what is the process of higher education.

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2 Apr 2024

Too often, American college students face a one-question test, one based not on facts, but on ideology. The test: “Are you a liberal, or conservative?”
The correct answer is, “I’m a liberal, and proud of it.” That concerns me.
However, the nature of my concern may surprise you. I’m not worried much about the students who get it wrong; for the most part, they actually get a pretty good education.
I’m worried about those who get it right. The young people that our educational system is failing are the students on the left. They aren’t being challenged, and don’t learn to think.
Students on the left should sue for breach of contract. We promise to educate them, and then merely pat them on the head for having memorized the “correct” answer!
I was Chair of Political Science at Duke for ten years. At a meeting of department heads, we heard from the chair of one our Departments of Indignation Studies.
(We have several departments named “Something-or-Other Studies.” In most cases, they were constituted for the purpose of focusing indignation about the plight of a group that has suffered real and imagined slights and now needs an academic department to be indignant in.)
At the meeting, the chair of one of those departments said, “I find that I don’t really need to spend much time with the liberal students, because they already have it right. I spend most of my time arguing with the conservative students. That’s how I spend my time in class.”
This woman was teaching conservative students how to think about arguments and evidence; how to make your arguments in a persuasive way. She was educating them.
Her liberal students? They were given that one-question test. They were just certified as already “knowing what they need to know.”
It may have come as a shock to the parents of these liberal students that they had learned everything they needed to know…in high school! Having memorized a kind of secular leftist catechism, they were free to wander around the quads of Duke and enjoy themselves.
Once we realize that the problem with our educational system is that we’re short-changing students on the left, denying them an education just because they happen to agree with the professor, then we have a path forward.
The way to think of this comes from John Stuart Mill, who argued that we should regard our overall approach to education as collision with error. He wrote:

[The] peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.

So, the absence, in many departments, of dissenting voices is harmful. Not so much harmful to those who would agree with the dissenting voice, but those who are denied the chance to collide with error.
It’s as if we asked students to play chess, but only taught them one-move openings. They think that pawn to king four is a better move than pawn to king’s rook four, but that’s simply a matter of faith.
Conservative students, by contrast, actually learn to play chess. They study the whole game, not just the first move. They learn countermoves, they consider the advantages of different approaches. They search out empirical arguments, and they read articles and white papers.
Mill summarizes the difference brilliantly:

He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that. …if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion. (Emphasis added).

What happens when a leftist student confronts arguments he or she disagrees with? After all, they sometimes hear views that contradict their own. The problem is that they have always been rewarded for facile rejoinders, the equivalent of one-move chess games.
There is a ceremony that goes with this, something one of my colleagues calls “The Women’s Studies Nod.” When someone makes a ridiculously extreme, empirically unfounded but ideologically correct argument, everyone else must nod vigorously.
Not just a, “Yes, that’s correct,” nod, but “Yes, you are correct, you are one of us, we are one spirit and one great collective shared mind” nod.
What if someone withholds the Nod?
Since the children of the left have never actually had to play a full chess game of argument, they need a response. Their responses are two: “You are an idiot; no one important believes that,” or “You are evil; no good person could possibly believe that.”
At this point, leftist faculty teach the left students several different moves. Let’s consider a few.
Suppose I claim that rent control is a primary reason why there is such a shortage of affordable housing in New York and San Francisco. Here are the responses I have gotten from students:
1. Micro-aggression!
2. Check your privilege! (If they had a mic, they’d drop it, because this is supposed to be so devastating).
3. You must take money from the Koch Foundation.
4. Economists don’t understand the real world.
5. Prices don’t measure values. Values are about people. You don’t care about people.
Not one of those responses actually responds to, or even tries to understand, the argument that rent controls harm the populations that politicians claim they want to help.
The point is that if you cared about poor people, actually cared about consequences for poor people, you would oppose rent controls. But that’s not how the logic of the left works. Instead of caring about the poor, they want to be seen as caring about the poor.
Our colleagues on the left could choose to educate their liberal students, but since education requires “collision with error,” that is no longer possible. That’s because the faculty on the left were themselves educated by neglect, never confronting counterarguments, in a now self-perpetuating cycle of ignorance and ideological bigotry.
We honor and remember Milton Friedman here today. What might Professor Friedman have thought of the problem that I raise? He would probably have said that the answer is competition and empowering consumers to make their own best choices.
The problem is that education is a difficult arena for this argument, because students don’t know what they don’t know, and so it’s hard for them to know what they should want to know.
Nonetheless, our best hope lies in competition. A consumer-driven revolution in education will change, and in some ways has already changed, the dominance of the left in the academy.
Education is a consumer-driven business, in spite of what college faculty think. No other industry blames failure on its customers. Not even General Motors claimed that car-buyers were too stupid to appreciate their genius.
That is what many traditional colleges have been doing: Our students fail, we don’t. Students, however, are coming to see through that. Many of them, perhaps especially those on the left, recognize that they are being patronized rather than educated.
They want more. They want to hear the best arguments from the other side. It’s more interesting to play against the first team. A young person’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never shrinks back to its original dimension.
Lots of people on the left actually care about education. We have friends we don’t recognize. The issue is not ideology, but commitment to education.
I shudder when I see people on our side who want to solve the problem of political correctness simply by reversing the polarity. Conservatives who don’t understand liberal arguments are just as brain dead as the worst graduates being produced by our most craven Departments of Indignation Studies.
Education requires collision with error. If our side makes arguments respectfully, intellectually, insisting on balance first in our own classrooms, then we can change education in this country.

Last updated February 7, 2024
Most careers require only an associate or bachelor’s degree. However, some positions, such as doctors, lawyers and engineers, require you to earn higher levels of degrees before serving in those roles.
It’s important to map out your goals if you are interested in exploring one of these career paths. Though you can change your major as often as you’d like, some careers have specific educational tracks you must follow to enter the industry.
As you continue your education to higher levels of degrees, additional time and tuition are required. However, as you earn higher degrees, your starting income potential increases, and unemployment decreases because of the narrower scope of specialized knowledge you’ve gained through education.
The levels of college degrees, in order, are:

Associate degree
Bachelor’s degree
Master’s degree
Doctoral degree

For a complete breakdown of each level of college degree, keep reading.
Contents:

Exploring the levels of college degrees

ASSOCIATE DEGREES (UNDERGRADUATE)

An associate degree is an education level beyond a high school diploma but not yet to the level of a bachelor’s degree. Typically, associate degrees are two-year programs (or 60 course hours) offered in community colleges and technical colleges. They prepare you to go directly into the workforce, though some associate degree graduates will go on to earn their bachelor’s degree as some course credits may transfer to four-year colleges.
There are three types of associate degrees: Associate of Arts (A.A.), Associate of Science (A.S.) and Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.). An A.A.S. in Nursing is a specific degree program that transfers into a specific vocation, whereas an A.A. in Liberal Arts is a generalized program of study.
Popular associate degree careers include:

Dental hygienist
Web developer
Paralegal
Veterinary technician

BACHELOR’S DEGREES (UNDERGRADUATE)

A bachelor’s degree is a four-year program (or 120 course hours) offered by colleges and universities. Bachelor’s degrees require you to take general education courses (such as math, English and science) and specialized courses related to your chosen major.
Bachelor’s degrees offer a broad variety of subjects – more than any of the other levels of college degrees. You may choose from arts and sciences, business, psychology, and studio art, to name a few. Each of these programs of study will come with a different designation, such as the two most popular levels of bachelor’s degrees – B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) or B.S. (Bachelor of Science).
A Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree covers all arts studies, including anthropology, communications, French, music and politics (to name a few). In contrast, a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) includes studies of sciences, including engineering, mathematics, neuroscience and public \health.
Popular careers that require a bachelor’s degree include:

Software developer
Microbiologist
Registered nurse
High School teacher
Graphic designer

MASTER’S DEGREES (GRADUATE)

A master’s degree is an advanced degree obtained after a bachelor’s, typically requiring 1-2 years of additional study (or 30 course hours). Master’s degrees allow students to specialize in a particular area of interest, such as business, health and sciences or art, to become more employable or knowledgeable in an area of study.
Some master’s programs offer accelerated timelines, online-only programs or even nighttime courses for professionals in full-time careers. In 2021
, 52.8 million people held a bachelor’s degree, while 24.1 million held a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree.
A Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Science (M.S.) are the most popular master’s degree programs. However, Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) and Master of Social Work (MSW) are also popular programs.
Popular careers that typically require a master’s degree include:

Physician assistant
Political scientist
Occupational therapist
Historian
Social worker

DOCTORAL DEGREES (GRADUATE)

A doctoral degree (Ph.D.) is the highest level of degree, often requiring several years of research and study beyond a master’s degree. The length of time and course hours needed vary depending on the focus of the study.
Doctoral degrees emphasize research; therefore, Ph.D. students often find careers in academia or highly specialized fields, such as medical, political or legal. A doctoral program requires students to participate in advanced courses, graduate-level seminars, and research labs and defend a dissertation to a committee.
A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the most commonly known doctoral degree, but these degree programs are not reserved for philosophy students. You can earn a Ph.D. in many other subjects, such as health and sciences or the arts. Other popular doctoral degrees include the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) and Juris Doctor (J.D.), which includes lawyers.
Popular professions that require a doctoral degree include:

Physician or surgeon
Pharmacist
Lawyer
Postsecondary teacher or professor
Dentist

Pre-professional programs, certificates, and minors

Pre-professional programs, certificates and minors are also available to add to your college diploma. These programs allow you to further your education with knowledge that complements your overall degree program or further your studies in an area of personal interest or development.

PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS

A pre-professional program prepares students for specific professional degrees in areas such as law or medicine. These programs provide the foundational knowledge necessary for success in professional schools, such as medical school. Popular pre-professional programs include pre-med or pre-law
.

CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

Certificate programs are short-term courses (or collections of courses) designed to strengthen specific career skills. They develop practical skills often valued in the job market and look attractive on job applications and resumes. Certificate programs are often related to newer subjects within a degree of study. For example, social media studies are more recent programs designed to educate students on rising social media trends in the marketing and advertising industries.

MINORS

Minors are additional areas of study outside a student’s major. Minors don’t typically contribute to the varying levels of college degrees, though they can complement chosen majors. Minors are not required to graduate, but they do allow students to explore diverse interests to enhance their professional skills and career marketability. Popular minor programs include foreign languages, journalism
and data analytics
.
No matter what career path you’re interested in, there’s a level of college degree to help get you there. While some careers require more extensive studies (like surgeon or lawyer), others require a shorter education, like veterinary technician. There is flexibility and variety available in all degree programs!
When you’re considering your path through college and the career world, exploration is encouraged. It’s wise to research all levels of degree programs related to your interests and desired career. You may even find a program that allows you to reach career certification while studying a personal interest!
Understanding the varying levels of degrees and available certificate and minor programs will allow you to make informed decisions about your higher education journey, ultimately saving you time (and tuition!) as you reach your dream career.

What degrees can you get at Furman University?

Furman offers more than 70 majors, minors and programs
, each designed to prepare you for a successful career. Whether you choose a bachelor’s degree program now, enroll in one of Furman’s graduate programs
after graduation or plan to continue to a doctoral degree, our advisors
can help you with the tools you need to continue achieving your goals.
The perspectives and thoughts shared in the Furman Blog belong solely to the author and may not align with the official stance or policies of Furman University. All referenced sources were accurate as of the date of publication.