Campus Life U.S. universities provide a rich variety of academic, cultural, and athletic activities that add new dimensions to your educational experience and help you make new friends. Global Education Experience in an international setting is a marketable commodity. At most institutions those years are known as the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years of undergraduate study. Many students complete their first two years at a junior or community college, earning an associate degree, and then transfer to a four year college or university to complete two more years for a bachelor's degree. During the first two years, students have the opportunity to explore various fields of study such as social sciences, humanities, and natural or physical sciences.
Students then spend the next two years taking more courses directly related to their major.
Students who major in certain fields such as business, engineering, or science find that the curriculum is more tightly structured than it is in the humanities or social sciences. Master's degrees are the most frequently awarded graduate degrees. More than 400,000 master's degrees are awarded by U.S. institutions each year. It is possible to earn a master's degree in one year, but more often it will take two to three years. A doctorate usually requires five to seven years of study following receipt of the bachelor's degree.