Types of courses available at higher education level

The choice of courses or programmes in higher education is enormous, with over 50,000 on offer, most of which are at degree level.

Full-time courses generally involve a minimum of three years' study. Some courses take four years or longer.

Part-time degree courses are normally taken over a longer period, which varies according to the individual institution but, as a general rule of thumb, allow at least five years from beginning to end for a part-time degree. Increasingly, some institutions are able to offer flexible arrangements to suit your needs. student on laptop

Foundation degrees are a new development, intended to provide a clear progression route of work-orientated study. They are designed to help local and national businesses develop the skills of their existing workforce, and are available part-time and full-time. They are applicable to young people who have studied vocational qualifications, as well as adults whose thoughts are closely focused on a particular sector of work. Foundation degrees are a comerstone of the government's plans to increase participation in higher education. Subjects on offer include e-systems, media production, land-based industries, learning and teaching support, and automotive manufacturing. Find out more about foundation degrees

Modular degrees - the majority of higher education institutions have now adopted a modular structure for courses. This means that you can build a personalised degree by choosing modules or units of study from different subject areas.

In some cases, there is no doubt that the modular structure provides a wonderful level of flexibility and helps mature students to negotiate personalised programmes that perfectly match their needs. However, you should also be aware that this can be demanding (highly developed time management skills are a must) and there may be constraints on the ability to mix and match modules.

While many students still aim to choose a course specialising in a single subject, it is increasingly common to combine two or more subjects. If you have a particular career in mind, it makes sense to check first that combined studies will qualify you for entry. It is possible that a professional body may have reservations about the depth of specialist study on a combined course and, for accreditation purposes, have a policy of only considering graduates with relevant single-subject degrees.

Higher National Diploma (HND) and Higher National Certificate (HNC) courses are validated by the Edexcel Foundation (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (Scotland).

These vocational courses are generally related to particular career areas, for example, agriculture, art and design, business studies, hotel and catering. HNDs are made up of units of study and are usually taken over two years on a full-time basis.

Courses may be longer if they include work experience, a placement in industry or are taken on a part-time basis. Some successful HND students later transfer to the second (or, occasionally, third) year of degree courses, although the HND qualification is fully recognised by employers in its own right. HNCs are popular as a part-time study option for those in work. They can also be studied on a full-time basis.

Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) courses take two years, are full-time and are offered by some universities and colleges. These courses are normally equivalent to the first two years of a degree and can often be used for entry to the third year of a related degree course. There are relatively few DipHE courses and these are mainly linked to vocational areas such as nursing and social work.

National Vocational Qualifications and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (NVQs, SVQs) - from the late 1990s onwards, the government of the United Kingdom has been striving to create national frameworks of job-related qualifications. These are known as vocational qualifications. They fit into a training system which has been created at five different levels and aims to be clear to follow for both employers and employees. It includes all levels of work, from the most basic (level 1) up to very high levels of skill and sophistication (level 5). A first degree is roughly equivalent to level 4.

This training system works in the following way. Most major industries and occupational groups have now created Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) - see www.ssda.org.uk. These councils bring together employers and other individuals with relevant expertise, in order to set out detailed specifications for qualifications in individual work areas. As a result, thousands of people have already gained NVQ/SVQ qualifications in occupations as diverse as agriculture, construction, beauty, leisure and tourism, and motor vehicle studies.

Distance learning may be the answer for adults who have to be at home or whose jobs take them out of reach of higher education.

bookThe Open University is the best-known provider of this type of education. You can take a single course or combine several to make up a degree. There are also short courses and diplomas available. Over 30,000 British employers have sponsored their staff on Open University courses. Contact the Open University or the Open University in Scotland.

The National Extension College is the UK's largest provider of distance learning and offers a discount on its fees to students who are on income support, unemployment benefit or state pension: www.nec.ac.uk.

Another useful distance learning contact is the Open College of the Arts which offers courses in painting, art history, creative writing, music and dance: www.oca-uk.com.

The Association of British Correspondence Colleges (ABCC) is a body of distance learning providers which offers distance learning courses in hundreds of different subjects: www.homestudy.org.uk.