Foreign student

Graduate School
1

Hi everyone

I’m studying chemistry at the University of Basel in Switzerland. In about two years I’m going to get my Master’s degree and afterwards I want to do a Ph.D.
I would really like to do so in the USA, but I have no real idea how your system works and the information I found in the internet is quite confusing.
Then I found this page and I think it is a good idea to ask you guys some questions :slight_smile:

  1. First of all, I’m very interested in the difference between a ‘college’ and an ‘university’. Is there really a difference and does this difference matter for the approval of a Ph.D.?

  2. Can I apply at any college or university as a foreign student (I know, some have special requirements like TOEFL etc.)?

So, that are the two basic questions :slight_smile: I would be very thankful for helpful answers!

Best wishes,
straumle

2

Historically, a college only offered undergraduate degrees and a university offered both undergraduate and post-graduate.

This might help: http://studyusa.com/en/a/107/faq-school-college-and-university-what-is-the-difference

Note that universities often have ‘colleges’ within them, but the degree-granting institution is the university. So, as in the UK, you might attend Worcester College at the University of Oxford, in the US you might go to the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. The distinction is not a legal one, and does not matter for being able to grant a PhD (the college or university has to be accredited though, more info here: https://mygraduateschool.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2011/06/01/does-accreditation-matter-when-choosing-a-graduate-school-or-graduate-program/)

You can indeed apply to any college or university.

3

There is a separate forum for grad school questions, please visit it and get more grad school responders. This, and most of the forums, is for undergrad search.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/

You will likely only find that universities offer PhD programs.

You can apply to any school. You can read the grad school admission pages for the requirements for international students.

4

What an educational institution calls itself is up to that institution. You need to look at the specific degree programs that each place offers. College, University, Polytechnic, Institute, Seminary all are terms that can appear in the name of an institution that awards PhDs.

When you are at the point of applying to PhD programs, your search for a good program will be world-wide, and will depend on the specific sub-field that you want to specialize in and where the researchers working in that field are located. Graduate school is much harder than undergraduate school, and job placement after graduate school will depend on your specialization and the reputation and connections of your PhD advisor. It is good that you are starting to think about this now. You can get advice from your current professors about how to identify appropriate PhD programs. Many of them will have professional contacts who have experience studying in the US and other countries.

Depending on your goals, you may not need to complete your master’s degree before enrolling in a PhD program. So think about that as well.

5

Wow, thank you for all these quick answers. They helped already a lot :slight_smile:
I’m sorry for posting here, I didn’t realize that this is only for undergraduate students. I will ask further questions in the forum for graduates :smiley:

Best wishes
straumle