In the United Kingdom, higher education is offered by universities and non-university institutions (colleges, institutes, schools and academies) and provide both research-oriented and higher professional education. Universities provide degree programmers that culminate to a degree (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree) and non-degree programmers that lead to a vocational qualification such as a certificate or diploma. British higher education is highly valued around the globe for its quality and rigorous academic standards. The prestige of British higher education emanates from the alumni of its world renowned institutions. Prominent people that have reached the apex in their respective fields have been products of British higher education. Britain is home to some of the world’s most prominent institutions of higher learning and ranked among the top universities in the world.
Undergraduate Degrees and their Duration
All undergraduate degree courses in UK last for 3-4 years. This however does not include the Degrees in Medicine, Veterinary Sciences, Veterinary Medicine and Dentistry which are of 5 years duration.
Combined and Joint Honors Degrees
An interesting aspect of UK universities is that several of them offer two or more subjects for specialization in a Combined and Joint Honors Degree. A Combined Degree is one wherein different subjects are studied and do not necessarily bear equal importance, whereas a Joint Degree is one wherein two subjects are studied and they bear equal importance. These two subjects may be closely related or distant yet connected in some way.
Sandwich Courses
Through Sandwich Courses you would be involved in both study and work experience, that is, you would be expected to spend an year or two blocks of six months each of your course duration in a working atmosphere related to your course. Following which you would have to return to the University to complete the final year of study. This would extend the duration of the three year course to four years.
Pre-Masters Program
Many UK universities provide a one year Pre-Masters program, during which you would study a specialist subject, academic English and study skills that would prepare you for eventually taking up a Masters program.
Postgraduate Degrees
The major Postgraduate Degrees, namely, Masters in Arts, Masters in Science and LLM. last for an year whereas Research Degrees, namely, MPhil. and PhD. stretch from one to three years. Types of Postgraduate Degrees: Postgraduate Degrees in UK encompass three kinds:
- Specialist: As the name suggest these are advanced degrees wherein you will be able to further enhance your chosen discipline of the Bachelors Degree. To be eligible for study under this degree you are required to have completed your Bachelors in the same discipline.
- Conversion: A conversion degree course caters to those of you who intend to change your choice of subject or stream to pursue postgraduate studies.
- Research: Again as the name suggests, a research course is the best for you if you intend to take up research in a certain area. Here, you would be able to take up research under the guidance of a course mentor and rather than sitting in a classroom this course entails self-study.
