Mary-Claire O'Mullan
Queen's University Belfast
Exchange student 15-16 @ Maryville College
Northern Ireland
For those of you I have not met, my name is Mary-Claire and I am an international student from Northern Ireland. Every year fifty-sixty students from Northern Ireland are given the opportunity to study business and management in the U.S as part of a programme called “Study USA”. “Study USA” began in 1994 and is funded by the British Council. Its aims to develop the academic and applied skills of ambitious and talented students in business-orientated subjects, create opportunities for young people to realise their ambitions in international business and assists in community building in Northern Ireland by widening horizons of young people in a new cultural setting. Having completed two years of an Accounting degree at Queens University, Belfast, I successfully applied and was placed at Maryville College.
Queen's University Belfast
Exchange student 15-16 @ Maryville College
Northern Ireland
For those of you I have not met, my name is Mary-Claire and I am an international student from Northern Ireland. Every year fifty-sixty students from Northern Ireland are given the opportunity to study business and management in the U.S as part of a programme called “Study USA”. “Study USA” began in 1994 and is funded by the British Council. Its aims to develop the academic and applied skills of ambitious and talented students in business-orientated subjects, create opportunities for young people to realise their ambitions in international business and assists in community building in Northern Ireland by widening horizons of young people in a new cultural setting. Having completed two years of an Accounting degree at Queens University, Belfast, I successfully applied and was placed at Maryville College.
I arrived in August, moved into my dorm, completed
international orientation and became accustomed to “Southern” living. Over the
last two semesters I have taken eight business classes, including
Organizational Behavior, International Business and Human Resource management,
experiencing first hand major differences in the Northern Ireland and American
education systems. While both certainly provide an excellent environment for
learning, the structure of the college, approach to work and student life are
far from home.
Length of Time
One of the most notable differences between the college
education system in Northern Ireland and the U.S is the amount of time it takes
to finish your degree. In general, degree programs in Northern Ireland are
designed to last three years while in the U.S it usually takes one year longer,
although this can vary depending upon the course or major taken and whether you
receive a Master’s degree prior to a PhD. In both systems, you can go directly
to a PhD program after your undergraduate program, but in Northern Ireland it
is more common to complete a Master’s degree before moving on to a PhD. A
Master’s program in Northern Ireland usually takes one year and a PhD three,
while in the U.S it usually takes two years for a Master’s and five-seven for a
PhD. Courses of study are shorter in
Northern Ireland because the course programs are generally much more focused
than in the U.S.
Academic Term
While most universities in the U.S begin their terms in mid
to late August, taking a rather lengthy break beginning in mid-December and
starting the second semester in early to mid-January, Northern Ireland
universities operate on a completely different academic calendar. Term begins
in late-September or early-October with the second semester starting in
early-February and ending in early-June. All Northern Irish universities have
two, twelve week semesters, excluding two-three weeks at Easter. Christmas
holidays come after the first term but with the addition of January exams.
There are no classes in January but students take exams from the second-last
week and then begin the second semester in February. Similarly, the second
semester ends early-May with the summer exam period lasting from late-May to
early-June. These differences make for a slightly shorter academic year in the
U.S than in Northern Ireland.
Classes
In the last year of
Secondary school, (the equivalent to U.S High School), Northern Irish students
will apply to study a specific degree programme at university. This degree will
consist of compulsory classes, solely relating to the degree subject. While
some courses may offer optional classes the structure on the course is pretty
set in stone. As previously mentioned, I am studying Accounting and so have
only ever taken Accounting or similar classes at university. This is a huge
contrast to the liberal arts philosophy here at Maryville College. Based on the
development of well-rounded knowledge, students are expected to take a wide range
of varying subject classes. This variation and freedom of choice with regards
elective classes is something I really enjoyed and feel it breaks up the
monotony of only taking classes related to your major.
Participation and Attendance
Emphasis on student
participation and group work are other major differences between my home
university and Maryville College. During the 2014/15 academic year 23,855
students were enrolled at Queens University, Belfast with 79% being
undergraduates. As a result classes can consist of hundreds of students making
monitoring attendance and participation practically impossible. In contrast, professors
in smaller U.S colleges usually dedicate a portion of students’ final mark to
attendance and participation. They expect students to display their knowledge
actively and engage in their lectures, as participating in classroom discussions
is seen as demonstration that you grasp the course material. With regards group
work, I have had more group work in my last semester at Maryville College than
in my entire time at Queens. While this is partly due to the contrast in class
sizes, this team approach to work has been helpful both in improving my team
work and communication skills and in getting to know more people. Additionally,
there are no 8am classes. The earliest class is 9am and as attendance is not
compulsory they are not the most populated classes of the day.
Homework and Grades
In addition to
participation, another key difference in the U.S college classroom is the
amount and frequency of work and how it is graded. In Northern Ireland the
final grade of a class commonly consists of homework (5-10%),
coursework/midterm exam (15-25%), (usually takes place around week 6 of term)
and a final exam (85-75%). Something U.S students may also find interesting is
that grades are based on the British undergraduate degree
classification system. Calculated by the weighted average of all classes
taken, the degree classifications are: First-class honours (≥70%), Second-class
honours, upper division (≥60%) and Second-class honours, lower division (≥50%),
Third-class honours (≥40%) and an Ordinary degree (35-39.5%). Contrastingly, I
have learnt that U.S Professors begin grading within the first few weeks of class
and the final mark compromises numerous quizzes, tests, assignments,
presentations, class participation and group work. Everything contributes to
the final class grade and to the overall Grade Point Average (GPA) of the
student. Most students will aim for at least a 3.0 GPA or a B, the equivalent
of 83-86%. This is something Northern Irish Students will definitely find
daunting and did require some time to get my head around. However, I should
mention that while U.S exams are more frequent, Northern Irish exams are
harder.
Cost
The cost of education in both countries is far from cheap,
but the cost of education in the U.S is generally, substantially higher. Universities
in Northern Ireland can charge up to £3,925 for yearly tuition fees
(approximately $6400) to students coming from Northern Ireland but fees for
international students can be significantly higher. The government sets the
limits for tuition fees, and each individual school sets its own fee up to that
limit. By contrast, the government has very little control over what
universities charge in the United States. The U.S differentiates between
in-state tuition fees and out-of-state tuition fees, as well as between private
and public universities. These distinctions determine the tuition fee. The
average tuition fee for public two-year institutions is around $3000 per year,
while the average fee for private four-year institutions is around $29,000 per
year and some private four-year institutions can cost up to $50,000 per year.
Accommodation
Both Northern Ireland and the U.S provide students with
residence halls in which to live. However, at Queens, residence halls are only
open to first year students and are in high demand due to the size of the
university. Living in residence halls is not compulsory and many students will
live in houses or apartments close to the university. Queens is also an open
campus, meaning university buildings are scattered throughout South Belfast an
area simply known as the “student area” of the city. If you do live in
residence halls you have your own bedroom and usually your own bathroom
facilities too. Having to share a bedroom with a complete stranger was
definitely high on my list of worries when coming to study in the U.S having
always had my own space. Northern Irish residence halls are also all
self-catered, while here in the U.S a range of full dining options are commonly
provided for students.
Although I did have to adapt to major changes, my experience
with facilities, students and staff has been nothing but positive. Entering
through the gates of Maryville College, almost nine months ago, I could never
have imagined the sadness I feel as my time here comes to an end. Nonetheless,
I am leaving not only having developed my business knowledge and skills but
having learned lessons and made connections and friendships that will last a
life time. I am extremely proud to become a Maryville College Alum and thank everyone,
especially Study USA, the British Council and Maryville College Centre for
International Education for an amazing year. Go Scots!
Mary-Claire O’Mullan