectures (= readers, or = assistant-professors) and professors; ‘professor’ is the highest rank. The head of the university is a Chancellor5, but it does not correspond to the Russian “ректор”, it is purely an honorary and ceremonial appointment. The Chancellor is a public figure who attends the degree ceremony and some other events but has nothing to do with6running the university.
The head of the faculty is the dean, and his deputies are usually known as sub-deans. The board of the faculty is responsible for faculty matters and is presided over by the dean.
A university degree course usually extends over three or four years, but in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science five or six years are required. The degree of Bachelor is awarded on the completion of such a course. Students who are studying for a degree are called undergraduates. Those who have passed their examinations and have been awarded a degree are graduates.
The first postgraduate degree is a Master’s degree. It is conferred for a thesis based on , at least, one year’s full- time work, but the time actually taken is usually more than one year. The following postgraduate degree is that of Doctor of Philosophy. It takes two or three years. It is given for a thesis which is an original contribution to knowledge. Actual degrees vary according to the practice of each university, but most universities differentiate between arts and science and award degrees of Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Science (M.Sc.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) which has no special reference to philosophy and the same for all faculties.
Professional qualifications in Britain are generally prescribed and enforced by bodies formed by members of the professionals. For most careers further study in one form or another is required of the graduate before he or she can qualify in his or her profession.