Many state nations, including the US and Belgium, work to adopt an unusual educational system designed to give their residents and even foreign students seeking higher education the best academic credentials.
Two major communities—Flemish and French—manage the higher education system in Belgium, and the Belgian government pays the fees. A secondary school diploma is required in Belgium in order to be qualified for higher education. Bachelor's, master's, advanced master's, and post-doctoral degree programs are offered by colleges in Belgium. The lengths of these programs are three years, one to two years, and three years, respectively. The university academic year is equally split into two semesters of 14 weeks of classes (“Higher Education In Belgium”). The 1st semester begins in the 3rd week of September with no Autumn holiday while the 2nd semester begins in early February, then a four-week Easter break, four weeks of exams in June, and finally a three-month holiday. Fee and admission requirements vary depending on the location of the community university, for example, there is a language proficiency test in Dutch or French. The scholarship is available both for the local and international students.
The United States is one of the nations that have both the private and public universities providing a flexible education system programs in bachelor, masters and doctorate degree levels. Regardless of the institution, students earn credits that count toward the course completion. It requires four years of study to acquire a bachelor degree, about two years for masters (one year for some master programs like journalism) while doctorate may require three or more years to earn (five or five years for international students). The U.S university academic calendar runs through September to May and can be divided into two semesters of sixteen to eighteen weeks or can be divided into four or trimester system of 10-12 terms.
There are some similarities between the U.S and Belgium university education system, though with slight differences like the academic year calendar structure, but generally, in the two university system, students are able to rightly find their financial, academic and personal needs.
Works Cited
"Higher Education In Belgium." Nature, vol 143, no. 3632, 1939, pp. 974-974. Springer Nature, doi:10.1038/143974c0.
https://educationusa.state.gov/experience-studying-usa/us-educational-system
http://www.european-funding-guide.eu/articles/funding-overview/higher-education-belgium
