A Guide for Foreign Students on UK Education System

The UK is considered as one of the most popular places for higher studies with more than 500,000 international students enrolled in more than 3000 institutions. It is ranked second after the USA. High quality standards make the UK education system very famous and trusted globally. There exists some difference within different levels of each zone of the UK education system. It is very important for a foreign student to know very well about the UK education system before taking admission in any institute in the UK.

Why Choose the UK?
Mostly students prefer universities of UK because of their high quality education. There are more than 50000 courses offered in more than twenty five disciplines. Employers and organizations all over the world recognize and admire the degrees of UK universities. UK universities offer shorter courses as compared to other countries. Work with study option is available. Society in UK is multicultural.

Essential to Know:
Before taking admission you must know that in the UK you cannot call a higher education providing institute as a university. Only those institutes are considered universities, which are approved by the Privy Council. If you want to study in the UK you must have a student visa. You can get a Tier 4 visa, the official student visa if your age is 16 and above and you are a citizen of a country other than European country. You can apply for UK higher Education through USCA. Different courses have different deadlines so you must consult with coursework writing services before getting admission. London and other larger countries are more expensive in terms of education fee. There are work permit restrictions as well. You may require proficiency in English. There is university accommodation for first year students.

Most Famous Universities of UK

State-Financed Universities:

There is a Russell Group in the UK, which is a network of 24 public research universities. It includes most prestigious universities, which are University of Birmingham, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of York, Cardiff University, University of Bristol, University of Edinburgh, Durham University, University of Glasgow, University of Exeter, King’s College London, Imperial College London, University of Leeds, University of Liverpool, University of Manchester, London School of Economics and Political Science, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Nottingham, University of Southampton, Queen Mary University of London, University of Warwick, Newcastle University, University of Sheffield, University College London

• Private Institutions: The University of Buckingham and BPP are considered as most prestigious private universities.
• Level of Courses: The UK higher education system consist of five level of courses which are; Postgraduate courses, Master’s degree, Postgraduate diplomas, postgraduate certificates of education, professional degrees
• Undergraduate Courses: Undergraduate courses are also known as first degree. The main types of these courses include Honors and ordinary degrees, qualified teacher status, enhanced first degrees, and intercalated degrees Foundation degrees, NHC, SVQ, NVQ and Higher National Diploma. The time duration for these courses is 4 years.

Duration of Different Programs:
Before applying for any degree or program, you must know about its time duration.

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Under Graduation:
Duration of Higher National Certificate Diploma is from 1 to 2 years, Certificates or Diplomas of Higher Education is 1 to 2 years, Foundation degrees, 6 months to 2 years, Basic Degrees require 3 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 4 years in Scotland, Sandwich degrees are completed in 4 years with a year in industry Integrated Courses complete in 4 Years

Post-Graduation:
Postgraduate certificates and diploma are completed in 9 to 12 months, Taught Masters in 1 year and Research Masters in2-3 years.

Tuition Fees and Costs:
Tuition fees vary from university to university depending on reputation and zone of administration. For undergraduate programs tuition fee ranges from £10,000 / year to about £18,000 / year. For postgraduate programs fee depends on duration and course provider.

Online Degrees:
If you can’t afford travel and living costs, you have a very good option of an online degree. You get a UK accredited degree. You have to study online with the study schedule that suits you. There are three types of online courses offered; Short online course, Long online courses and Professional online courses. 

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These online degrees and Courses are based on 10 online meetings per week, conducted in a virtual learning environment. Courses are run asynchronously which means there are no live meetings. You don’t have to be online at a particular time. Class size is small to increase collaboration between students, students and tutor. There is a depth discussion involved in classes. Personalized tutor guidance and feedback option is also available

Academic Year:
The academic year in the UK starts in September and ends in October. The deadline for courses starting in September is January. Two intakes other than September are January and April, but they are usually smaller than September.

IELTS Test:
IELTS is a Standard English Language Proficiency test. Universities required you to give this test. You may need to contact different test conductors.

Recommendations:
It is always suggested to have complete knowledge about the universities, degrees, tuition fee and cost of living before applying to keeps yourself on safe side.