Higher education is education provided by universities and other institutions that award academic degrees, such as university colleges, and liberal arts colleges .
Higher education includes both the teaching and the research activities of universities, and within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education ) and the graduate (or postgraduate ) level (sometimes referred to as quaternary education). Higher education differs from other forms of post-secondary education such as vocational education . However, most professional education is included within higher education, and many postgraduate qualifications are strongly vocationally or professionally oriented, for example in disciplines such as law and medicine.
There is a three-level hierarchy of degrees ( Bachelor , Master , Doctor ) currently used in the United Kingdom.
A graduate student (also, grad student or grad in American English , postgraduate student or postgrad in British English) is an individual who has completed a bachelor's degree (B.A., B.S./B.Sc., or another flavor) and is pursuing further higher education , with the goal of achieving a master's degree (M.A., M.S./M.Sc., M.Ed., etc.) or doctorate (Ph.D., Ed.D., D.A., D.Sc., D.M.A., Th.D., etc.) In the United States, graduate education can also refer to those pursuing a post-master's Educational Specialist degree or post-master's Certificate of Advanced Study. The term usually does not refer to one in medical school and only occasionally refers to someone in law school or business school .
Admission
Admission to do a research degree in the UK typically requires the sponsorship of a professor. Admission to do a master's degree (based on coursework) depends upon having an undergraduate degree, generally in a related subject.
Life
Postgraduate work at universities in the UK is very intense.
Funding
It is very difficult to obtain funding for postgraduate study in the UK. There are a few scholarships for master's courses, but these are rare and dependent on the course and class of undergraduate degree obtained. Most master's students are self-funded.
Funding is available for some Ph.D. courses. There is more funding available to those in the sciences than in other disciplines
Costs
The costs for a normal education in the United Kingdom are as follows: