University Courses

What Type of Course is Right for Me?

The first thing you need to decide after choosing to study abroad at a UK university, is what level of course is suitable for you. There are a number of different levels of course you can study at most UK universities and it can be confusing at first deciding which one is right for you. Here is a bullet point guide to what type of course you should choose if you want to study at university:

- Undergraduate: If the highest qualifications you have are at the same level as International Baccalaureates (or UK A-Levels), and you want to continue your education, then an undergraduate degree is probably the right level for you.

- Postgraduate Masters: Postgraduate Masters courses are only for students who have already completed an undergraduate degree (or the equivalent) either in the UK or your home country.

- Postgraduate Doctorate: Doctorates (or ‘PhDs’ as they are often known as in the UK) are for students who have already completed both undergraduate and Masters courses and still want to continue their education. For PhDs students choose their own research project and work almost completely on their own.

You can see more information on each of these simply by clicking on one of the tabs below. 

Undergraduate Courses

Why Should I Study an Undergraduate Course?

If you have finished school or are finishing this year and want to study at a university in the UK then an undergraduate course may be perfect for you. You can choose to study from Undergraduatea huge range of subjects at one of literally hundreds of UK universities.

Most students in the UK who go to university after finishing school study an undergraduate degree course. The qualification gained at the end of the course will prepare you to either start a career or else go into further study on a postgraduate course. The UK has some of the most internationally respected universities and courses in the world that can provide foreign students with very valuable qualifications. The list of courses available to students is almost endless and ranges from practical, career based courses such as Law, to more general academic courses like Maths. For the range of undergraduate courses that the individual universities you are interested in offer, check our UK Universities directory

However, studying an undergraduate degree in the UK is not all about the academic side. International students will also gain the full university experience studying at undergraduate level, immersing themselves in UK culture and living in student accommodation.

 

How Long do Undergraduate Courses Take?

If studying full time, most undergraduate courses usually last 3 years in the UK. It varies slightly for each university but generally, each academic year starts in October and ends in June, and is split into three terms of 10-12 weeks long. The exact dates of your course should be easy to find on the university website.

For full time undergraduate courses, students are expected to spend the majority of their time each week studying for their course. The number of ‘contact hours’ (the time spent with tutors in lectures or seminars) each week at undergraduate level varies hugely depending on the university and course. Humanities courses generally have fewer contact hours. For example, an English Literature course can have as few as 8 contact hours, whilst for some undergraduate Science and Maths courses you can spend anything up to 40 hours in lectures and seminars. The time differences between courses are made up by the amount of work that students do away from contact hours- reading, writing, researching, revising and so on.