The Great Lakes Region of the USA

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