Student Guide to Postgraduate Courses

If you have completed an undergraduate degree (the the equivalent) either in the UK or your home country, and want to continue studying then a postgraduate course in the UK could be your ideal choice.

Almost all UK universities offer postgraduate courses to foreign students at both Masters and PhD level. Here you will find information about postgraduate courses, how much they cost and how to apply to them.

Why Should I Choose a Postgraduate Course?

Students who have completed an undergraduate degree but would still like to continue studying their subject further can go on to postgraduate courses. These give students are far greater choice of what they would like to study within their chosen subject and usually involve a dissertation which the students choose and research themselves. As well as giving students a platform to study their subject area in far more detail than at undergraduate level, a postgraduate qualification also improves students’ employability. The list of postgraduate courses available to foreign students is, if anything, even longer than at undergraduate level. They range from the practical career based courses in Finance for example, to very specialist academic courses in English Literature for example. To find the range of postgraduate subjects offered at the universities you are interested in, visit the university websites.        

How long do Postgraduate Courses take Foreign Students?

Postgraduate courses are split into two levels. There are Masters courses that students study after completing an undergraduate degree, and there are PhDs for students who want to continue with their studies after completing a Masters. If studied full time then almost all Masters courses last one year, and two years part time in the UK. It varies slightly for each university but generally, this academic year starts in October and ends in September the following year, 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.       

The number of ‘contact hours’ (the time spent with tutors in lectures or seminars) each week whilst studying a Masters is generally fewer than at undergraduate level as students are expected to work on their own far more. These hours could be as low as just 3 or 4 a week though can still be much higher. To make up the time, Masters students are given far more responsibility to study on their own than at undergraduate level, particularly on their dissertation which they are expected to research and write almost completely on their own over the course of the year.

PhDs take 3 years full time or 5 years part time. PhD students do not study in the same way as undergraduate or Masters students. They spend the whole length of time choosing, researching and writing a ‘thesis’. A thesis is a very long piece of writing that adds to the field of knowledge in the subject area being written about. For humanities and social science subjects, theses are usually between 80,000 and 100,000 words, and for the sciences about half that length. PhD students work alone on their thesis with very little interaction with tutors.    

How much do Postgraduate Courses Cost for Foreign Students?

As you probably know, foreign students have to pay significantly higher fees to study in the UK than home/EU students. The costs of postgraduate courses vary depending on the course, the university and whether you are studying at full time or part time. Postgraduate full time Masters courses generally cost foreign students between £10,000 and £15,000 per year. However, there are quite a few that cost significantly more than £15,000. For example many Masters in Finance or Business can cost over £20,000 for one year’s study. Part time Masters courses are usually about half the cost of full time courses, ranging from about £5,000 to £7,500 per year for foreign students. For full time PhDs, foreign students pay an average of about £10,500 per year on fees, or about half that for part time PhD courses.

However, for both Masters and PhDs there are a huge number of scholarships and bursaries on offer to foreign students. These are awarded on academic merit or the importance of the research being done at PhD level, and help with the costs of studying a postgraduate course in the UK.  

To find out the cost of fees at the universities you are interested in studying at, visit our Student Guide to UK Universities . It has information about all the most popular UK universities for foreign students, and you can find out about the costs of undergraduate study at each individual university.  

Application Information for Postgraduate Courses

For all postgraduate courses, foreign students should apply directly to the institution. You should only apply for a Masters if you have an undergraduate degree qualification or the equivalent, and a PhD is you have a Masters or an equivalent. Depending on the course and university, there can be strong competition for places. Application forms and information can be found on the university and college websites, or for more information, visit the Postgraduate section in our Student Guide to Applying to UK Universities.

Featured Postgraduate Courses