The Galactic Education System

Education in the United Worlds is provided in public schools, private schools, academies, universities and education centres. While the Council of Education sets general education standards, the core curriculum is generally expanded with specific additions for homeworlds, colonies, languages and similar specific obligatory programmes. Private schools and private education centres are generally free to determine their own curriculum and staffing policies, but are subject to standardised testing to provide certification. Some certifications can only be provided by some institutions, like specialist degrees (AM.QEn, SX.Rls, LSc) and require a lengthy certification process.

Educational stages

Formal education is divided into a number of distinct educational stages numbered from 1 to 5. Most children enter the first stage in their first years of life, although this can vary on species and other factors.

Commonly, these five stages are not divided further down to make it easier to standardise, meaning that every grade is taught in the same institution.

  1. Stage 1: Nursery education

    Nursery education encompasses the ages 2-4 and is not obligatory. The curriculum in these earliest stages encompass basic social skills, language, creative and aesthetic development, physical health, play, teamwork and literacy.

  2. Stage 2: Essential education

    Essential education encompasses the ages of 4-12 and is obligatory in most of the settled worlds. The only exception to this are outposts and starbases where this type of education is not viable, even with remote learning technologies.

    It is designed to advance education of all citizens and balance educational differences between rural, colonial and urban areas. The purpose of essential education is to instill values of ethics and social communication abilities as well as language skills, mathematics, tech literacy, scientific literacy and physical education, which is especially important in environments of low gravity.

    Essential education is often considered the baseline on which the further stages expand upon and as such is obligatory for every citizen of the United Worlds.

  3. Stage 3: Specialised education

    Specialised education begins after graduation from Essential education and takes the form of a credit-based campus system. While not every student chooses or can take this option, it is encouraged to take on specialised education on the campus of a specialised education facility, such as a trade school or a technical school.

    After graduation of stage 2, the student is presented with a wide variety of topics on which to certify themselves. The certification tests for each topic vary greatly and can sometimes include - in addition to the written examination - a demonstration of the learned abilities, an internship, a real-life situation test or a competition. Certification tests are always available and do not require attending classes, but classes are provided and serve as a reliable way to learn a new skill to acquire said certification.

    It is here that the education system splits. As of 66, the specialised education system allows for 253 different specialised certificates to be attained across the subjects of art, history, engineering, social sciences, natural sciences, quantum sciences and physical education. As soon as the highest certification in a subject is reached - usually a Specialised Expert (SX) certificate - the student is cleared for academic education in the next stage. However, many choose to take their SX degrees into the real world and end their education there.

  4. Stage 4: Academia

    Academic education is considered the final stage of education for most and consists of independent studies, lectures and regular written examinations. It is here that an Academic Master (AM) degree can be attained after three years, as well as a Medical Degree (MdD) for the fields of xenobiology, medicine and xenomedicine.

    After an AM degree, especially committed students can choose to apply for a fellowship at their academy or university. A fellowship grants them not only access to academy funding for their research, but is also a paid and highly sought after position. A research fellowship does not require an original study subject or thesis and can also be completed by co-authoring one such study. After completion of the research fellowship, the fellow is generally awarded a doctoral title like Doctor of Natural Philosophy (Ph.D), Doctor of Medicine (M.D), Doctor of Technology (Tech.D), Doctor of Social Sciences (Ss.D) and Doctor of Quantum Technologies (Qn.D).

  5. Stage 5: Lordship

    The final stage of academia requires another five year commitment, includes an original thesis with original research to be completed as well as a teaching position in either Stage 4 or Stage 3. Lordship is considered the highest form of education and as such is very rare. To become a Lord, a doctoral degree is required.

    Lordship requires not only a peer-reviewed Lordship thesis and teaching tenure, but also another Lord to vouch before the board of Lords, which is headquartered at the Navarean Academy of Applied Sciences, Navareo III.

    Once all of these conditions are met, the Doctor is awarded Lordship with the title of Lord of Science (LSc). It is considered the highest degree achievable in academia. In addition to a certification and a permanent residency at their university, Lords of Science are also granted use of the Honorific Lord, Lady or Liege (Ld) depending on their gender.

Current Lords of Science