A Comparative Study: Specialized Postgraduate Education Between China And USA

Since more and more people started paying close attention and importance to acquiring higher-level education, specialized postgraduate education in China has achieved tremendous progress. From 1981,when student registrations started, specialized postgraduate education has had rapid development, and since then, formed our country's unique postgraduate training pattern. But since this specialized postgraduate education in our country has been within a short period of time, there is still insufficient experience, coupled with the society diverse high demand for intellectuals and yet the theoretical and practical aspect of our postgraduate training still have some problems a waiting urgent solutions. Specialized postgraduate education in USA date back since 19th century from Clark University, while the modern specialized postgraduate education traced back from Columbia University and Harvard University respectively in USA, then widely spread to many Europe and Asian countries, it has become today's internationally recognized and imitated success model. This paper discusses, from different perspective, the training pattern of specialized postgraduate education in both China and USA. By method of comparison study, a longitudinal and horizontal comparative analysis of postgraduate education in both China and USA is carried out, longitudinal analysis analyses the formation, development and the transformation of specialized postgraduate education by means of comparative analysis of their historical back ground. Horizontal analysis analyses the essential factors such as aim of training, plan and training guide as well as teaching management involve in the intellectual training process, and then carry out systematic comparative analysis. This paper has put much emphasis on analysis of similarities and difference in intellectual training pattern between the two countries and also made effort to reflect as a whole, the basic characteristics of training systems and development process of specialized postgraduate education in the two countries. This is to serve as a functional model for reform of specialized postgraduate education in our country.