Job Discussion Forums

[Ki]

What is everyone's preoccupation with four year degrees? Is there such a thing as a North American three year degree? Is this an ineffective degree? Or is it just to differentiate between fake degrees? I have a three year degree from Australia and it works just as well as a four year one in gaining legal employment.

I was once rejected by a recruiter for Korea though who wasn't able to understand that a three year degree IS valid. But I'm sure that it was probably for the best.

Any comments?

[dvasas]

A 3 year degree will work here.... in Taiwan

[clark.w.griswald]

Does it have something to do with the number of hours of study? I seem to recall that this was the explanation given to me a while back. The idea being that some countries complete the degree in three years due to a more compact schedule of study.

Which countries have three year degrees:

Australia
New Zealand
England
South Africa

Which countries have four year degrees:

The US
Canada

Please let me know if this list is incorrect.

[markholmes]

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with hours study. I think its just different countries have different structures. I suspect that many degrees are three year in length becuase at the time of introduction university education in England was free, so perhaps the government was trying to save some money by cutting a year. Maybe in countries where students pay fees there is a desire to drag it out................but I could be wrong.

There are three and four year degrees in England, although three is normal now. I think four year degrees often have some kind of placement in the third year a year abroad for language students.

[Dr_Zoidberg]

Canadian universities have three year degree programmes and four year degree programmes. The four year programmes are called Honours Degrees.

[markholmes]

I have a three year degree from a UK university, but it is an honours degree. I don't know why, I think maybe because it had a very large dissertation at the end.

It was about the Chinese central governments relationship with the muslim Uighurs of northwest China - for what it's worth. I predicted the rise of Hu Jintao, although I think most Chinese could have told me that in 1998 anyway.

I think a lot of universities are crap in the UK. My two years in technical college studying avionics were far more difficult than my university degree.

[clark.w.griswald]

[773]

[jonks]

I am from New Zealand, so I don't know about the situation with Aussie and England.

Basically, the reason why we have a three year degree at university level is because we attend primary (elementary) intermediate (miiddle) and high school longer.

Generally in New Zealand, a student will spend 8 years of study before high-school, and then five years at high school.
This is a total of 13 years.

In North american countries, students generally spend 12 years before uni, and four years at uni.

USA, Canada and NZ spend the same amount of years to obtain an accredited degree, however in New Zealand, the government pays for that extra year of study - not the student (with a student loan).

Now you know, go forth and tell the employers of Taiwan, whose simple ignorance of this fact, leads them to believe that a four year degree from north-america is any better than a three year degree from your country.

[markholmes]

In the UK compulsory schooling is from 5 years old to 16. Then there are another two years you can do at school (non compulsory). Students doing this usually go on to university, so this is a total of thirteen years before going to uni at 18. So in total a student who completes a three year university programme has completed 16 years of study.

Unlike some other countries an honours degree can be completed in three years, and as I mentioned before, I think three years honours degrees are programmes that have a disseration in the third year.

When I was studying at TLI in Beijing I shared an 'apartment' with an English guy who had done a four year programme at St Andrews University in Scotland (one of the good schools) that led directly to an MA in Chinese language study. This had included a year at Beida (北京大学） in the third year. I had never heard of this before I met this guy.

[Konstansis]

I have an honours degree in psychology, Bsc. It was 3 years long. Almost all undergraduate degrees in England are 3 years. Taiwan and other asian countries won't exclude hundreds of UK citizens just because their university system gives out undergraduate degrees in 3 years instead of 4 do they? Its the same thing!! I am in the same position as a 4 year psychology undergraduate with regards to degree status here. If they do exclude that means that every single person who studied in England cannot legally live and work in Taiwan JUST because of where they chose to study!

[matchstick_man]

No. You won't be excluded from employment in Taiwan just because you have a three year degree. The reason that a four year degree is often stated in advertisements is because so many teachers in Taiwan are North American.

[Dr_Zoidberg]

Remember, an employer will not be persuaded otherwise once he has settled upon an educational requirement for prospective employees.

[jonks]

[ghost]

In Canada you can even earn a B.Ed. in less than one year, if you already have a B.A.

This happens in Ontario, where potential teachers attend 'Teachers' College' at different Universities in Ontario for just 8 months of study including theory and practicums.

Ghost earned its B.Ed. in this way, when it attended University of Windsor in Ontario from September 2001 to April 2002, earning a B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education) and Certification as a Teacher from the Ontario College of Teachers.

Ghost