Academic Program Search

Finding the right academic program for your higher education may not be too difficult as long as you know the right resources and search methods. Having adequate depth and breadth of information at hands can greatly help you in making an informed decision about your future education and, probably, a lifelong career. The activities in this section are designed to help you learn about some effective and time-saving methods to search for the academic programs that best suit your needs and preferences.

Sequence: Click on each box to explore the activities in the order as shown.

1		2		3		4
						FINAL CHECKLIST
Programs Directory by Subjects		Programs Directory by Schools		Online College Catalogs

College Blue Book, a long-time accredited annual reference, is a directory that provides extensive and up-to-date references about post-secondary education both in the U.S. and Canada. This directory, which are further divided into sub-categories, such as degrees offered and scholarships, is usually available solely for internal library use at the reference centers of most U.S. universities.

To get a better idea of this higher education directory, read the College Blue Book information page provided by the publisher's Web site.

  View the following video clip. While viewing, pay attention to these issues:

    1) The type of information that College Blue Book offers.

    2) The search criterion used when searching from College Blue Book.

Incorporate the information learned from Step 1 and Step 2 to complete this multiple-choice activity.

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Another highly-acclaimed reference source for post-secondary education, Peterson's Guide to Graduate Programs, features in-depth information about the institutions you search for, such as, admission requirements, filing periods, required fees and tests, scholarships, and even information about where you can live, etc. 

Not only that the Peterson's guide is available in print format at most university libraries, it is also available online. Visit the Peterson's Web site to learn more about this directory.

Print out the  Program Search worksheet and complete it with the information learned from the Peterson's Graduate School and Program Search page. Once complete, check out this answer key.

Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the Program Search worksheet.

View the following video clip. While viewing, find out what specific information this college catalog provides so that you can efficiently search this particular directory.

Incorporate the information learned from Steps 1 - 3 to complete this fill-in-the-gap activity.

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Like any other databases, you can also search for colleges or academic programs electronically. The activities below will introduce you to one of the respectable online college catalogs.

  Visit College Source, a Web site that serves as an online database for higher education directory. Make sure you visit their Advanced Search Page to see how you can search through this online catalog.

Read the information provided on the Search Tips page to learn about search strategies that may help you get more precise results.

Use the information learned from Step 2 to complete this fill-in-the-gap activity.

View the following video clip. While viewing, pay attention to how you can access the College Source database via the library databases portal.

Incorporate the information learned from Steps 1 - 4 to complete this short-quiz activity.

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Don't forget! If needed, you may replay the video clip again and again and again and again... before checking out the answer clues!