Value of an American Degree: All Education Is Not Created Equal
By Dina Mishev
Aspiring to found the next major software development firm, preside over Siemans or head the World Bank? The odds might be slim, but in a world where hard work and education can make almost anything a possibility, you could make it Really Big. Or maybe you don't need Really Big - perhaps president of a local bank or IT company would suit you just fine. Either way, you have to set yourself up for getting what you want, whether it's a big or little dream. The road many of the world's most successful professionals take to their own dreams is studying in the U.S.
Education in the United States
The United States, while no longer the unilateral Superpower it once was, remains, indisputably, the leader of the pack when it comes to higher education. According to the CIA World Factbook, the United States spends more on education as a percentage of its GDP than any other country on the planet (7% of GDP or about $20,000 per student). The same source states the U.S. has a higher percentage of its population enrolled in college than any other country.
More Nobel laureates and business leaders teach at U.S. colleges and universities than anywhere else in the world. The United States pioneered the business school and the MBA, and is at the forefront of online and distance education. When it comes to higher education, the U.S. is innovative, inspired, and pretty much in a league of its own. People around the world know this.
"I believe a degree from a Western country in general, and from the USA in particular, plays a major role in an employer's hiring decision," says Ayman Afana, who currently works for a pharmaceutical company in the United Arab Emirates, has an associate's degree from an American university and is currently working towards his bachelor's degree from the same U.S. school. "Being the leading country in most new trends, the USA represents a symbol of up-to-date, ongoing technology. The place you get your education tells employers lots about the knowledge you will bring to their company with you."
A History of Learning
In the business world especially, U.S. higher education enjoys well-deserved esteem. In 1881, the University of Pennsylvania offered the world's first bachelor's degree in business. In 1900, Dartmouth College, again in the U.S., became the world's first college to offer a master's degree in business. In 1908, Harvard offered a new degree, the Master of Business Administration, or MBA.
It wasn't until after World War II that business education reached Western Europe. By then, U.S. schools already had a hefty head start. By the fall of 2000, the U.S. had 341 accredited master's programs in business, and 900 universities offered a master's in business. By the spring of 2001, 1,292 American colleges-92 percent of all accredited schools-offered an undergraduate degree in business. For comparison, in 2002, Equis, Europe's main higher education accrediting agency, recognized only 44 MBA programs in Europe. The first of the European countries to get on the business school bandwagon, Great Britain, now has close to 120 business schools, however; but still these lack the history and depth of many U.S. schools.
The World of Education is Getting Smaller
Foreign students studying business at both the bachelor's and master's degree level in the U.S. often take their degrees back home and become leaders in their home country, be it in politics, finance, business, or IT. Or they can choose to remain in the U.S., where their American degree gives them a leg up on individuals who did not study in the U.S.
According to the Institute of International Education, in 2001-2002 about 583,000 foreign students studied at American colleges and universities, more than in any other single country.
Unfortunately, no such statistics are collected on international students studying at American online universities. There aren't even guesstimates available, but, at accredited online universities, most classes will have a handful of students joining lectures and chats from their homes in Israel, UAE, India or South Africa. "When I began to look at online degree options, my search was based on American universities because American universities adopted the online education concept as a valid alternative for education a long time before other universities around the world. This makes them a step ahead yet again in my eyes," Afana says.
Professors leading the classes can come from just as far a field. Not only do American colleges and universities attract the best students in the world, but also many of the best teachers. Studying in America doesn't just bring you a highly regarded degree but also the opportunity to meet and network with other students visiting from around the world. An American education is an international one.
And if the above aren't enough to convince you, perhaps pragmatics will. Right now the U.S. dollar is weak relative to many of the world's other currencies. It's like an American education going on sale. And who can pass up a good deal on a proven product?
|
 |
Day
in a Life
Hottest Degrees
|
 |
|
