The education system in the UK at degree level can be categorised into undergraduate and postgraduate level; with postgraduate degrees consisting of Taught Courses or Research based courses.
Institutes of Higher Education or Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the United Kingdom consists of:
- Universities
- Institutions run by higher education organisations
- Institutions designated to be supported by funds managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
Currently, there are more than 100 UK universities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which offer a range of programmes to cover the needs of the global society. Thus you can be confident that the United Kingdom will have a course for you.
Undergraduate degrees
The 3-year programme is offered in liberal arts (BA), science (BSc), engineering (BEng) and law (LLB). In some subjects, students are allowed to work during their studies in order to gain experience for the future.
* For courses in Scotland, the programme is 4 years.
Postgraduate degrees
Taught course
Postgraduate degrees can be divided into Taught courses, where students learn from lectures, tutorials and seminars; and Research based courses, where students must carry out investigations.
- Master’s degree (MA, MSc, LLM): A 1-year programme which will be taught in the classroom and require students to write a thesis (dissertation).
- Diploma / Advanced Certificate (PGDip / PGCert): Usually, the subjects studied are the same as the Master’s degree level, but do not require students to submit a thesis.
Research
- Doctorate degree: The study duration of a Ph.D. programme is at least 3 years, with the first 2 years being spent researching and planning the thesis, whilst the 3rd year is for writing up the thesis as per the general criteria. The word count for a thesis at this level, is approximately 80,000-90,000 words.
Applicants must have the following qualifications:
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- Received a 1st or 2nd Class Honors from studying a Bachelor’s degree
- Received 1st or 2nd Class Honors from a Master’s degree in a relevant field to the research topic they wish to undertake
