The Great Lakes region of the United States
is located in the east central part of North America and constitutes
a large section of the border with Canada. The five Great Lakes
- Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior - are the world’s
largest group of freshwater lakes. Much of this region comprises
the Upper Midwest of the United States and constitutes one of the
traditional mainstays of higher education.
Eight states border the five Great Lakes - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin - as well
as the Province of Ontario. The Great Lakes basin covers over 764,000
sq. km of land and water. The population of this region is 33 million
Americans and Canadians. The region is populated with an extensive
number of Indian reservations in each state and province.
The Great Lakes region is characterised by large industrial cities,
great expanses of rural farm land, and immense areas of environmentally
protected natural beauty. The major cities in the region include
Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Minneapolis. The Great
Lakes serve as the boundary between the United States and Canada.
The climate ranges from mild summers to very cold winters in the
northern areas and temperate winters in the southern areas. Recreational
resources and activities are available in all four seasons and support
a multi billion dollar industry. These activities include fishing,
boating, skiing, and camping. Niagara Falls is the most popular
tourist destination in this region.
Each of the states and Ontario are proud of their higher education
institutions that offer the international student a wide range of
educational options. The Great Lakes region is the home for large
research universities with student populations of more than thirty
thousand students that offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs
in every imaginable area of study. In addition, the region provides
a large number of regional state university campuses that focus
on teaching to a much greater extent; these institutions have smaller
campuses, usually with student populations of fewer than ten thousand
students. A wide variety of small liberal arts four year colleges
are also situated in this geographical region.
Selecting a university in the Great Lakes region provides that
student not only with a wide selection of choices for pursuing an
undergraduate degree, but also offers the opportunity of selecting
a masters or doctoral level program and remaining in the same geographical
area. Most universities in this region provide safe and secure learning
environments, with staff and resources dedicated to working with
international students. These universities have identified the need
to provide a multi cultural education for all their students, and
actively recruit students from other countries.
Universities in this region define higher education as encompassing
strong academic components, aligned with numerous opportunities
for extracurricular activities. Each of the universities provide
the library and computer resources that allow their students to
access any available information or set of data. The science labs,
at the research universities, provide state of the art facilities.
At the same time, students have the occasion to participate in almost
any activity that develops their social or recreational interests
or abilities, either on an informal basis or at an organised level.
Studying at a university in the Great Lakes region offers the student
an educational experience which matches their need and interests.
Each university provide support and counselling to interested students
seeking assistance in pursuing a program of studies.
Submitted by: R.T. Conboy, Ph.D, Co-ordinator, Office
of Graduate Studies, Lake Superior State University, Sault Ste.
Marie, Michigan
This article first appeared in Educational Courses in Britain
