Study Abroad

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)

2012-02-12T05:34:00.000-08:00

The 'Test of English as a Foreign Language', or TOEFL, evaluates the ability of an individual to use and understand English in an academic setting.

Sometimes it is an admission requirement for non-native English speakers at many English-speaking colleges and universities. Additionally, institutions such as government agencies, licensing bodies, businesses, or scholarship programs may require this test. A TOEFL score is valid for two years and then will no longer be officially reported since a candidate's language proficiency could have significantly changed since the date of the test. Colleges and universities usually consider only the most recent TOEFL score.

The TOEFL test is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS) and is administered worldwide.

Policies governing the TOEFL program are formulated with advice from a 16-member board. Board members are affiliated with undergraduate and graduate schools, 2-year institutions and public or private agencies with an interest in international education. Other members are specialists in the field of English as a foreign or second language.

The TOEFL Committee of Examiners is composed of 12 specialists in linguistics, language testing, teaching or research. Its main responsibility is to advise on TOEFL test content. The committee helps ensure the test is a valid measure of English language proficiency reflecting current trends and methodologies.

Internet-based Test

Since its introduction in late 2005, the Internet-based Test (iBT) has progressively replaced both the computer-based tests (CBT) and paper-based tests (PBT), although paper-based testing is still used in select areas. The iBT has been introduced in phases, with the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy in 2005 and the rest of the world in 2006, with test centers added regularly. The CBT was discontinued in September 2006 and these scores are no longer valid.

Although initially, the demand for test seats was higher than availability, and candidates had to wait for months, it is now possible to take the test within one to four weeks in most countries. The four-hour test consists of four sections, each measuring one of the basic language skills (while some tasks require integrating multiple skills) and all tasks focus on language used in an academic, higher-education environment. Note-taking is allowed during the iBT. The test cannot be taken more than once a week.

Reading

The Reading section consists of 3–4 passages, each approximately 700 words in length and questions about the passages. The passages are on academic topics; they are the kind of material that might be found in an undergraduate university textbook. Passages require understanding of rhetorical functions such as cause-effect, compare-contrast and argumentation. Students answer questions about main ideas, details, inferences, essential information, sentence insertion, vocabulary, rhetorical purpose and overall ideas. New types of questions in the iBT require filling out tables or completing summaries. Prior knowledge of the subject under discussion is not necessary to come to the correct answer.

Listening

The Listening section consists of six passages 3–5 minutes in length and questions about the passages. These passages include two student conversations and four academic lectures or discussions. A conversation involves two speakers, a student and either a professor or a campus service provider. A lecture is a self-contained portion of an academic lecture, which may involve student participation and does not assume specialized background knowledge in the subject area. Each conversation and lecture stimulus is heard only once. Test-takers may take notes while they listen and they may refer to their notes when they answer the questions. Each conversation is associated with five questions and each lecture with six. The questions are meant to measure the ability to understand main ideas, important details, implications, relationships between ideas, organization of information, speaker purpose and speaker attitude.

Speaking

The Speaking section consists of six tasks: two independent tasks and four integrated tasks. In the two independent tasks, test-takers answer opinion questions on familiar topics. They are evaluated on their ability to speak spontaneously and convey their ideas clearly and coherently. In two of the integrated tasks, test-takers read a short passage, listen to an academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and answer a question by combining appropriate information from the text and the talk. In the two remaining integrated tasks, test-takers listen to an academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and then respond to a question about what they heard. In the integrated tasks, test-takers are evaluated on their ability to appropriately synthesize and effectively convey information from the reading and listening material. Test-takers may take notes as they read and listen and may use their notes to help prepare their responses. Test-takers are given a short preparation time before they have to begin speaking. The responses are digitally recorded, sent to ETS’s Online Scoring Network (OSN) and evaluated by three to six raters.

Writing

The Writing section measures a test taker's ability to write in an academic setting and consists of two tasks: one integrated task and one independent task. In the integrated task, test-takers read a passage on an academic topic and then listen to a speaker discuss the same topic. The test-taker will then write a summary about the important points in the listening passage and explain how these relate to the key points of the reading passage. In the independent task, test-takers must write an essay that states, explains, and supports their opinion on an issue, supporting their opinions or choices, rather than simply listing personal preferences or choices. Responses are sent to the ETS OSN and evaluated by four raters.

Task	Description	Approx. time
Reading	3–4 passages, each containing 12–14 questions	60–80 minutes
Listening	6–9 passages, each containing 5–6 questions	60–90 minutes
Break		10 minutes
Speaking	6 tasks and 6 questions	20 minutes
Writing	2 tasks and 2 questions	50 minutes

One of the sections of the test will include extra, uncounted material. Educational Testing Service includes extra material in order to pilot test questions for future test forms. When test-takers are given a longer section, they should give equal effort to all of the questions because they do not know which question will count and which will be considered extra. For example, if there are four reading passages instead of three, then three of those passages will count and one of the passages will not be counted. Any of the four passages could be the uncounted one.

Paper-based Test

In areas where the internet-based test is not available, a paper-based test (PBT) is given. Test takers must register in advance either online or by using the registration form provided in the Supplemental Paper TOEFL Bulletin. They should register in advance of the given deadlines to ensure a place because the test centers have limited seating and may fill up early. Tests are administered on fixed dates 6 times each year.

The test is 3 hours long and all test sections can be taken on the same day. Students can take the test as many times as they wish. However, colleges and universities usually consider only the most recent score.

Listening (30 – 40 minutes)

The Listening section consists of 3 parts. The first one contains 30 questions about short conversations. The second part has 8 questions about longer conversations. The last part asks 12 questions about lectures or talks.

Structure and Written Expression (25 minutes)

The Structure and Written Expression section has 15 exercises of completing sentences correctly and 25 exercises of identifying errors.

Reading Comprehension (55 minutes)

The Reading Comprehension section has 50 questions about reading passages.

Writing (30 minutes)

The Writing section is one essay with 250–300 words in average.

Test scores

Internet-based Test

The iBT version of the TOEFL test is scored on a scale of 0 to 120 points.
Each of the four sections (Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing) receives a scaled score from 0 to 30. The scaled scores from the four sections are added together to determine the total score.
Each speaking question is initially given a score of 0 to 4, and each writing question is initially given a score of 0 to 5. These scores are converted to scaled scores of 0 to 30.

Paper-based Test

The final PBT score ranges between 310 and 677 and is based on three subscores: Listening (31–68), Structure (31–68), and Reading (31–67). Unlike the CBT, the score of the Writing section (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not part of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6.
The score test takers receive on the Listening, Structure and Reading parts of the TOEFL test is not the percentage of correct answers. The score is converted to take into account the fact that some tests are more difficult than others. The converted scores correct these differences. Therefore, the converted score is a more accurate reflection of the ability than the correct answer score is.

Accepted TOEFL Scores

Most colleges use TOEFL scores as only one factor in their admission process. Each college or program within a college often has a minimum TOEFL score required. The minimum TOEFL iBT scores range from 61 (Bowling Green State University) to 100 (MIT, Columbia, Harvard). A sampling of required TOEFL admissions scores shows that a total TOEFL iBT score of 74.2 for undergraduate admissions and 82.6 for graduate admissions may be required. It is recommended that students check with their prospective institutions directly to understand TOEFL admissions requirements.

ETS has released tables to convert between iBT, CBT and PBT scores.

TOEFL Junior

ETS also offers the TOEFL Junior, a general assessment of middle school-level English language proficiency, and a distinct product within the TOEFL family. The TOEFL Junior is available only to students of ages 11–14 and is not considered a predictor of a student's regular TOEFL score.

Registration

The first step in the registration process is to obtain a copy of the TOEFL Information Bulletin. This bulletin can be obtained by downloading it or ordering it from the TOEFL website.
From the bulletin, it is possible to determine when and where the iBT version of the TOEFL test will be given.
Procedures for completing the registration form and submitting it are listed in the TOEFL Information Bulletin. These procedures must be followed exactly.

Linking TOEFL iBT Scores to IELTS Scores

IELTS Score	TOEFL Score
9	118-120
8.5	115-117
8	110-114
7.5	102-109
7	94-101
6.5	79-93
6	60-78
5.5	46-59
5	35-45
4.5	32-34
0-4	0-31

American InterContinental University

2012-02-12T05:30:00.001-08:00

American InterContinental University, commonly called AIU, is an international for-profit university with open admissions owned by Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ:CECO).

AIU is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association to award Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's degrees.

American InterContinental University (AIU) was founded in 1970 in Lucerne, Switzerland by American couple Jack and Helen Barnette of Atlanta, and was first known as the American Fashion College of Switzerland. The school was recognized as an American degree awarding institution in 1971, initially offering associate and bachelor's degrees starting in 1974. In 1976 American Fashion College of Switzerland opened a campus in Atlanta and in 1978, the Lucerne campus moved to London, and changed its name to the American College for the Applied Arts.

Official Site: American InterContinental University

History

By 1978, the school had approximately 300 students, and began to expand its course offering beyond fashion to areas such as business. Today, AIU has about 24,000 students and offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in programs such as business, IT, criminal justice and fashion design. More than 80 percent of AIU students attend AIU Online, an internet-based online campus that delivers degree programs 100 percent online.

• Atlanta - Buckhead, Georgia campus 1976
• London, UK campus 1978
• Los Angeles, California campus 1982
• Dubai campus 1995
• Atlanta - Dunwoody and South Florida campus 1998
• Online campus 2002
• Houston, Texas, 2003
• Dunwoody and Buckhead consolidate as AIU Atlanta, 2009

The institution first received SACS accreditation in 1987. Steve Bostic bought the school in 1996 and changed its name to American InterContinental University. In 2001, AIU was acquired by Career Education Corporation, a publicly traded operator of for-profit schools that was established in 1994.

In 2009, AIU was granted accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). AIU, which had been accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) since 1987 , sought HLC accreditation to better reflect the fact that the majority of its students are served through its Internet-based campus which is based in the HLC geographic region. SACS and HLC are among the six regional accrediting organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2011, AIU earned accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs

Campuses

An American InterContinental University facility in Westchase, Houston, Texas, United States.

AIU currently has six campuses in the United States and other countries.

United States

Los Angeles, California (located at 12655 W. Jefferson Blvd., est. 1982, President: Alex Henn)
Atlanta, Georgia (located at 6600 Peachtree-Dunwoody Rd. in Sandy Springs; est. 1998, President: Peter Correa)
Weston, Florida, Florida (located at 2250 N. Commerce Pkwy., est. 1998, President: Hisham Shaban)
Houston, Texas (located at 9999 Richmond Ave., in the Westchase district, est. 2003, President: Steve Malutich)

On February 18, 2008, American InterContinental University announced plans to gradually close down its Los Angeles campus. The campus will no longer enroll new students and will employ a gradual teach-out process, allowing current students the opportunity to complete their programs. Dr. George Miller, former CEO of American InterContinental University, cited low student enrollment at the Los Angeles campus as the reason for this decision.

The AIU Houston building was severely damaged by Hurricane Ike in September 2008. It was remodeled, and a grand re-opening celebration occurred in February 2009.

Following the June 2009 consolidation of the AIU Buckhead and AIU Dunwoody campuses into AIU Atlanta, the new campus underwent a significant renovation. AIU Atlanta's campus now features an industry-current forensics lab; a virtual firearms training simulator (FATS) lab; drawing studio; dedicated math, science and writing labs; and newly-redesigned studios for fashion design, media production, visual communications and interior design.

United Kingdom

London, England (located at 110 Marylebone High St., est. 1978)

Online campus

The online program started in 2001 but was recognized as a separate campus in 2002. The online campus offices are located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Stephen J. Tober, AIU's CEO, serves as president of AIU Online. The online campus is considered the main campus for AIU.

Accreditation

American InterContinental University was accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools from 1987 to 2009. From 2009, American InterContinental University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. From 2011, American InterContinental University is also accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs.

Academics

AIU offers Associate, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in a variety of fields. Many instructors are professionals in their field and draw from their real-world experience to enrich classroom instruction and career training. AIU offers classroom instruction in person at the ground campuses and online via the Virtual Campus, or a hybrid of both. The AIU Virtual Campus gives online students access to course materials as well as nearly all the amenities of a traditional campus, such as a library, career services, student clubs and financial aid information. The Virtual Campus was named “Best of the Best” by the Computerworld Honors Program in 2009.

Hadlow College London

2012-02-12T05:21:00.001-08:00

Hadlow College, located at Hadlow in Kent with satellite sites in Canterbury and London, is a Further Education and Higher Education college. The curriculum primarily covers land-based subjects including forestry & arboriculture, agriculture, conservation and wildlife management, animal management, fisheries management, equine studies, outdoor pursuits, floristry, horticulture, garden design, landscape management and sustainability. Additionally, intermediate and advanced apprenticeships are offered in agriculture, horiticulture and land based engineering.

In June 2010 the college was graded 'Outstanding' by Ofsted. This result complemented the 'outstanding' grade which the college had received in March 2009 for its care provision. These results have cemented the college's place amongst the elite of UK colleges.

Official Site: Hadlow College

Facilities

Set on a 630-acre (250 ha) estate, Hadlow College enjoys many facilities. Its equine centre is listed within the London 2012 Training Guide and the new animal management building (opening spring 2009) will be amongst the best in the country.

Additional facilities on the estate include a fully functioning farm with a dairy herd and milking parlour, breeding sheep and arable crops, commercial dog grooming parlour and exotic species, variety of habitats for woodland and countryside management, stock ponds, hatchery, cross country equine courses together with international size arenas, 3.2 acres (13,000 m²) glasshouse complex and a landscape training centre.

Broadview Gardens, the on-site visitor attraction, also plays an important role in College life. These 10 acres (4.0 ha) of landscaped gardens provide an inspiration to the horticulture and garden design students, as well as being a useful area for them to practise their skills. It is also home to Sandell lake. These gardens are constantly being updated and added to. For example, Hadlow College’s garden – Full Frontal – which won Gold at the 2007 Hampton Court Flower Show has recently been re-created within the grounds. Highlighting the effects which block paving can have on the environment, Full Frontal presents an alternative based around the fact it is possible to have flowers, plants and a parking space in your front garden without the need for concrete.

In October 2009 Princess Christian's Farm came underneath the umbrella of the college. Run in partnership with Kent County Council Social Services for the benefit of adults with learning difficulties and disabilities, the overall aim of the partnership is for the individuals to learn new skills and develop opportunities to move into employment.

Immanuel College, Bushey, UK

2012-02-12T05:14:00.001-08:00

Immanuel College (formally named The Charles Kalms - Henry Ronson Immanuel College) was founded in 1990 by the late Chief Rabbi, Lord Jakobovits, to fulfil his vision of an educational establishment that affirms orthodox Jewish values and practice in the context of rigorous secular studies. The school aims at giving its pupils a first-class education that encourages them to connect Jewish and secular wisdom, to think independently and to exercise responsibility. It is committed to 'a recognition of the unique worth and purpose of each pupil, to school life which is an extension of that which gives meaning and purpose within their families, and for the highest standards of academic excellence in both Jewish and secular studies.' Immanuel College's declared objective is to create in pupils 'an integrated personality whose Jewish identity is knowledgeable, secure and proud, as a spur to achievement and responsibility, and as a challenge to exemplary citizenship in a pluralist society'.

Official Site: Immanuel College

Since its foundation, the school has acquired a reputation for academic excellence and outstanding pastoral care. A recent report by The Sutton Trust placed Immanuel College in the top 2% of schools nationally in terms of its students' success in gaining admission to the thirteen most competitive research universities.

Grounds, Buildings and Facilities

View of Caldecote Towers from the Rose Garden.

Professor the Lord Winston opened a new 8-classroom building in September 2010. The building has been designed with multi-functional technological applications and the classrooms can be reconfigured to give small or large teaching areas and an examination hall. The new building is predominantly used for A Level and GCSE classes and serves as the base for sixth-form tutor groups.

Curriculum

The articles of Immanuel College faith are that Jewish and secular learning shed light on one another, that the study of each is deepened and appreciated by study of the other, and that the life of the mind and spirit should not be compartmentalised but embraced. As such, the school offers a wide range of secular subjects, including English, Mathematics and the Science subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), as well as Art and Design, Drama, Geography, Modern and Biblical Hebrew, History, ICT, French, Spanish, Music, Personal, Social and Health Education, Technology and Physical Education. At A Level, additional subjects are offered, including Computing, Economics, Further Mathematics, Government & Politics, History of Art, Art (Photography), Psychology and Sociology. There is a wide choice of subjects available in Jewish Studies and a broad and stimulating informal Jewish education programme.

University of British Columbia Canada

2012-02-12T05:09:00.000-08:00

The University of British Columbia (commonly referred to as UBC) is a public research university located in Vancouver, Canada. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley. UBC operates smaller speciality and satellite campuses located at Great Northern Way Campus and Robson Street, both in Vancouver proper. The 4.02-square-kilometre (993-acre) main campus is located within the the University Endowment Lands, an unincorporated community on Point Grey, 10 km (6.2 mi) from downtown Vancouver. The 2.09-square-kilometre (516-acre) Okanagan campus is situated about 20 minutes from downtown Kelowna.

Official Site: British Columbia

A body politic and corporation by the name of The University of British Columbia was first incorporated April 26, 1890. Subsequent enactments culminating on March 7, 1908 with another University Act gave the University its current form. The first day of lectures was September 30, 1915. On September 22, 1925, lectures began on the new Point Grey campus. The enabling legislation are the University Act and the University Amendment Act, 2004. The university is the oldest in British Columbia and has the largest enrolment with over 54,000 students at its Vancouver and Okanagan campuses combined. The university library, which comprises 5.9 million books and journals, is the second-largest research library in Canada.

Governance and academics

The administration of UBC, as mandated by the University Act, is composed of a chancellor, convocation, board, senate, and faculties of the university. The Board of Governors is responsible for the management of property and revenue, while the Senate is vested with managing the academic operation of the university. Both are composed of faculty and students who are elected to the position. Degrees and diplomas are conferred by the convocation, which is composed of alumni, administrators, and faculty, with a quorum of twenty members. UBC also has a President, who is a chief executive officer of the university and a member of the Senate, Board of Governors, Convocation, and also serves as Vice Chancellor. The President of the University is responsible for managing the academic operation of the university, including recommending appointments, calling meetings of faculties, and establishing committees.

Faculties and schools

UBC's academic activity is organized into "faculties" and "schools". Currently, UBC has twelve faculties and eleven schools on its Vancouver campus and eight faculties. UBC Vancouver has two academic colleges: Interdisciplinary Studies and Health Disciplines, while UBC Okanagan has a College of Graduate Studies. At the Vancouver campus, the Faculty of Arts, which dates back to the 1915 Fairview Campus, is the largest faculty with twenty departments and schools. With the split of the Faculty of Arts and Science in 1964, the Faculty of Science is the second largest faculty with nine departments. The Sauder School of Business is UBC's Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration. The School of Architecture offers a program in architecture accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board at both the bachelor level (B.Arch.) and the master's level (M.Arch.).

Enrolment

In 2010, UBC had 3,694 full-time Faculty, and 9,727 non-faculty employees. It had over fifty thousand students (44,496 undergraduate students and 9,629 graduate students), and more than 250,000 alumni in 120 countries). The university is one of only two Canadian universities to have membership in Universitas 21, an international association of research-led institutions (McGill University is the other). and the only Canadian member of the prestigious Association of Pacific Rim Universities, a consortium of 42 leading research universities in the Pacific Rim.

University of Manitoba Canada

2012-02-12T05:02:00.000-08:00

The University of Manitoba has the largest student enrollment in Manitoba.

There are five universities in Manitoba, which are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Advanced Education and Literacy. Four of these universities—the University of Manitoba, the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, the Canadian Mennonite University and theUniversity of Winnipeg—are in Winnipeg, the capital and largest city in the province. The Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, established in 1818, is the oldest university in the province and is a French language university, and Brandon University, formed in 1899 and located in Brandon, Mb., is the newest. University enrollment in Manitoba ranges from the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface with 984 students to the University of Manitoba with 26,800 students.

Official Site: University of Manitoba

Institution	Location	L	E	U	P	T
Brandon University	Brandon	E	1899	3,140	120	3,260
Canadian Mennonite University	Winnipeg	E	1944	1,600	0	1,600
University of Manitoba	Winnipeg	B	1877	23,640	3,160	26,800
Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface	Winnipeg	F	1818	930	54	984
University of Winnipeg	Winnipeg	E	1871	9,010	0	9,010

University of Alberta Canada

2012-02-12T04:59:00.000-08:00

The University of Alberta has the 2nd largest provincial student enrollment.

There are five universities in Alberta, thirteen public colleges (one of which grants degrees), and seven private colleges (all of which grant degrees). Most private colleges refer to themselves as "university colleges", but are not legally universities, although they grant equivalent degrees. Post-secondary education in Alberta is regulated by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology. There are two universities in Calgary: University of Calgary and Mount Royal University (although the University of Lethbridge has a campus downtown as well). Edmonton, the province's capital city, is home to the University of Alberta, the province's oldest and largest university.

Official Site: University of Alberta

In 2009, a bill was passed by the Alberta legislature that allowed the two public colleges that offered degrees (MacEwan College in Edmonton and Mount Royal College in Calgary) to rename themselves universities. Mount Royal College was renamed Mount Royal University on September 3, 2009 and Grant MacEwan College became Grant MacEwan University on September 24, 2009.

Institution	Location(s)	Language	Established	Undergrad	Post grad	Total
University of Alberta	Edmonton,Camrose	B	1906	29,250	6,930	36,180
Athabasca University	Athabasca	E	1970	36,240	3,460	39,700
University of Calgary	Calgary	E	1966	23,320	6,540	29,860
University of Lethbridge	Lethbridge,Edmonton,Calgary	E	1967	7,930	300	8,230
Mount Royal University	Calgary	E	1910	10,670	0	10,670
Grant MacEwan University	Edmonton	E	1971	11,721	0	11,721

New Brunswick Canada

2012-02-12T04:55:00.001-08:00

The University of New Brunswick has the largest student enrollment in the province.

There are seven chartered universities in New Brunswick; four public universities, governed by the Ministry of Post Secondary Education, Training and Labour, and three private institutions with religious affiliation. New Brunswick holds the distinctions of having the first English-language university in Canada and the first public university in North America, (the University of New Brunswick); and also the first university in the British Empire to have award a bachelor's degree to a woman, (Mount Allison University) in 1875. St. Thomas University and University of New Brunswick have campuses in the province's capital of Fredericton and UNB also maintains a campus in Saint John. St. Thomas University is the only public university in the province that does not offer graduate-level programs. Established in 1785, the University of New Brunswick is the oldest public in the province, and the Université de Moncton is the newest, formed in 1963. Public university enrollment ranges from Mount Allison University with 2,486 students to the University of New Brunswick with 10,587 students. Of the three private universities, Crandall University is the largest with enrolment expected to reach 1,200.

Official Site: New Brunswick

Institution	Location(s)	L	E	U	P	T
Kingswood University	Sussex	E	1945	300	0	300
Crandall University	Moncton	E	1949	685	0	685
Université de Moncton	Moncton, Shippagan, Edmundston	F	1963	5,184	738	5,922
Mount Allison University	Sackville	E	1839	2,648	12	2,660
University of New Brunswick	Fredericton & Saint John	E	1785	9,253	1,444	10,697
St. Stephen's University	St. Stephen	E	1975	100	0	100
St. Thomas University	Fredericton	E	1910	2,655	0	2,655

Baruch College New York

2012-02-12T04:52:00.001-08:00

Bernard M. Baruch College, more commonly known as Baruch College, is a constituent college
of the City University of New York, located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, New York City.
With an acceptance rate of just 23%, Baruch is among the most competitive and diverse colleges in the nation.
Baruch offers undergraduate and masters degrees through its Zicklin School of Business, the largest business
school in the United States, as well as the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and School of Public Affairs.

Official Site: Baruch College

The College was ranked as a Top Public #3 University, and Top #21 Regional (North) University by 2012 US
News & World Report, #22 Most Desirable Large School by Newsweek, and Best College Buy by Forbes
Magazine. Baruch's Financial Engineering program was ranked #5 by QuantNet Baruch tied at #2 with
Harvard University for the number of graduates in "100 Most Influential People in Accounting Worldwide"
and ranked #1 nationwide for people with Advanced Degrees who pass the CPA exam. Baruch is ranked
25th among business schools in the United States by Social Science Research Network. and its MBA
program was ranked #1 in 'MBAs with Most Financial Value at Graduation' by US News.

Binghamton University New York

2012-02-12T04:50:00.000-08:00

Binghamton University was established in 1946 as Triple Cities College to serve the needs of local veterans returning from World War II of the Triple Cities area. Thomas J. Watson of IBM was an early supporter of the college and provided some of the initial support and helped to establish it in Endicott, New York; the college was a branch of Syracuse University. Originally, Triple Cities College offered local students the first two years of their education, while the following two were spent at Syracuse. However, starting in the 1948-49 year, students were allowed to earn their degrees entirely in Binghamton. When the college split from Syracuse and became incorporated into the State University of New York (SUNY) in 1950, it was renamed Harpur College, in honor of Robert Harpur, a Colonial teacher and pioneer who settled in the Binghamton area. It was one of only two public liberal arts schools in New York state in 1950 (the other was Champlain College, Plattsburgh). Of the four University Centers (Stony Brook, Albany, Buffalo and Binghamton), Binghamton was the first to join SUNY.

Official Site: Binghamton University

In 1955, the college began to plan its current location in Vestal, New York. This move was complete by 1961. The 387-acre (1.57 km²) site was purchased from a local farmer, anticipating future growth for the school. Colonial Hall, the original building of the former campus, stands today as the Village of Endicott Visitor's Center.

Aerial photograph of Binghamton University.

After Harpur was selected as one of the four university centers of SUNY in 1965, it was renamed State University of New York at Binghamton. As other schools were added to the University, Harpur College retained its name and its status as the largest of Binghamton's constituent schools—Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, with more than 60 percent of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in its degree programs.

Although the legal and official University name remains State University of New York at Binghamton, since 1992, the University has been referred to as "Binghamton University," or "Binghamton University, State University of New York", with the exception of the most formal and official documents and applications. Note that the University's Administration Procedures discourage the reference to the University as "SUNY-Binghamton," "SUNY-B," "Harpur College," or other names not listed above.

Past and current leaders

The first president of Harpur College, who began as dean of Triple Cities College, was Glenn Bartle. The second president, G. Bruce Dearing, served several years during the Vietnam era, and then left to become vice chancellor for academic affairs at the SUNY Central Administration in Albany. Third in line was C. Peter Magrath, who came from the University of Nebraska, served from 1972–1974, then left in the summer of 1974 to become president at the University of Minnesota.

The fourth president at Binghamton was Clifford D. Clark, who left his position as dean of the Business school at the University of Kansas to serve as vice president for academic affairs at Binghamton in 1973, but quickly was asked to take on the job of acting president in the fall of 1974 when Magrath left for Minnesota. Clark then was selected as president and served from March 1975 through mid-1990. In Clark's presidency, he led the campus as it moved from primarily a four-year liberal arts college to a research university. Clark added the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts and inaugurated the Summer Music Festival, created the Harpur Forum (now called the Binghamton University Forum), established the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, fostered the expansion and development of the Decker School of Nursing.

Lois B. DeFleur became the University's fifth president upon Clark's retirement in 1990. Under her nearly 20-year tenure, the University experienced its most significant growth. She oversaw substantial additions to the student and faculty populations, vastly expanded research activities and funding, formalized Binghamton's fundraising efforts, expanded the physical footprint of the campus by approximately 20 buildings, launched Binghamton's "green" efforts for which they are now nationally recognized, transitioned the school from Division III athletics to Division I and catalyzed the biggest increase in academic ranking to date. DeFleur retired in 2010 and on July 1, C. Peter Magrath returned as president on an interim basis.

On November 22, 2011, the SUNY Board of Trustees appointed Harvey G. Stenger, Jr. as the seventh president of Binghamton University, effective January 1, 2012. Stenger had been interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University at Buffalo since April 2011.

Wells College New York

2012-02-12T04:46:00.001-08:00

Wells was established as a woman's college in 1868 by Henry Wells, founder of Wells Fargo and the American Express Company. Wells had the building for Wells Seminary constructed on property he donated. Not long after its construction, Wells Seminary burnt to the ground. The first building was replaced in 1890 by the current Main Building. Henry Wells' mansion, Glen Park, was later donated to the college for its use. It is part of the campus.

After 1965, Walter Netsch designed the Louis Jefferson Long Library. The design of this award-winning building inspired two other buildings on campus, Barler Music Hall and Campbell Art Building.

Official Site: Wells College

Co-education

After 136 years as a women's college, Wells announced in October 2004 that it would become a co-educational institution in 2005. This drew student protests on campus. Some parents of students also became involved in the protests. Some of the students said that their protests were patterned after ones at Mills College in the early 1990s. A website called Wells for Women was established After the college's decision to adopt coeducation was approved by its board, students filed a lawsuit, which the courts rejected. The college adopted coeducation in 2005.

Academics

Classes at Wells are taught seminar-style by professors — not teaching assistants — and 83% of Wells faculty have doctoral degrees.

The Washington Monthly's "College Rankings" (an alternative college guide to the U.S. News and World Report) ranks Wells College as number thirty among all liberal arts colleges in the United States -- as well as the top such college in New York state—in the September 2006 issue.

In 2006, Wells was ranked 12th in the nation by the Princeton Review for being best at encouraging class discussion. In its 2007 rankings, released in August 2006, U.S. News & World Report put it at #24 on the "Great Schools, Great Price" list of best-value schools. It has previously been listed based on the beauty of its campus and frequently makes lists of the nations most-haunted campuses.

U.S. News ranks Wells at 122 among liberal arts colleges.

Wells college tuition along with room and board has now gone from about $29,000 a year to $38–39,000 a year starting with members of the class of 2013. Singles now cost $1000 a year and $500 per semester.

Majors with concentrations

American Studies
American Studies: American Cultures
Biological and Chemical Sciences: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Biological and Chemical Sciences: Biology
Biological and Chemical Sciences: Chemistry
Economics and Management: Economics
Economics and Management: Management
English: Creative Writing
English: Literature
Environmental Studies: Environmental Policies and Values
Environmental Studies: Environmental Sciences
Film and Media Studies
Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures: Spanish
Foreign Language Education: Spanish
History
International Studies
Mathematical and Physical Sciences: Computer Science
Mathematical and Physical Sciences: Mathematics
Mathematical and Physical Sciences: Physics
Performing Arts: Theatre and Dance
Philosophy
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology and Anthropology: Sociology
Sociology and Anthropology: Anthropology/Cross-Cultural Sociology
Visual Arts: Art History
Visual Arts: Studio Art
Women's Studies
Individualized Major: where students design an alternative major of special interest

A new major "Book Arts", previously only available as a minor, became a major in fall 2009. Wells College is ranked #1 in the nation for Book Arts.

Empire State College New York

2012-02-12T04:43:00.001-08:00

Empire State College, one of the thirteen arts and science colleges of the State University of New York, is a multi-site institution offering associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. It is primarily oriented towards the adult learner. The Center for Distance Learning is available for students throughout the world, who can earn an undergraduate degree completely online.

The College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Empire State College administrative offices are located in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Official Site: Empire State College

Many of the undergraduate degrees offered by Empire State College are "individualized" as opposed to the more traditional degree programs. The college offers flexible programs, including distance education, extensive transfers of credits from other universities, knowledge gained through independent studies, standardized evaluations, and the opportunity to design one's own degree with an academic advisor or mentor.

Orientation

Empire State College's Center for International Programs also has special programs for students in Lebanon, Czech Republic, and Greece. International students pay the same tuition fees when studying online as in-state students. It also has arranged learning opportunities with UAW-Ford University, United Steelworkers of America, Corporate Noncredit Training, eArmyU, Navy College Program and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (Local Union #3).

Degree Programs

The Coordinating Center at Saratoga Springs, New York

Undergraduate Programs:

Graduate Programs:

M.A. in Labor and Policy Studies
M.A. in Social Policy
M.A. in Liberal Studies
Master of Business Administration
Master of Arts in Teaching

Locations

Coordinating Center: Saratoga Springs

Center for Distance Learning
Center for Graduate Programs
College Administration
Student Services

Center for International Programs

Athens, Greece
Thessaloniki, Greece
Beirut, Lebanon
Prague, Czech Republic
Tirana, Albania
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Niagara Frontier

Buffalo
Fredonia
Jamestown
Lockport
Olean

Genesee Valley

Rochester
Alfred
Batavia
Canandaigua
Corning/Elmira

Central New York

Syracuse
Auburn
Binghamton
Fort Drum
Ithaca
Utica
Watertown

State University of New York

2012-02-12T04:40:00.000-08:00

The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY, is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York,United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus 1.1 million adult education students spanning 64 campuses across the state. The SUNY system has 88,000 faculty members and some 7,660 degree and certificate programs overall and a $10.7 billion budget. SUNY includes many institutions and four University Centers: Albany (1844), Binghamton (1946), Buffalo (1846), and Stony Brook (1957). SUNY's administrative offices are in Albany, the state's capital.

The State University of New York was established in 1948 by Governor Thomas E. Dewey, through legislative implementation of recommendations made by the Temporary Commission on the Need for a State University (1946–1948). The Commission was chaired by Owen D. Young, who was at the time Chairman of the General Electric Company. The system was greatly expanded during the administration of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, who took a personal interest in design and construction of new SUNY facilities across the state.

SUNY comprises all institutions of higher education statewide that are state-supported, with the exception of the institutions that are units of the City University of New York (CUNY), which is additionally funded by New York City.

he first colleges were established privately, with some arising from local seminaries. But New York state had a long history of supported higher education prior to the creation of the SUNY system. On May 7, 1844, the State legislature voted to establish New York State Normal School in Albany as the first college for teacher education. In 1865 New York created Cornell University as its land grant college, and it began direct financial support of Cornell's statutory colleges in 1894. From 1889 to 1903, Cornell operated the New York State College of Forestry, until the Governor vetoed its annual appropriation. The school was moved to Syracuse University in 1911. It is now the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. In 1908, the State legislature began the NY State College of Agriculture at Alfred University.

Official Site: www.suny.edu/

In 1946-48 a Temporary Commission on the Need for a State University, chaired by Owen D. Young, Chairman of the General Electric Company, studied New York's existing higher education institutions and recommended consolidating them into a state university system. The State University of New York was established in 1948 by Governor Thomas E. Dewey, through legislative implementation of the commission's recommendations. The system was greatly expanded during the administration of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, who took a personal interest in the design and construction of new SUNY facilities across the state.

On October 8, 1953, SUNY took a historic step of banning national fraternities and sororities that discriminated based on race or religion from its 33 campuses. Various fraternities challenged this rule in court. As a result, national organizations felt pressured to open their membership to students of all races and religions.

New York University

2012-02-12T04:38:00.000-08:00

New York University (NYU) is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Manhattan. Founded in 1831, NYU is one of the largest private, nonprofit institutions of higher educationin the United States.

NYU is organized into 18 schools, colleges, and institutes, located in six centers throughout Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn, as well as more than a dozen other sites across the world, with plans for further expansion. With approximately 12,500 residents, NYU has the seventh-largest university housing system in the U.S. as of 2007, and one of the largest among private schools. Some of the first fraternities in the country were formed at NYU.

NYU's sports teams are called the Violets, the colors being the trademarked hue "NYU Violet", and white. The school mascot is modeled after a bobcat. Almost all sports teams at NYU participate in the NCAA's Division III and the University Athletic Association. While NYU has had All-American football players, it has not had a varsity football team since the 1960s.

NYU was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1950. The university counts 34 Nobel Prize winners, 3 Abel Prize winners, 10 National Medal of Science recipients, 16 Pulitzer Prize winners, 21 Academy Award winners, and Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winners. NYU also has MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowship holders as well as National Academy of Sciences members among its past and present graduates and faculty.

Official Site: New York University

Brooklyn campus

Wunsch Building, a former church

The Polytechnic Institute of New York University, also known as the New York University School of Engineering and Technology, is located in Downtown Brooklyn. It is one of the oldest private technology institutes in the United States, and has a distinguished history in electrical engineering, polymer chemistry, aerospace, and microwave engineering. It is centrally located in the MetroTech Center, and is close to transportation routes and easily accessible from all parts of New York City and Long Island. The institute has state-of-the-art facilities including a brand new library and new facilities for its electrical engineering, computer science and computer engineering programs. The Brooklyn campus offers programs primarily for undergraduate students but also offers opportunities for graduate students, including executive programs for students with related experience.

The Polymer Research Institute was established in 1942 and The Microwave Research Institute was established in 1945. The American Chemical Society designated the Polymer Research Institute as a National Historic Chemical Landmark on September 3, 2003.

Polytechnic Institute played a leadership role in the establishment of the MetroTech Center, one of the largest urban university-corporate parks in the world and the largest in the United States. Today, the 16-acre (65,000 m²), $1 billion complex is home to the institute and several technology-dependent companies, including Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC), New York City Police Department's 911 Center, New York City Fire Department Headquarters and the U.S. technology and operations functions of JPMorgan Chase. In 1998, a Marriott Hotel was built adjacent to MetroTech. MetroTech has proven to be a case study in effective university, corporate, government and private-developer cooperation. It has resulted in renewing an area that once was characterized more by urban decay.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA

2012-02-12T04:35:00.000-08:00

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also known as MIT, is an American private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.

Founded in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States, the institute adopted the European polytechnic university model and emphasized laboratory instruction from an early date. MIT's early emphasis on applied technology at the undergraduate and graduate levels led to close cooperation with industry. Curricular reforms under Karl Compton and Vannevar Bush in the 1930s re-emphasized basic scientific research. MIT was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1934. Researchers were involved in efforts to develop computers, radar, and inertial guidance in connection with defense research during World War II and the Cold War. Post-war defense research contributed to the rapid expansion of the faculty and campus under James Killian.

Official Site: MIT

Campus

The central and eastern sections of MIT's campus as seen from above Massachusetts Avenue and the Charles River. In the center is the Great Dome overlooking Killian Court with Kendall Square in the background.

MIT's 168-acre (68.0 ha) campus spans approximately a mile of the north side of the Charles River basin in the city of Cambridge. The campus is divided roughly in half by Massachusetts Avenue, with most dormitories and student life facilities to the west and most academic buildings to the east. The bridge closest to MIT is the Harvard Bridge, which is known for being marked off in a non-standard unit of length – the smoot. The Kendall MBTA Red Line station is located on the far northeastern edge of the campus in Kendall Square. The Cambridge neighborhoods surrounding MIT are a mixture of high tech companies occupying both modern office and rehabilitated industrial buildings as well as socio-economically diverse residential neighborhoods.

MIT buildings all have a number (or a number and a letter) designation and most have a name as well. Typically, academic and office buildings are referred to primarily by number while residence halls are referred to by name. The organization of building numbers roughly corresponds to the order in which the buildings were built and their location relative (north, west, and east) to the original, center cluster of Maclaurin buildings. Many are connected above ground as well as through an extensive network of underground tunnels, providing protection from the Cambridge weather as well as a venue for roof and tunnel hacking.

MIT's on-campus nuclear reactor is one of the largest university-based nuclear reactors in the United States. The prominence of the reactor's containment building in a densely populated area has been controversial, but MIT maintains that it is well-secured. Other notable campus facilities include a pressurized wind tunnel and a towing tank for testing ship and ocean structure designs. MIT's campus-wide wireless network was completed in the fall of 2005 and consists of nearly 3,000 access points covering 9,400,000 square feet (870,000 m²) of campus.

In 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency sued MIT for violating Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act with regard to its hazardous waste storage and disposal procedures. MIT settled the suit by paying a $155,000 fine and launching three environmental projects. In connection with capital campaigns to expand the campus, the Institute has also extensively renovated existing buildings to improve their energy efficiency. MIT has also taken steps to reduce its environmental impact by running alternative fuel campus shuttles, subsidizing public transportation passes, and building a low-emission cogeneration plant that serves most of the campus electricity, heating, and cooling requirements.

Between 2006 and 2008, MIT reported 16 forcible sex offenses, 4 robberies, 13 aggravated assaults, 536 burglaries, 2 cases of arson, and 16 cases of motor vehicle theft.

Architecture

The Stata Center houses CSAIL,LIDS, and the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy

MIT's School of Architecture, now the School of Architecture and Planning, was the first in the United States, and it has a history of commissioning progressive buildings. The first buildings constructed on the Cambridge campus, completed in 1916, are known officially as the Maclaurin buildings after Institute president Richard Maclaurin who oversaw their construction. Designed by William Welles Bosworth, these imposing buildings were built of concrete, a first for a non-industrial — much less university — building in the US. The utopian City Beautiful movement greatly influenced Bosworth's design, which features the Pantheon-esque Great Dome housing the Barker Engineering Library. The Great Dome overlooks Killian Court, where annual Commencement (graduation) exercises are held. The friezes of the limestone-clad buildings around Killian Court are engraved with the names of important scientists and philosophers. The imposing Building 7 atrium along Massachusetts Avenue is regarded as the entrance to the Infinite Corridor and the rest of the campus.

Alvar Aalto's Baker House (1947), Eero Saarinen's Chapel and Auditorium (1955), and I.M. Pei's Green, Dreyfus, Landau, and Wiesner buildings represent high forms of post-war modernist architecture. More recent buildings like Frank Gehry's Stata Center (2004), Steven Holl'sSimmons Hall (2002), Charles Correa's Building 46 (2005), Fumihiko Maki's Media Lab Extension (2009) are distinctive amongst the Boston area's classical architecture and serve as examples of contemporary campus "starchitecture."These buildings have not always been popularly acclaimed; in 2010, The Princeton Review included MIT in a list of twenty schools whose campuses are "tiny, unsightly, or both."

Housing

Simmons Hall was completed in 2002

Undergraduates are guaranteed four-year housing in one of MIT's 12 undergrad dormitories, although 8% of students live off campus or commute. On-campus housing provides live-in graduate student tutors and faculty housemasters who have the dual role of both helping students and monitoring them for medical or mental health problems. New undergrad students specify their dorm and floor preferences a few days after arrival on campus, and as a result diverse communities arise in living groups; e.g. the dorms on and east of Massachusetts Avenue have typically been more involved in countercultural activities. MIT also has 5 dormitories for single graduate students and 2 apartment buildings on campus for married student families.

MIT has a very active Greek and co-op system which includes 36 fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups (FSILGs). 50% of male undergraduates join a fraternity and 34% of women join sororities.Most FSILGs are located across the river in the Back Bay owing to MIT's historic location there, but eight fraternities are located on MIT's West Campus and in Cambridge. After the 1997 death of Scott Krueger, a new member at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, MIT required all freshmen to live in the dormitory system starting in 2002. Because the fraternities and independent living groups had previously housed as many as 300 freshmen off-campus, the new policy did not take effect until 2002 after Simmons Hall opened.

Organization and administration

Building 7 (at 77 Massachusetts Avenue) is regarded as the entrance to campus

MIT is chartered as a non-profit organization and is owned and governed by a privately appointed board of trustees known as the MIT Corporation. The current board consists of 43 members elected to five year terms, 25 life members who vote until their 75th birthday, three elected officers (President, Treasurer, and Secretary), and four ex officio members including the president of the alumni association, theGovernor of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Secretary of Education, and the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The board is chaired by John S. Reed, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup. The corporation approves the budget, new programs, degrees, and faculty appointments as well as electing the President to serve as the chief executive officer of the university and presiding over the Institute's faculty. The sixteenth and current president, Susan Hockfield, a molecular neurobiologist, succeeded Charles M. Vest's fourteen year tenure in December 2004 and is the first woman to hold the post. MIT's endowment and other financial assets are managed through a subsidiary MIT Investment Management Company (MITIMCo). Valued at $8.0 billion in 2009, MIT's endowment is the sixth-largest among American colleges and universities. L. Rafael Reif a professor of Electrical Engineering is the current Provost of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT is "a university polarized around science, engineering, and the arts." It has five schools (Science, Engineering, Architecture and Planning, Management, and Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences) and one college (Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology), but no schools of law or medicine. The chair of each of MIT's 32 academic departments reports to the dean of that department's school, who in turn reports to the Provost under the President. However, faculty committees assert substantial control over many areas of MIT's curriculum, research, student life, and administrative affairs.

Collaborations

Eero Saarinen's Kresge Auditorium(1955) is a classic example of the post-war architecture

The university historically pioneered research and training collaborations between the academy, industry and government. Fruitful collaborations with industrialists like Alfred P. Sloan and Thomas Alva Edison led President Compton to establish an Office of Corporate Relations and an Industrial Liaison Program in the 1930s and 1940s that now allows over 600 companies to license research and consult with MIT faculty and researchers. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, American politicians and business leaders accused MIT and other universities of contributing to a declining economy by transferring taxpayer-funded research and technology to international — especially Japanese — firms that were competing with struggling American businesses.

Harvard University USA

2012-02-12T04:34:00.001-08:00

Harvard University is an American private Ivy League research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation(officially The President and Fellows of Harvard College) chartered in the country. Harvard's history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

Harvard was named after its first benefactor, John Harvard. Although it was never formally affiliated with a church, the college primarily trainedCongregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Harvard's curriculum and students became increasingly secular throughout the 18th century and by the 19th century had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites. Following the American Civil War, PresidentCharles W. Eliot's forty year tenure (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a centralized research university, and Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900.James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College. Drew Gilpin Faust was elected the 28th president in 2007 and is the first woman to lead the university.

20th century

Richard Rummell's 1906 watercolor landscape view, facing northeast.

During the 20th century, Harvard's international reputation grew as a burgeoning endowment and prominent professors expanded the university's scope. Explosive growth in the student population continued with the addition of new graduate schools and the expansion of the undergraduate program. Radcliffe College, established in 1879 as sister school of Harvard College, became one of the most prominent schools for women in the United States.

Meritocracy

James Bryant Conant (president, 1933–1953) reinvigorated creative scholarship to guarantee its preeminence among research institutions. He saw higher education as a vehicle of opportunity for the talented rather than an entitlement for the wealthy, so Conant devised programs to identify, recruit, and support talented youth. In 1943, he asked the faculty make a definitive statement about what general education ought to be, at the secondary as well as the college level. The resulting Report, published in 1945, was one of the most influential manifestos in the history of American education in the 20th century.

In 1945–1960 admissions policies were opened up to bring in students from a more diverse applicant pool. No longer drawing mostly from rich alumni of select New England prep schools, the undergraduate college was now open to striving middle class students from public schools; many more Jews and Catholics were admitted, but few blacks, Hispanics or Asians.

Women

Women remained segregated at Radcliffe, though more and more took Harvard classes. Nonetheless, Harvard's undergraduate population remained predominantly male, with about four men attending Harvard College for every woman studying at Radcliffe. Following the merger of Harvard and Radcliffe admissions in 1977, the proportion of female undergraduates steadily increased, mirroring a trend throughout higher education in the United States. Harvard's graduate schools, which had accepted females and other groups in greater numbers even before the college, also became more diverse in the post-World War II period.

In 1999, Radcliffe College, founded in 1879 as the "Harvard Annex for Women", merged formally with Harvard University, becoming the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Drew Gilpin Faust, the Dean at Radcliffe, became the first woman president of Harvard in 2007.

Harvard Yard as seen from the Holyoke Center

Liberalism

Harvard and its affiliates, like many American universities, are considered by some to be politically liberal (left of center). Conservative author William F. Buckley, Jr. quipped that he would rather be governed by the first 2000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty, Richard Nixon famously referred to Harvard as the "Kremlin on the Charles" around 1970, and Vice President George H.W. Bush disparaged what he saw to be Harvard's liberalism during the 1988 presidential election.

President Lawrence Summers resigned his presidency in 2006. His resignation came just one week before a second planned vote of no confidence by the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Former president Derek Bok served as interim president. Members of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which instructs graduate students in GSAS and undergraduates in Harvard College, had passed an earlier motion of "lack of confidence" in Summers' leadership on March 15, 2005 by a 218–185 vote, with 18 abstentions. The 2005 motion was precipitated by comments about the causes of gender demographics in academia made at a closed academic conference and leaked to the press. In response, Summers convened two committees to study this issue: the Task Force on Women Faculty and the Task Force on Women in Science and Engineering. Summers had also pledged $50 million to support their recommendations and other proposed reforms. Drew Gilpin Faust is the 28th president of Harvard. An American historian, former dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and Lincoln Professor of History at Harvard University, Faust is the first female president in the university's history.

Administration and organization

Harvard University campus (circa 1938)

A faculty of approximately 2,410 professors, lecturers, and instructors serve as of school year 2009–10, with 7,180 undergraduate and 13,830graduate students. The school color is crimson, which is also the name of the Harvard sports teams and the daily newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. The color was unofficially adopted (in preference to magenta) by an 1875 vote of the student body, although the association with some form of red can be traced back to 1858, when Charles William Eliot, a young graduate student who would later become Harvard's 21st and longest-serving president (1869–1909), bought red bandanas for his crew so they could more easily be distinguished by spectators at a regatta.

The John Harvard statue in Harvard Yardis occasionally a target of humorous decorations, such as the colorful lei shown above.

Harvard has a friendly rivalry with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which dates back to 1900 when a merger of the two schools was frequently discussed and at one point officially agreed upon (ultimately canceled by Massachusetts courts). Today, the two schools cooperate as much as they compete, with many joint conferences and programs, including the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, the Broad Institute, the Harvard-MIT Data Center and formerly the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology. In addition, students at the two schools can cross-register in undergraduate or graduate classes without any additional fees, for credits toward their own school's degrees.

Organization

Massachusetts Hall (1720) is the oldest building in the Harvard campus.

Harvard Yard in the winter, withfreshman dorms in the background

Harvard has the following faculties:

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which is primarily responsible for instruction in:
- Harvard College (founded 1636)
- The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (organized 1872)
- The Harvard Division of Continuing Education, including Harvard Summer School (1871) and Harvard Extension School (1910)
Harvard Medical School (1782)
Harvard School of Dental Medicine (1867)
Harvard Divinity School (1816)
Harvard Law School (1817)
Harvard Business School (1908)
Graduate School of Design (1914)
Harvard Graduate School of Education (1920)
Harvard School of Public Health (1922)
Harvard Kennedy School (1936)
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (1999)
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (2007)

Endowment

Harvard has the largest university endowment in the world. As of September 2011, it had nearly regained the loss suffered during the 2008 recession. It was worth $32 billion in 2011, up from $27.6 billion in September 2010 and $25.7 billion 2009. It suffered about 30% loss in 2008-2009. In December 2008, Harvard announced that its endowment had lost 22% (approximately $8 billion) from July to October 2008, necessitating budget cuts. Later reports suggest the loss was actually more than double that figure, a reduction of nearly 50% of its endowment in the first four months alone. Forbes in March 2009 estimated the loss to be in the range of $12 billion. One of the most visible results of Harvard's attempt to re-balance its budget was their halting of construction of the $1.2 billion Allston Science Complex that had been scheduled to be completed by 2011, resulting in protests from local residents.

International English Language Testing System

2012-02-12T04:32:00.000-08:00

IELTS , or 'International English Language Testing System', is an international standardised test of English language proficiency. It is jointly managed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations, the British Council and IDP Education Pty Ltd, and was established in 1989.

There are two versions of the IELTS: the Academic Version and the General Training Version:

The Academic Version is intended for those who want to enroll in universities and other institutions of higher education and for professionals such as medical doctors and nurses who want to study or practise in an English-speaking country.
The General Training Version is intended for those planning to undertake non-academic training or to gain work experience, or for immigration purposes.

IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian, Irish, New Zealand and South African academic institutions, over 3,000 academic institutions in the United States, and various professional organisations. It is also a requirement for immigration to Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

No minimum score is required to pass the test. An IELTS result or Test Report Form is issued to all candidates with a score from 1 (no knowledge) to 9 (expert user) and each institution sets a different threshold. Institutions are advised not to consider valid a report older than two years, unless the user proves that he has worked to maintain his level.

In 2007, IELTS tested over a million candidates in a single 12-month period for the first time ever, making it the world's most popular English language test for higher education and immigration.

In 2009, 1.4 million candidates took the IELTS test in over 130 countries.The IELTS incorporates the following features.

IELTS characteristics

A variety of accents and writing styles have presented in text materials in order to minimise linguistic bias.
IELTS tests the ability to listen, read, write and speak in English.
Band scores used for each language sub-skill (Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking). The Band Scale ranges from 0 ("Did not attempt the test") to 9 ("Expert User").
The speaking module - a key component of IELTS. This is conducted in the form of a one-to-one interview with an examiner. The examiner assesses the candidate as he or she is speaking, but the speaking session is also recorded for monitoring as well as re-marking in case of an appeal against the banding given.
IELTS is developed with input from item writers from around the world. Teams are located in the USA, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other English-speaking nations.

IELTS test structure

All candidates must complete four Modules - Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking - to obtain a band score, which is shown on the IELTS Test Report Form (TRF). All candidates take the same Listening and Speaking Modules, while the Reading and Writing Modules differ depending on whether the candidate is taking the Academic or General TrainingVersions of the Test.

Listening

The listening module comprises four sections. Each section begins with a short introduction telling the candidates about the situation and the speakers. Then they have some time to look through the questions. The first three sections have a break in the middle allowing candidates to look at the remaining questions. Each section is heard only once. SID

Reading

In the academic module the reading test comprises three sections, with 3 texts normally followed by 13 or 14 questions for a total of 40 questions overall. The General test also has 3 sections. However the texts are shorter, so there can be up to 5 texts to read.

Writing

In the Academic module, there are two tasks: in Task 1 candidates describe a diagram, graph, process or chart, and in Task 2 they respond to an argument. In the General Training module, there are also two tasks: in Task 1 candidates write a letter or explain a situation, and in Task 2 they write an essay.

Speaking

The speaking test contains three sections. The first section takes the form of an interview during which candidates may be asked about their hobbies, interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers and the internet or family. In the second section candidates are given a topic card and then have one minute to prepare after which they must speak about the given topic. The third section involves a discussion between the examiner and the candidate, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in part 2.

Duration

The total test duration is around 2 hours and 45 minutes for Listening, Reading and Writing modules.

Listening: 40 minutes, 30 minutes for which a recording is played centrally and additional 10 minutes for transferring answers onto the OMR answer sheet.
Reading: 60 minutes.
Writing: 60 minutes.
Speaking: 11–14 minutes.

(N.B.: No additional time is given for transfer of answers in Reading and Writing modules)

The first three modules - Listening, Reading and Writing (always in that order) - are completed in one day, and in fact are taken with no break in between. The Speaking Module may be taken, at the discretion of the test centre, in the period seven days before or after the other Modules.

The tests are designed to cover the full range of ability from non-user to expert user.

Band scale

IELTS is scored on a nine-band scale, with each band corresponding to a specified competence in English. Overall Band Scores are reported to the nearest half band.

The following rounding convention applies: if the average across the four skills ends in .25, it is rounded up to the next half band, and if it ends in .75, it is rounded up to the next whole band.

The nine bands are described as follows:

9	Expert User	Has full operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding.
8	Very Good User	Has full operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.
7	Good User	Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriateness and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning.
6	Competent User	Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
5	Modest user	Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own field.
4	Limited User	Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent problems in using complex language.
3	Extremely Limited User	Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations.
2	Intermittent User	No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs.
1	Non User	Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words.
0	Did not attempt the test	No assessable information provided at all.

A 6.5 IELTS score lies roughly between B2 and C1 levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and >8 scores are C2.

Conversion table

This table can be used for the Listening tests to convert raw scores to band scores. This chart is a guide only, because sometimes the scores adjust slightly depending on how difficult the exam is.

Band Score	9.0	8.5	8.0	7.5	7.0	6.5	6.0	5.5	5.0	4.5	4.0	3.5	3.0	2.5
Raw score	39 – 40	37 – 38	35 – 36	32 – 34	30 – 31	26 – 29	23 – 25	18 – 22	16 – 17	13 – 15	10 – 12	8 – 9	6 – 7	4 – 5

McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario

2012-02-12T04:30:00.001-08:00

McMaster University (commonly referred as McMaster or Mac) is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton,Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on 121 hectares (300 acres) of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens. The university operates six academic faculties: Engineering, Health Science, Humanities, Social Sciences, Science, and the DeGroote School of Business. It is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada.

The university bears the name of Honourable William McMaster, a prominent Canadian Senator and banker who bequeathed C$900,000 to the founding of the university. McMaster University was incorporated under the terms of an act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1887, merging the Toronto Baptist College with Woodstock College. It opened in Toronto in 1890. Inadequate facilities and the gift of land in Hamilton prompted the institution to relocate in 1930. McMaster was controlled by the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec until it became a privately chartered, publicly funded non-denominational institution in 1957.

The university is co-educational, and has nearly 23,000 undergraduate and over 3,500 post-graduate students. Alumni and former students of the university can be found all across Canada and in 129 countries around the world.The McMaster athletic teams are known as the Marauders, and are members of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport.

Official Website: http://mcmaster.ca

Campus

McMaster University is situated in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, located in the Golden Horseshoe along the western end of Lake Ontario. The main campus is bordered to the north by Cootes Paradise, an extensive natural marshland, to the east and west by residential neighbourhoods, and to its south by Main Street West, a major transportation artery. Its northern boundaries are a popular destination for walkers who make use of the many trails that connect the campus to the Royal Botanical Gardens. While the main campus is 152.4 hectares (377 acres), the majority of the teaching facilities are centered within the core 12.1 hectares (30 acres). In addition to its main campus in Hamilton, McMaster owns several other properties around Hamilton, as well as in Burlington, Kitchener, and St. Catharines, Ontario.

The buildings at McMaster vary in age, with Hamilton Hall opening in 1926, to the university's new nuclear research facility, which opened in 2011. Plans to construct a new academic building in 2013, known as the Wilson Building for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, are underway after securing a substantial donation from the university's chancellor, Lynton Wilson, as well as securing funding from the provincial government. McMaster main campus is divided up into three main areas: the Core Campus, North Campus and West Campus. The Core Campus is where the majority of the university's academic, research and residential buildings are located while the North Campus is made up of the university's athletic precinct and a small amount of surface parking. The West Campus is the least developed area of the main campus, containing only a few buildings, surface parking, and undeveloped land.

Panoramic view of McMaster University from the Southwest

Academic facilities

University Hall displays a Gothic Revival architectural style

The university's campus has gone through continuous development since 1928. The main campus's six original buildings are of neo-Gothicarchitecture. They are now flanked by over fifty structures built predominantly during booms in the 1950s, 1960s and during the 2000s. The largest facility is the McMaster University Medical Centre, a multi-use research hospital that ranks amongst the largest pediatric academic health sciences centres in Canada and one of the busiest children's hospitals in Ontario. It is connected to the Life Sciences building and the Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning & Discovery, which houses many well-funded research groups in areas of genetics, infectious diseases, and several specific conditions.

The McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR) has been the largest university reactor in the Commonwealth since it began operation and is the second largest research reactor in North America. It is a "pool-type" reactor with a core of enriched uranium fuel moderated and cooled by distilled water. While the MNR's primary purpose is research and the production of medical isotopes, the MNR is also serves students in nuclear engineering, medical and health physics, and other applied radiation sciences. The university provides a wide range of irradiation, laboratory, and holding facilities, which include a cyclotron, an accelerator, a small-angle neutron-scattering detector, and wide-angle neutron scattering facilities. The cyclotron is used for the production of fluorine-18, and is used for research purposes, particularly the development of novel molecular imaging agents.

McMaster University Libraries include four libraries housing 1,645,876 volumes and 3,620,092 total resources, including videos, maps, sound recordings, and microfilm. Mills Library houses the humanities and social sciences collections, with a wide range of print and digital resources. Innis Library houses content which supports the academic and research interests of the DeGroote School of Business. Thode Library houses academic material of various disciplines of science and engineering, while the Health Science Library houses books pertaining to medical sciences.

Housing and student facilities

McMaster University Student Centre on the left next to Mills Library to the right

Currently McMaster has twelve smoke-free student residences: Bates, Brandon, Edwards, Hedden, Les Prince, Mary E. Keyes, Matthews, McKay, Moulton, Wallingford, Whidden, and Woodstock Hall. McMaster's student residences can accommodate 3,685 students in total. The latest residence to be built was Les Prince Hall, a large co-ed building, completed in 2006. It was named for a long-time hall master in the residence system who lived with his family on campus until after his retirement in 1980. Residences provide traditional room and board style, furnished apartment style, and suite-style accommodation. Brandon Hall and Whidden Hall house the university's substance-free lifestyle living spaces. The residence system is supervised by Residence Life staff, who provide guidance and help the transition to university life for many first-year students.Residence students are represented by the Inter-Residence Council (IRC), which aims to build a sense of community among the residents through programming.

The McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) is the center of student life and programming. It contains a café, study space, common areas, and a number of administrative departments, including the CIBC Conference Hall. The MUSC contains the offices of a number of student organizations, including the McMaster Students Union and The Silhouette weekly newspaper as well as other services such as the Campus Health Centre and the campus dentist. The university has over twenty dining outlets located throughout the campus, including two major residence dining facilities. The university has a number of vegetarian establishments, such as a completely vegetarian cafe known as Bridges Café and a farmers market stand. The university was voted as the country's most vegan-friendly university through People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for a number of years. Several other dining outlets at McMaster have garnered a number of awards throughout the years for food services.

Concordia University Montreal (Quebec)

2012-02-12T04:29:00.001-08:00

Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction. For the 2008 to 2009 school year, total enrollment was 45,963 making the university the sixth largest in Canada.

According to a worldwide ranking by the École des Mines de Paris, Concordia ranks first among Canadian and 33rd among world universities in terms of graduates occupying the rank of Chief Executive Officer at Fortune 500 companies. The university is also home to the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema.

Concordia has well recognized programs and ranks highly in Canada and internationally in fields such as fine arts, social science, journalism and engineering. In the THES - QS World University Rankings of the top 500 universities in the world for 2010, Concordia University placed 401-450, and 19th overall in Canada. The university's John Molson School of Business is consistently ranked within the top ten Canadian business schools, and within the top 100 worldwide.

Official Website: http://Concordia.ca

Loyola College

Loyola College in 1937.

Loyola College was founded on Sherbrooke Street West in 1896 as an English-language program of the Jesuit Collège Sainte-Marie de Montreal (since merged into Université du Québec à Montréal). It was originally located at the Sacred Heart Convent in downtown Montreal. The college moved into the present west-end campus in 1916. Although founded as a collège classique (the forerunners of Quebec's CEGEPs), Loyola began granting university degrees through Université Laval as early as 1906. By 1940, collège classique programs were gone and Loyola became a four-year university, although it never obtained its own charter, granting its degrees through Laval or, after 1920, the Université de Montréal.

Loyola Chapel

The Loyola College chapel is a place of Catholic denomination worship for students, personnel as well as their families. The chapel is a classic example of gothic revival architecture. Charles William Kelsey created a twelve light stained glass war memorial window (1933) in the Loyola chapel. The windows depict the torture of the priests by North American Indians. In the dedication panel is written: "To the Greater Glory of God and In Memory of the Officers and Men of the 55th Irish Canadian Rangers." The Loyola Chapel has been converted in to a theatre named the F.C. Smith Auditorium.

Sir George Williams University

Sir George Williams University's Henry F. Hall Building in 1970.

In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on what is now De Maisonneuve Boulevard in Downtown Montreal, in a district now known as Quartier Concordia. From its early years, the YMCA offered evening classes to allow working people in the English-speaking community to pursue their education while working during the day. In 1926, the education program was re-organized as Sir George Williams College, named after George Williams, founder of the YMCA. In 1934, Sir George Williams College offered the first undergraduate credit course in adult education in Canada.

The College became Sir George Williams University (SGWU) in 1948, when it received a university charter from the provincial government, though it remained the education arm of the Montreal YMCA. SGWU expanded into its first standalone building, the Norris Building, in 1956. It established a Centre for Human Relations and Community Studies in 1963. SGWU continued to hold classes in the YMCA building until the construction of the Hall Building in 1966. The university gained international attention in 1969, when a group of students occupied the Hall Building's 9th floor computer lab.

University of Calgary Calgary, Alberta

2012-02-12T04:28:00.000-08:00

The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 (after operating as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta since 1945) the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently enrolled. The U of C has graduated over 145,000 alumni, including the current Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk.The University of Calgary is one of Canada’s top research universities (based on the number of Canada Research Chairs) and is a member of the U15 (the 15 most research-intensive universities in Canada).

Official Site: University of Calgary Calgary

The U of C is the birthplace of a number of important inventions, including the neurochip. The university's sponsored research revenue of $352 million, with total revenues exceeding $1.1 billion, is one of the highest in the country. Being in Calgary, with Canada's highest concentration of engineers and geoscientists, the Faculty of Science, Department of Geosciences and the Schulich School of Engineering maintain ties to the petroleum and geoscience industry.

The main campus is located in the north-west quadrant of Calgary, near the Bow River, and covers more than 200 hectares (500 acres).

Campuses

The University of Calgary was established in 1966, yet its roots date back more than half a century earlier to the establishment of the Normal School in Calgary in 1905. The Alberta Normal School was established in Calgary to train primary and secondary school teachers in the new province. The people of Calgary, however, attempted to establish another publicly-funded university in Calgary itself. "An Act to Incorporate the University of Calgary" was presented for first reading as a Bill in the Alberta Legislature in an attempt to establish a private university in Calgary. The Legislature allowed the institution to incorporate as 'Calgary College', rather than as the 'University of Calgary'. It withheld from the College the powers to confer degrees and to hold the examinations required for admission to the professions.

Calgary strove to have an institute of higher learning with degree conferring powers which led to the University of Alberta opening a branch in Calgary in 1945. The University of Alberta Calgary Branch eventually gained full autonomy in 1966 and became the University of Calgary.

Ranking

University rankings
University of Calgary
ARWU World	151-200
THE-WUR World	226-250
Canadian rankings
ARWU National	7-8
Maclean's Medical/Doctoral	8

Webometrics University Rankings, which ranks universities on their presence on the Internet, ranks the University of Calgary 70th in the USA and Canada category and 93rd in the world. It is ranked 6th in Canada.

Research Infosource ranks the top 50 research universities in Canada each year. In its 2009 ranking Calgary was 6th.

Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks the university 7-8 in the national category. Calgary's Haskayne School of Business has for years dominated the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.), hosted annually by Queen's University. For much of the competition's lifetime, the teams representing Haskayne have come out on top each year by winning first in the majority of the competition's case study categories, including accounting, business policy, debating, ethics, finance, human resources, marketing, and MIS. In 2010, The Economist ranked Haskayne's MBA program 3rd within Canada, 43rd in North America, and 82nd worldwide.

The University of Calgary ranks 8th in the medical-doctoral category of Maclean's annual university rankings. However, the rankings have been met with criticism. The University of Calgary and other universities have argued that Maclean's Magazine takes data out of context and is an inaccurate reflection of performance. In 2006, 21 Canadian universities along with the University of Calgary, many being part of the leading group of research universities known as the U15, opted out of the rankings. Other universities opting out in 2006 included Alberta, British Columbia, Carleton, Dalhousie, Lethbridge, Manitoba, McMaster, Montréal, Ottawa, Simon Fraser, Toronto and Queen's.

Reputation

The School motto on display

The University of Calgary has been ranked as one of the top universities in Canada, and ranked 149th worldwide. The university enjoys high rankings in its science and engineering programs. Historically the university has produced 11 Rhodes Scholars. In October 2008, the University of Calgary was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine. Later that month, the university was also named one of Alberta's Top Employers. The Globe and Mail's University Report Card reflects the opinions of 25,000 current undergraduates who responded to some 100 questions about their respective universities. The University of Calgary received scores of A- and above in the following categories:

overall academic reputation of the university, reputation of university among employers, reputation for conducting leading-edge research, reputation for undergraduate studies, reputation for graduate studies
overall quality of education, faculty members' knowledge of subjects
overall university atmosphere, sense of personal safety/security, tolerance for diverse opinions/ideas, availability of quiet study space, overall library, library services, online library resources, availability of journals/articles/periodicals, total number of library holdings, computer accessibility on campus, availability of up-to-date computer equipment, on-campus network for Internet/email, overall quality/availability of technology on campus, access to course/teaching materials online.

Imperial College London

2012-02-12T04:24:00.000-08:00

Imperial College London (officially The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research universitylocated in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine. Formerly a constituent college of the federal University of London, Imperial became fully independent in 2007, the 100th anniversary of its founding.

Imperial's main campus is located in the South Kensington area of central London on the boundary between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster, with its main entrance on Exhibition Road. It has a number of other campuses in central London, including in Chelsea, Hammersmith and Paddington. With a total of 525,233 square metres of operational property, it has the largest estate of any higher education institution in the UK. Imperial is organised into four main academic units – Imperial College Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College Faculty of Engineering and the Imperial College Business School – within which there are over 40 departments, institutes and research centres.

Imperial has around 13,500 full-time students and 3,330 academic and research staff and had a total income of £694 million in 2009/10, of which £297 million was from research grants and contracts. Imperial is a major centre for biomedical research and is a founding member of the Imperial College Healthcare academic health science centre. It is ranked 24th in the world (and 5th in Europe) in the 2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities, 6th in the world (and 3rd in Europe) in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, and 8th in the world (and 3rd in Europe) in the 2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. There are currently 14 Nobel Prize winners and two Fields Medal winners amongst Imperial's alumni and current and former faculty.

Offiial Site: imperial college london

Campus

The Natural History Museum on Exhibition Road

Imperial's main campus is in South Kensington, situated in an area with a high concentration of cultural and academic institutions known as Albertopolis, which also includes the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal College of Music, the Royal College of Art, the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Albert Hall. The expansion of the South Kensington campus in the 1960s absorbed the site of the former Imperial Institute, designed by Thomas Collcutt, of which only the 287 foot (87 m) high Queen's Tower remains among the more modern buildings.

Imperial has two other major campuses – at Silwood Park (near Ascot in Berkshire) and at Wye (near Ashford in Kent). The Wye campus, some of it dating back to the 15th century, is currently vacant and available for sale or rent. The Imperial College NHS Trust has multiple hospitals throughout Greater London and various medic lectures are conducted within these hospitals, including St. Mary's Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital, Northwick Park Hospital & St. Mark's Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital. In 1997, the parliamentary Imperial College Act 1997 officially transferred all the obligations, powers and property of Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, the National Heart and Lung Institute and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School to Imperial.

Extensive renovation continues throughout the College estate. Recent major projects include the Imperial College Business School, the Ethos sports centre, the Southside hall of residence and the Eastside hall of residence. Current major projects include the reconstruction of the south-eastern quadrant of the South Kensington campus.

Organisation and administration

Imperial College Business School entrance on Exhibition Road

Faculties and departments

Imperial’s research and teaching is organised within a network of faculties and academic departments. Imperial currently has the following three constituent faculties:

The Imperial College Business School, Graduate Schools, Department of Humanities and Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine exist as academic units outside of the faculty structure.

The humanities department's main purpose is to provide elective subjects and language courses outside the field of science for students in the other faculties and departments. Students are encouraged to take these classes either for credit or in their own time, and in some departments this is mandatory. Courses exist in a wide range of topics including philosophy, ethics in science and technology, history, modern literature and drama, art in the twentieth century, film studies. Language courses are available in French, German, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin Chinese. The humanities department also runs a full-time course in scientific translation, and is home to the Science Communication Group which offers Masters degrees in Science Communication and Science Media Production for science graduates.

McMaster University Canada

2012-02-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

McMaster University

McMaster University (commonly referred as McMaster or Mac) is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton,Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on 121 hectares (300 acres) of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens.] The university operates six academic faculties: Engineering, Health Science, Humanities, Social Sciences, Science, and the DeGroote School of Business. It is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada.
The university bears the name of Honourable William McMaster, a prominent Canadian Senator and banker who bequeathed C$900,000 to the founding of the university. McMaster University was incorporated under the terms of an act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1887, merging the Toronto Baptist College with Woodstock College. It opened in Toronto in 1890. Inadequate facilities and the gift of land in Hamilton prompted the institution to relocate in 1930. McMaster was controlled by the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec until it became a privately chartered, publicly funded non-denominational institution in 1957.
The university is co-educational, and has nearly 23,000 undergraduate and over 3,500 post-graduate students. Alumni and former students of the university can be found all across Canada and in 129 countries around the world. The McMaster athletic teams are known as theMarauders, and are members of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
History
McMaster University resulted from the outgrowth of educational initiatives undertaken by Baptists as early as the 1830s. It was founded in 1881 as Toronto Baptist College. Canadian Senator William McMaster, the first president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, bequeathed funds to endow a university, which was incorporated through a merger of Toronto Baptist College and Woodstock College. In 1887 the Act to unite Toronto Baptist College and Woodstock College was granted royal assent, and McMaster University was officially incorporated. The new University, housed in McMaster Hall in Toronto, was sponsored by the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec as a sectarian undergraduate institution for its clergy and adherents. The first courses—initially limited to arts and theology leading to a BA degree—were taught in 1890, and the first degrees were conferred in 1894.

McMaster University in Toronto circa 1906
As the university grew, McMaster Hall started to become overcrowded. The suggestion to move the university to Hamilton was first brought up by a student and Hamilton native in 1909, although the proposal was not seriously considered by the university until two years later. By the 1920s, after previous proposals between various university staff, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce launched a campaign to bring McMaster University to Hamilton. As the issue of space at McMaster Hall became more acute, the university administration debated the future of the university. The university nearly became federated with the University of Toronto, as had been the case with Trinity College and Victoria College. Instead, in 1927, the university administration decided to transfer the university to Hamilton. The Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec secured $1.5 million, while the citizens of Hamilton raised an additional $500,000 to help finance the move. The lands for the university and new buildings were secured through gifts from graduates. Lands were transferred from the Royal Botanical Gardens to establish the campus area. The first academic session on the new Hamilton campus began in 1930. McMaster's property in Toronto was sold to the University of Toronto when McMaster moved to Hamilton in 1930. McMaster Hall is now home to the Royal Conservatory of Music.
The University traditionally focused on undergraduate studies, and did not offer a PhD program until 1949.

Hamilton Hall was constructed in 1926 in preparation for the university's move to Hamilton and now houses the Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Through the 1950s increased funding advanced the place of sciences within the institution. In 1950, the university had completed the construction of three academic buildings for the sciences, all designed by local architect William Russell Souter. Public funding was eventually necessary to ensure the humanities and social sciences were given an equal place. Thus, in 1957 the University reorganized once again underThe McMaster University Act, 1957, dissolving the two colleges. Its property was vested to McMaster and the university became a nondenominational institution eligible for public funding. The historic Baptist connection was continued through McMaster Divinity College, a separately chartered affiliated college of the university. Also in 1957, Ph.D. programs were consolidated in a new Faculty of Graduate Studies.[17] Construction of the McMaster Nuclear Reactor also began in 1957, and was the first university-based research reactor in theCommonwealth when it began operating in 1959.