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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 (pse provide link).

• 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

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