Are you hoping to graduating from high school and purchasing further education?. Or, you may be wondering what a post-secondary degree is in higher education. Already wondering what a post-secondary degree is?. Or are you looking for it? If so, I think this article will be very important for you. What a post-secondary degree is? or are you looking for it? if so, I think this article will be very important for you. What I hope to bring to you in this article is what a post-secondary degree is and how to do it well. So I bring to you this article with all the facts and information that you think will be very important for you to get a post-secondary degree and you should know.
What is a post-secondary degree?
A post-secondary degree is, more accurately, an education that is essential after the complication of higher education. And It is similar to university education. So, For U.S. undergraduates, a post-graduate degree is a formal education after high school or high school graduation. And it is followed before studying professional field or other research subjects. So a post-secondary degree is a degree that you can get after your high school degree.
You have to dedicate several years to complete this degree. At the undergraduate level, you have the ability to study for a bachelor’s degree ( A degree awarded upon completion of approximately four years of full-time study) or an affiliated degree. An associate’s degree is typically a 2-3year college term, while a bachelor’s degree ranges from a 4 -5year college term.
In addition to the issues discussed here, I hope to talk more about post-secondary degrees in this article. So what exactly is this post-secondary degree? And in addition to how to do it successfully, stay turned with this article of mine to learn more about the essentials you need.
Do you know what is a post-secondary degree? :- What is it?
The flow of the education system in the U.S. is in stages. It’s as follows,
- The primary or elementary education (5 years)
- The secondary school (7 years)
- Higher education or college wherein a student can pursue an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree (4-5 years).
It takes 12 years to complete primary and secondary education. There are 2 phases in secondary education.
Secondary Education:
- Middle school (junior high school).
- High school (senior high school).
After this, students can enter higher education to obtain an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree. after all, post-secondary education is not considered a degree. But it is a formal education that must be obtained before obtaining an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree. However, when we talk about the post-secondary degree, associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, and a graduate post-secondary degree are considered as examples. This is because students can obtain all of these degrees after high school. Also, to simplify the terms, a secondary education refers to high school, while a post-secondary education refers to college or university.
Different stages of the education system in the U.S.
The U.S. education system is usually conducted in 3 stages as Elementary or Primary education, Secondary education, and Postsecondary or Higher education.
1. Elementary or Primary Education.
Primary education in the United States (also called elementary education) refers to the first seven to nine years of formal education in most jurisdictions, often in elementary schools, including middle schools.
Difference between Primary education and Elementary education.
The first years of compulsory schooling are called elementary or primary school (just to confuse the issue, elementary schools are also called grade or grammar schools). Secondary education is for children aged 12 to 18. And Primary education starts at the age of five, in Kindergarten.
2.Secondary Education.
Secondary education in the United States in the last seven years of statutory formal education grade 6 (age 11–12) through grade 12 (age 17–18). It occurs in two phases. The first is the ISCED lower secondary phase, a junior high school or middle school for students grade 6 (age 11–12) through grade 8 (as follows her Education.
Postsecondary Education, also known as tertiary education, is the education level that follows the successful completion of secondary education, often referred to as high school. Postsecondary education includes universities and colleges, as well as trade and vocational schools. It can be very simply stated as follows:
- College education (2-5 years)
- Associate’s degree (2 years) or Bachelor’s degree (4-5 years)
- Ph.D. (8-10 years)
What is an Associate’s degree?
An associate’s degree can be defined as a study program taken by undergraduates. This is the first stage after secondary school. The objectives are to provide students with the basic technical and academic knowledge and transfer skills needed for further employment in a field of their choice or of their choice.
Associate’s degrees are also offering in some areas of Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, and the Netherlands but this degree is often offering in the U.S. Other countries have similar programs but under a different name, such as foundation degrees in the UK.
This typically takes two years full-time to complete an associate’s degree. In various types of colleges, including community colleges, junior colleges, and technical colleges, affiliated colleges of universities, and university institutes in the U.S. provide these associate’s degrees.
Types of Associate’s degree
There are three types of associate degrees:
Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS), an Associate of Applied Science (AAS).
For someone, this associate’s degree is their own qualification. Also for some other students, this degree provides preparation for a degree. It also helps to improve job prospects compared to completing secondary education.
What is a bachelor’s degree?
A bachelor’s degree is a four-year post-secondary undergraduate degree. The term “college degree” meant a bachelor’s or traditional four-year degree historically. Bachelor’s degrees are also sometimes called baccalaureate degrees. Regionally accredited liberal arts colleges award most of the bachelor’s degrees in the United States.
For all types of bachelor’s degrees required by liberal art classes. In most cases, more than half of a bachelor’s degree consists of general education or liberal arts courses in areas such as English, critical thinking, psychology, history, and mathematics.
Typically only 30 to 36 credits—10 to 12 courses—will be in your major area of study.
The bachelor’s degree remains the standard for entry into many professional careers. Getting a bachelor’s degree can be the ticket to a more promising career.
In most cases, you cannot attend a professional graduate school in law, medicine, or teacher education unless you hold a bachelor’s degree. That means you will almost always need a bachelor’s before enrolling in a master’s program to open the door to even more career opportunities.
A bachelor’s degree is the first step towards some of today’s hottest professions. It can allow you to work in an occupation while you decide whether to pursue a graduate degree to become qualified for the highest level jobs that require graduate study.
Types of Bachelor’s degrees
there are three most common types of bachelor’s degrees:
1.Bachelor of Science (BS)-
EX;
- Nursing
- Clinical laboratory science
- Biology
- Physical therapy
- Pharmacy
2.Bachelor of Arts (BA)
EX;
- Education
- Communications
- Music
- English
- Modern Language
3.Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
EX;
- Specific degrees offered in creative arts for actors, singers, dancers, and other creative art genres.
What’s the difference between a bachelor’s degree and an associate’s degree?
The “undergraduate” degree category includes both bachelor’s degrees and associate’s degrees. Accordingly, both degrees will be open to students as soon as they complete secondary level education. The following are some of the differences in the degree to which degree should be applied for. That way you can make the right decision.
1.Time
An associate’s degree
An Associate’s Degree is a 2-year degree. A student generally earns an Associate degree after completing 20 courses, or 60-course credits of study. Not all colleges or universities offer an Associate’s Degree program. Associate’s degrees are often awarded at community colleges.
A bachelor’s degree
In the US this equates to 60 credit hours as opposed to the 120 hours required for a bachelor’s degree – which takes about four years to complete full time.
It typically takes four years of full-time study to complete your bachelor’s degree—encompassing 120-semester credits or around 40 college courses. If your college uses a quarter system rather than a semester system, you’ll need to complete a minimum of 180 quarter credits to earn an accredited bachelor’s degree.
Students who’ve completed an associate’s degree may be able to transfer some relevant course credits to count towards a bachelor’s degree, shortening the time needed for the latter degree.
2.Average Costs
An associate’s degree
The average cost of tuition and fees at any 2-year institution is $6,379. At public 2-year institutions, or community colleges, in-district tuition and fees average $3,412 annually; so,
the average for in-state students is $4,444 while out-of-state students pay an average of $8,516.
A bachelor’s degree
The average private university student spends a total of $53,102 per academic year, $35,801 of it on tuition and fees. Taking into account student loan interest and loss of income, the ultimate cost of a bachelor’s degree may exceed $400,000.
The difference in costs will vary depending on the institution.
3.Entry requirements
An associate’s degree
You need to require a high school diploma or a similar diploma to get admission in university associate’s degree courses. University and university learners must have a specific minimum GPA and complete their pre-college curriculum, which includes English, Maths, and Science curricula.
A bachelor’s degree
To recruit students who wish to enter for the bachelor’s degree it is necessary to meet one of the following criteria to be considered.
- Being a high school graduate
- Should have successfully passed the General Education Development(GED) Examination
- Be a transfer student from a recognized college or university with a good level of education. (minimum GPA OF 2.0).
But if you are an international student,
- Must have a minimum TOEFL score of 490 (paper-based)/163 (computer-based)/ 57 (online version) or
- An IELTS score of 6.5.
Benefits of post-secondary Degree
Post-secondary education (higher education) invariably leads to better career prospects and a better quality of life overall. Essential life skills such as time management, interpersonal skills, and critical thinking are learned and used in post-secondary education. Every workplace widely used them. In fact, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada has identified nine skills that are used in every job and at every level of complexity. These skills, which include writing, reading, working with others, and continuous learning, can only be developed through higher education.
There are many personal and social benefits to attending an institution of post-secondary education. It provides a great opportunity to meet a wide variety of people, and build a network of friends and contacts. People who have completed post-secondary education are also more likely to engage with and contribute to their community through activities such as volunteering and voting.
People with a post-secondary degree have better job prospects. Even better is the fact that post-secondary graduates have full-time jobs. One of the most tangible benefits of higher education is, of course, increased earning potential. Completing post-secondary education offers even greater earning potential. On average, individuals who have completed post-secondary education earn 28% more than a high school graduate. Individuals who have completed post-secondary education have a higher median income during retirement and are less dependent on Old Age Security Benefits as a source of income.
Looking back on the benefits of a post-secondary degree, post-secondary graduates will experience greater opportunities to connect and contribute to their community.
Structure of U.S. Education system
As an international student, you may be wondering how colleges and universities fit into the larger US higher education system. Students in America are required to go to school between the ages of six and 18 in what are called grades, which run from 1st through 12th. (There is also an earlier option, called kindergarten, for the year before 1st grade, but it is not mandatory in most US states.)
Primary, or elementary, education lasts until 5th grade, middle school or junior high school covers 6th through 8th grade, followed by secondary education in 9th-12th grades. Secondary education can cover both college-preparatory curriculum or vocational training.
After 12th grade, students have two options for post-secondary education: vocational training (typically a year or two, designed for immediate employment in a trade) or higher education (typically a two-year associate’s degree or four-year bachelor’s degree in an academic program).
For international students in British-style education systems, you may have had 13 years of education before entering post-secondary studies. Other countries may only have 11 years of pre-university level studies. Typically, for students enrolled in post-secondary education in the United States, US colleges and universities require 12 years of education.
Levels of US Higher Education System
There are main 3 levels in the US Higher education system. These are,
- Undergraduate Level
- Graduate Level
- Post Graduate Level
- Undergraduate Level- Bachelor’s Degree
Earning a Bachelor’s degree typically takes 4 years to complete. In the USA, one can pursue a bachelor’s degree by admitting to a 4-year college or starting from community college and later can transfer to a 4-year college.
Students have to study a number of subjects in the first two years of their bachelor’s degree. Those are Literature, science, art, history, etc. The focus is on attaining general and basic knowledge about each subject before attaining specialization in a specific subject in the following 2 years.
Majors in which one wants to attain a degree is chosen at the beginning of 3rdyear. American Education system is quite flexible. Students can change majors multiple times during their graduate studies. This might mean spending more money.
Graduate Level- Master’s and Professional Degree
A master’s degree is very important to attain higher-level positions in career fields. Those are library science, engineering, behavioral health, and education. Also, only permitted to study in the USA at a graduate-level after completing the required credits in their home country by international students from some countries.
Required to be taken for entering a graduate program tests by a few entrances in the USA. Such as GRE for master’s programs, LSAT for Law courses, GMAT for MBA programs.
The graduate program for a Master’s degree usually takes 1-2 years to complete. For example, the MBA program is about two years long. Other Master’s programs take only one year such as a Master’s in Journalism.
Required to work by students on a research paper by pursuing a master’s program in the USA. It can be defined as a Master’s thesis or Master’s project as a part of their curriculum.
Post Graduate Level- Ph.D. and Research work
Earning a Ph.D. degree in the USA requires a graduate degree in some schools. But, some schools allow pursuing a doctorate degree immediately after the bachelor’s degree. Usually, it takes 3-4 years to complete a doctorate degree. International students, on the other hand, might need 5-6 six years to complete the same degree.
Expected to attend classes and seminars within the first two years by students. In the 3rd year, students conduct independent research and have to write a thesis on the same. The thesis needs to be completely original and should not have been published before anywhere.
Difference between post-secondary education and secondary education.
-
Post-secondary education:
Post-secondary education is the education you receive after graduating from high school.
-
Secondary education:
Secondary education is junior and senior high school education.
Therefore, secondary education comes before post-secondary education
Difference between Postgraduate education and Post-secondary education.
Postgraduate education and Post-secondary education are two types of education. Because there is a major difference between these two types of education. Postgraduate education is any education you pursue after graduating with your bachelor’s degree. Post-secondary education is different from Postgraduate education because Post-secondary education is education after you graduate from high school.
Since your postgraduate degree is done after high school, Postgraduate education can be called post-secondary education. Anyhow, the use of this term is less specific and confusing. A Postgraduate diploma is usually obtained after obtaining 120 credits and a degree is usually obtained after 180 credits. For Ph.D. courses, the required credit units can vary between 60-90 hours and some require the completion or dissertation.
Having a Ph.D. in the united states has been recognized as the highest educational achievement you can earn in any field of study. Typically, it takes more than 10 years of university education, sometimes with additional fieldwork.
Disadvantages of post-secondary education.
One of the main reasons for the disadvantage of post-secondary education is the rising cost per year. Although it presents an alternative focal point, it also has similar disadvantages and can have a huge impact on one’s choice when pursuing postgraduate education. Going to university allows an individual to achieve financial stability, but currently, university degrees fail to provide job security and financial stability. If one should always look for open doors and opportunities in post-secondary education, post-secondary education can outweigh its advantages.
ALL OF THE ABOVE
In this article, I talked to you about post-secondary degrees. This article I very important for you who are pursuing higher education and who are looking to pursue higher education. Everything contained herein contributes to your higher education. So, in my opinion, this is very important for you as students And for the child as parents and brothers, and sisters. Because this article contains all the information related to the post-secondary degree and other important information required for higher education. So if you want to add something more to my article, if there are any other shortcomings in this or if this is useful to you, leave a comment below.
