A postgraduate course in the UK gives you the ultimate opportunity to pursue your own specialist interests. You'll be expected to initiate and develop original research under the supervision of academics at the top of their fields. You'll need to be hard working and demonstrate intellectual independence but there's no doubt that the qualifications and experience you'll gain will be worth every minute.

Courses last from one year to four years, and you can choose from thousands of opportunities in the arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities. The broad range and flexible approach of the UK higher education system means that you're free to choose exactly what you want to study.

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What qualifications will I need?
To begin a postgraduate course in the UK, you'll need to hold an undergraduate degree from the UK or overseas. This is the foundation from which you'll be able to go on to a postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma or a master's degree and then, afterwards, to a PhD. You'll be expected to have obtained a first or good 2:1 (or international equivalent) in a directly related subject and you'll also need to speak English to at least IELTS 6.5 level.

You'll find the exact entry requirements for each course explained clearly on the course profiles on this website. To give you a rough idea, the sort of qualifications you'll need are as follows:

Pre-master's	undergraduate degree plus IELTS 5.0-5.5
PG Cert/PG Dip	undergraduate degree plus IELTS 6.5-7.0 or a pre-master's course
Master's degree	first or upper second class undergraduate degree plus IELTS 7.0, or a pre-master's course
MBA	first degree, 2-3 year's business experience, IELTS 6.5-7.0
PhD	master's degree, IELTS 6.5-7.0

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What sorts of courses are available?

Pre-master's courses
You may need to take a pre-master's course if your qualifications or English language skills don't quite match the standard required to begin a master's degree. Pre-master's courses can last from one term to a complete academic year and cover academic study, cultural instruction and language training. Many courses will guarantee progression onto a master's course at a particular university. You can search for pre-master's courses here

Postgraduate certificate or diploma (PG Cert/Dip)
Postgraduate certificates and diplomas are one-year taught postgraduate courses that don't usually involve research. They're often accepted as professional qualifications in the relevant field, such as education or management, giving you a fantastic head start in your chosen career. You can search for PG Cert and PG Dip courses here

Taught master's (MA, MSc, LLM, MEd etc)
Taught master's courses generally last for one year and consist of two elements: you'll complete a number of modules (which will include attending lectures and seminars, writing essays and taking examinations) and produce a dissertation from original research. You can search for taught master's courses here

Research master's (MRes, MPhil)
On a master's degree by research, you won't typically attend lectures - instead you'll devote the entire year to research. Your final mark will be determined by the quality of your dissertation. You can search for research master's courses here

Master of Business Administration (MBA)
An MBA is a specialist business taught master's course that will give you a real step up the managerial ladder. It's the best-known and most popular postgraduate qualification and you can search for courses here

Doctorate (PhD)
A PhD, also know as a doctorate, will take you three to four years to complete, during which you'll be working on a single research project. In you final year, you'll be asked to present a dissertation of approximately 100,000 words. You can search for PhDs here

New Route PhDs
New Route PhDs include taught elements as well as a research project and give you the opportunity to undertake interdisciplinary study. You can search for New Route PhDs here

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How much will it cost?
UK postgraduate study offers you great value for money. Course fees can vary considerably between institutions, but the figures below show approximately what you'll need to pay. Costs for individual courses are given in the course profiles on this website.

• Arts and humanities courses: £7,000-£9,000 per year
• Science courses: £7,500-£12,000 per year
• Clinical courses: £10,000-£21,000 per year
• MBA: £4,000 to more than £30,000 per year

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How will I know if my course is a good one?
Part of the reason that UK postgraduate qualifications are so highly valued across the world is the strict measures of quality imposed on them. Many of the checks and reports are available online, so you'll never be left in any doubt about the validity and quality of the course you choose.

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) ensures that UK higher education is of a standard that's respected and admired across the world. Further details can be found on their website at www.qaa.ac.uk

Every few years, the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) takes place to judge the quality of research being carried out in UK colleges and universities. The most recent assessment took place in 2001 and the results can be downloaded from www.hero.ac.uk/rae.index.htm

You can also find information on postgraduate courses on the Teaching Quality Information (TQI) website, which provides information on many different areas of postgraduate education, including results of the national student survey and destination information of recent postgraduates. See www.tqi.ac.uk

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