Editing Education in the United States (section)

===Universities and colleges===
[[File:1904 World's Fair Administration Building (Brookings Hall, Washington University) seen from the southeast with the Italian Pavilion in the foreground.jpg|thumb|[[Brookings Hall]] at [[Washington University in St. Louis]], established in 1853]]
The traditional path to American higher education is typically through a college or university, the most prestigious forms of higher education in the United States. Universities in the United States are institutions that issue bachelor's, master's, professional, or doctorate degrees; colleges often award solely bachelor's degrees. Some universities offer programs at all degree levels from the associate to the doctorate and are distinguished from community and junior colleges where the highest degree offered is the associate degree or a diploma. Though there is no prescribed definition of a university or college in the United States, universities are generally research-oriented institutions offering undergraduate, graduate, and [[professional degree|professional]] programs.

American universities come in a variety of forms that serve different educational needs. Some [[Local government in the United States|counties and cities]] have established and funded four-year institutions. Some of these institutions, such as the [[City University of New York]], are still operated by local governments. Others such as the [[University of Louisville]] and [[Wichita State University]] are now operated as state universities. Four-year institutions may be [[Public university|public]] or [[Private university|private]] colleges or universities. Private institutions are privately funded and there is a wide variety in size, focus, and operation. Some private institutions are large [[Research university|research universities]], while others are small [[Liberal arts colleges in the United States|liberal arts colleges]] that concentrate on undergraduate education. Some private universities are [[nonsectarian]] and [[Secularity|secular]], while others are religiously affiliated.

====Rankings====
{{Further|QS World University Rankings|Times Higher Education World University Rankings|U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking}}
[[File:Top Engineering Colleges in North America.webp|thumb|Top Engineering Colleges in North America]]
Among the United States' most prominent and world-renowned institutions are large research universities that are ranked in such annual publications, including the ''[[Times Higher Education World University Rankings]]'', ''[[QS World University Rankings]]'', ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'', ''[[Washington Monthly]]'', ''[[Academic Ranking of World Universities|ARWU]]'', by test preparation services such as ''[[The Princeton Review]]'' or by another university such as the Top American Research Universities ranked by The Center at the [[University of Florida]].<ref name="thecenter">{{cite web|url=http://thecenter.ufl.edu/research.html|title=The Top American Research Universities|access-date=November 7, 2006|publisher=The Center (University of Florida)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061031142155/http://thecenter.ufl.edu/research.html|archive-date=October 31, 2006|df=mdy-all}}</ref> <!--<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/02/43e1c030461a5|title=Criticism unlikely to tarnish image}}</ref> This link is no longer working. --> These rankings are based on factors such as [[brand recognition]], number of Nobel Prize winners, [[College admissions in the United States#How colleges evaluate applicants|selectivity in admissions]], generosity of alumni donors, and volume and quality of faculty research.

Among the elite top forty [[Rankings of universities in the United States|domestically]] and internationally ranked institutions identified by the QS 2025 rankings include six of the eight [[Ivy League]] schools; private universities [[Stanford University|Stanford]], [[The University of Chicago]], and [[Johns Hopkins University|Johns Hopkins]]; 1 of the 10 schools in the [[University of California system]] ([[UC Berkeley]]); and the research intensive schools [[Caltech]] and [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/world-university-rankings?page=2&sort_by=rank&order_by=asc|title=QS World University Rankings - 2025|publisher=QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited|access-date=24 August 2024}}</ref>
[[File:A_college_professor_teaching_in_a_university_classroom_full_of_students_in_Tennessee,_United_States_10.jpg|thumb|A college professor teaching in a university classroom full of students]]
Other types of universities in the United States include [[Liberal arts colleges in the United States|liberal arts schools]] ([[Reed College]], [[Swarthmore College]], [[Barnard College]]), religiously affiliated and denomination universities ([[DePaul University]], [[Brigham Young University]], [[Yeshiva University]]), [[United States service academies|military]] ([[United States Military Academy]], [[United States Merchant Marine Academy]], [[United States Naval Academy]]), art and design schools ([[Berklee College of Music]], [[Juilliard School]], [[Fashion Institute of Technology]], [[Parsons School of Design]], [[Rhode Island School of Design]]), [[Historically black colleges and universities]] ([[Morehouse College]], [[Howard University]], [[Kentucky State University]]), and [[For-profit higher education in the United States|for-profit universities]] ([[University of Phoenix]], [[Apollo Education Group#Western International University (closed, 2019)|Western International University]], [[Liberty University]]).<ref>{{cite report |title=A Review of the U.S. Higher Education System: Its Structure, Funding, Quality and the Future |publisher=United States Census Bureau |year=2014 |first=Amanda |last=Anthony |s2cid=54171217 |page=3}}</ref> While most private institutions are non-profit, a growing number in the past decade have been established as for-profit. The American university curriculum varies widely depending on the program and institution. Typically, an undergraduate student will be able to select an [[Academic major|academic "major" or concentration]], which comprises the core main or special subjects, and students may change their major one or more times.

====Graduate degrees====
Some students, typically those with a bachelor's degree, may choose to continue on to [[Postgraduate education|graduate]] or [[Vocational university|professional school]], which are graduate and professional institutions typically attached to a university. Graduate degrees may be either [[master's degree]]s (e.g., [[Master of Arts|M.A.]], [[Master of Science|M.S.]], [[Master of Social Work|M.S.W.]]), [[professional degree]]s (e.g. [[Master of Business Administration|M.B.A.]], [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]], [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]]) or [[Doctorate|doctorate degrees]] (e.g. [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]]). Programs range from full-time, evening and executive which allows for flexibility with students' schedules.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scheller.gatech.edu/|title=Graduate School Program Options: MBA|publisher=Scheller College of Business|access-date=June 25, 2015}}</ref> [[Academy|Academia]]-focused graduate school typically includes some combination of coursework and research (often requiring a [[thesis]] or [[dissertation]] to be written), while professional graduate-level schools grants a [[Professional degree|first professional degree]]. These include [[Medical school in the United States|medical]], [[Law school in the United States|law]], [[List of business schools in the United States|business]], [[School of education|education]], [[Seminary|divinity]], [[Art school|art]], [[Journalism school|journalism]], [[Council on Social Work Education|social work]], [[Architecture school in the United States|architecture]], and [[Engineering education#United States|engineering]] schools.