Higher Level Education System

As well as the traditional university towns of Cambridge and Oxford, most reasonably-sized cities in the UK boast a university. Educational institutions in the UK are public and autonomous, under the authority and guidance of the Department of Education and Employment. The academic term is typically from October to July. UK higher-level educational institutions rely on a mixture of student fees, government funding and corporate and private donations for survival.

Qualifications within the British higher-level education system are very similar to the Irish model. The main difference is that undergraduate degrees typically take three instead of four years.

• Undergraduate Degree – 3 years

• Postgraduate Diplomas & Certificates – 1 to 2 years

• Masters Degrees [MA, MSc, ME, MBA etc] – 1 year

• Master of Philosophy [MPhil] – 2 years

• Doctor of Philosophy [PhD] – 3 to 5 years

• Doctoral Degree – 3 to 5 years

Postgraduate qualifications offered in the UK are subject to strict quality standards. It is illegal in the UK to offer degrees, or related qualifications, without proper authorisation - which is granted by the Queen or Parliament.

Higher-level educational institutions are overseen by government appointed agencies, which are responsible for ensuring the consistency and quality of courses on offer. British courses and qualifications have a high reputation worldwide