Universities Accepting 3-year Degrees in USA

About a million students from all over the world aspire to study in the USA. The nation is home to some of the world’s most prestigious and fascinating educational institutions and universities, including Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California, MIT, University of Chicago, and many others. However, you should be aware that students planning to obtain a master’s degree from a USA university must have 16 years of educational experience (12+4) as an eligibility criterion. Most of the bachelor’s degree programs in India like the BBA, BCom, BA, BBM, BSc are completed in 3 years only. So does that mean that students having 15 years of educational experience are not permitted to study in the USA and pursue their higher education? This blog enlists the major Universities accepting 3-year degrees in the USA.

Do USA Universities accept students with a three-year bachelor’s degree?

For a long time, a regular three-year bachelor’s degree in any subject was not considered appropriate for graduate study at most USA universities. It usually welcomes students who have completed or are pursuing a two-year master’s degree after completing a three-year bachelor’s degree in India. To put it another way, any foreign candidate or student interested in pursuing a Master’s degree in the USA must have a college or university degree that is equivalent to a four-year American bachelor’s degree.

Many prestigious universities in the United States have recently shown remarkable versatility in this regard. These universities already welcome students who have completed at least 15 years of study. Having said that, an increasing number of universities have banded together and are pursuing the goal of becoming the universities accepting 3-year degrees in the USA.

List of Universities Accepting 3-year Degrees in USA

Here is an extensive list of Universities accepting 3-year degrees in the USA along with their designated QS Rankings.

Why does India award a three-year bachelor’s degree?

After knowing about the universities accepting 3-year degrees in the USA, let us try to understand why India awards a three-year bachelor’s degree to its students. Basically, the Indian higher education system is largely based on the British model, which includes a three-tiered degree structure: bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees.  While similar to the American scheme, Indian undergraduate or bachelor’s degree programs usually last three years.

A Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Business Management, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Commerce is awarded to students who complete a three-year program. As a result, Indian students with a three-year bachelor’s degree must normally complete additional credits in order to be accepted to a graduate school in the United States, which can be extremely frustrating and time-consuming if one is unaware of the universities accepting 3-year degrees in the USA.

What to do if your Preferred University or Program requires 16 years of education?

For some post-graduate programs, some universities only accept full 16-years (12+4) of study. Students are encouraged to contact the admissions committees of all universities in which they are involved. And if your chosen university or post-graduate degree does not meet the 16-year criteria, there are a few options for getting to your dream place.

You can have an assessment done by non-profit organizations like WES which evaluates foreign students’ credentials for research and higher education in the United States and Canada. However, WES considers certain Indian 3-year undergraduate degrees to be equal to a 4-year undergraduate degree in the United States only if:

• The degrees are awarded in Division 1 of the university system.
• The university that offers the undergraduate degree is accredited with an ‘A’ or better by India’s National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

Thus, we hope that this blog familiarized you with the universities Accepting 3-year degrees in USA. If you are confused about how to create a perfect application for such universities accepting 3-year degree in USA or anywhere in the world, sign up for a free session with our Leverage Edu counsellors and we will help you at every step of the application process! Call us immediately at 1800 57 2000 for a free 30-minute counselling session.