VOA慢速英语 2007 0405a

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Today, we answer a question from Martin in Mexico City.  He asks about the kinds of degrees that students can earn at an American college or university.

American higher education offers degrees in many areas of study.  A community college student earns an associate degree after two years of general study. The student may then continue at a college or university for another two years to earn a bachelor’s degree.

An undergraduate student at a four-year school earns a bachelor's degree. Students majoring in an area of science receive the bachelor of science, also known by the letters B.S.  Arts or humanities¹ students get the bachelor of arts degree, or B.A.

Students who continue in school may earn a master’s degree after two or three more years of study. Many Americans earn master’s degrees at night or on the weekends while they are working.  One example of this is the M.B.A., a master's degree in business administration.  Students learn to deal with all kinds of business situations.  They develop skills needed by many companies.

M.B.A. programs teach about economics², finance³ and marketing⁴.  They also teach about the structure of organizations and other subjects.  Business is a popular subject for students who come to the United States.  To be admitted to an M.B.A. program, a foreign student must have a bachelor’s degree and a good score on the TOEFL.  Most students also take the Graduate Management Admission Test.  Most of the one thousand eight hundred M.B.A. programs around the world use these test scores. 

The Graduate Management Admission Council says that foreign students should find out what different schools could do to help them find a job after they receive their degree. Representatives from many companies visit colleges to hire students. You should ask how many companies are willing to hire international students.  The council says even the best schools may have fewer job placements for international graduates than for others. 

Our Foreign Student Series continues next week with a report about the highest degree a student can earn at an American university -- the doctorate⁵.

1 humanities   

n.人文学

参考例句：

• Dalian University offers courses in science and in the humanities. 大连大学开设自然科学和人文科学课程。
• She has a background in humanities and modern languages. 她学过人文学科和现代语言。

2 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

3 finance   

n.财务管理，财政，金融，财源，资金

参考例句：

• She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
• A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？