What is Postgraduate?

Postgraduate education encompasses lots of different aspects of education and has been known to take place for a long time. Many international students who want to study in the UK, have started to see the benefits of a postgraduate education and how it can help students with their careers.

There are plenty of advantages and disadvantages to doing a postgraduate degree, but it all depends on what your preference is for your career.

What is a postgraduate degree?

A postgraduate degree is a degree that is completed upon the completion of a bachelor’s degree, this can be anything from an MRes degree through to a master’s degree. Postgraduates can also look at other areas of study like a Doctorate or honorary degrees, although honorary degrees do not offer people the right to use associated titles like Dr. without having already received a degree that grants them this title. A postgraduate certificate is a Level 7 qualification in all countries in the UK, except for Scotland, where it is a Level 11 qualification.

A postgraduate certificate is a postgraduate qualification, it is at the same level as a master’s degree, but it is not it's equivalent.

What is a Postgraduate Diploma?

A Postgraduate Diploma is a diploma that is awarded after a university degree, a diploma supplements the original degree with a graduate diploma.

A postgraduate diploma is usually considered to be a vocational course that focuses on extending a student’s knowledge further, for instance, in the case of Law, students can sit a course such as the Legal Practice Course or the Bar Vocational Course in order to further their paths to becoming Barristers or Solicitors.

What is the difference between undergraduate and postgraduate?

A postgraduate degree or a postgraduate diploma are taught after an undergraduate degree. It has a more in-depth focus than an undergraduate degree and has more of a focus on dissertations and research.

Postgraduate student finance is available for students that are looking to study at a postgraduate level.

What is a postgraduate certificate?

A postgraduate certificate is a postgraduate qualification, it is at the same level as a master’s degree, but it is not it's equivalent.

A postgraduate certificate is shorter than most postgraduate qualifications and has around 225 “contact hours” for students to study, which is around one-third of a full academic year.

It has many abbreviations such as:

• PGCert
• PgCert
• PG Cert
• PGC
• PgC

Essentially just variations of the same abbreviation, but they still mean the same thing.

What is a postgraduate diploma worth?

A postgraduate diploma is worth 120 credits.

A master’s degree is worth 180 credits, but since a postgraduate diploma is a shorter qualification and not as involved, it is worth less than a full master’s degree, but it is worth more than a postgraduate certificate, which is worth 60 credits.

A postgraduate degree is a degree that is completed upon the completion of a bachelor’s degree.

What is postgraduate research?

Postgraduate research is an area of formal study that is recognised and approved by your university and or higher institute.

It is not exclusive purely to universities, especially since postgraduate qualifications aren’t just taught at university.

This is also relevant to plenty of postgraduate qualifications which focus on degrees like the MRes which is a research-based qualification.

This means that your degree will focus on the idea of independent research and will be primarily focused on this aspect, rather than individual modules.

Is there a Student Finance Postgraduate?

Postgraduate student finance is available for students that are looking to study at a postgraduate level. You would apply for this the same way that you would apply for student finance in England. You can see plenty about funding for postgraduate study on the government website.

Postgraduate qualifications are a great way to broaden your horizons and to gain more of an understanding of how certain subjects are advanced beyond the level that you have been studying at.

Postgraduate qualifications have been a staple of university education ever since it's inception and the ability to gain a more well-rounded qualification is alluring to students, to the point where a lot of universities focus more on postgraduate study than undergraduate.