There are several differences between the education system of the UK and other countries at university level. On this page you’ll find a summary of the key traits of degrees in the UK and look at how these compare to your expectations.
An international student might need to complete an International Foundation Year if they don't meet the entry requirements for a bachelor’s degree.
UK students spend one more year in high school compared to many other countries. An International Foundation Year is designed to prepare international students for studying a UK degree by bringing them up to the same level as UK students.
These programmes focus on building on English language ability and key academic skills/knowledge.
How long do International Foundation Years last?
International Foundation programmes are typically one year long. They might be stand-alone courses or integrated with a Bachelor's degree.
What is a Bachelor’s degree?
A UK bachelor’s degree is an undergraduate degree, normally the first one a student will complete after finishing school. They're typically very subject focused – students will not normally sit any general education classes.
UK university courses normally teach through a mix of lectures, seminars (small groups where students actively participate in discussions) and lab/practical work where relevant. Class size will vary between institutions but is typically smaller than the lecture size you would expect at large public universities in other countries.
Assessment/examination styles will also vary significantly between institutions. Some may be exam based, some include a lot of extended essays, others are assessed in other ways such as presentations and practical exams, and some will include all of the above.
Adviser tip: Check if your student has a strong preference for learning and examination style when choosing their courses.
What types of Bachelor’s degrees are there?
Each Bachelor’s degree is classified according to its disciplinary area:
Bachelor of [subject] “and” [subject]
There are opportunities for students to do joint honours courses (double major), but this is normally only in subjects where there is some level of overlap – usually within the same subject group.
Joint honours subjects, described with either 'with' or 'and' often dictates the level of each subject you'll study. For example, Law with American Studies would normally be 75% Law, 25% American studies, whereas 'and' normally indicates a 50/50 split.
How long do Bachelor’s degrees last?
UK Bachelor’s degrees are usually 3 years long, which is shorter than a Bachelor’s degree in a lot of other countries.
This is because students normally don’t require general education, but focus exclusively on the named subject(s) they’re studying.
Exceptions
Bachelor with a year in industry/sandwich placement
The student will spend a year completing one or more work placements during the programme, relevant to their area of study. This might be called a year in industry, an industry placement, or a sandwich placement.
Students will work full-time for a company during the placement and earn a salary, usually while paying reduced university fees for that year. Students gain valuable real-world skills while applying their learning and building their professional network.
This type of Bachelor’s degree will be 4 years long in total. The placement year will normally take place between the second and final (third) year of study.
Note: Do not confuse this with a graduate scheme or graduate job, which become available after a student has successfully graduated are obtained by applying directly to companies.
Bachelor with a year abroad
The student will spend a year of their degree programme studying at a partner institution overseas.
This may be mandatory (usually for language/cultural studies degrees) or optional.
A year abroad may extend a Bachelor’s course to 4 years, but not always – sometimes one year of the 3 is spent at a partner institution without extending the course length.
It will usually be during the second year of a 3-year course, or the third year of a 4-year course. The student will then return to the UK to complete the degree.
Term (semester) dates in the UK will vary slightly compared to other countries.
University courses will normally start in late September/early October with teaching running until March/April, then assessments take place in May/June.
There are some courses that start in other months (usually January), but this is rare at undergraduate level.
An integrated degree is a programme that combines a bachelor’s degree and another qualification into a single undergraduate degree.
As a result, students will automatically progress into the second part of the integrated programme if they successfully pass the first.
What types of integrated degrees are there?
Integrated foundation
Some courses offer an integrated Foundation. Students will automatically progress to the Bachelor’s element when they complete the Foundation, no need to reapply.
A Foundation + Bachelor’s degree programme will typically last 4 years, or 5 years if something like a year abroad or a year in industry is also included.
Integrated Master’s
Some courses can be offered as an integrated Master’s. This means that if students successfully complete the Bachelor’s part of the studies, they will automatically progress into the Master’s without needing to reapply.
This would mean students would get a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in as little as 4 years.
An intercalated degree includes a break in the middle of the primary undergraduate degree to complete an additional qualification.
Intercalated degrees are commonly for students studying Medicine or Dentistry. These students will typically intercalate in directly relevant areas like Public Health, Biomedical Sciences, Medical Humanities, or specialised medical/clinical subjects.
Choosing an intercalated programme often adds one year to the length of the degree.
Postgraduate degrees are advanced university level programmes. Students usually need to have completed an undergraduate degree or have an equivalent level of professional experience.
There is a wide range of postgraduate degrees, including:
Some courses lead to a designated profession, which means a specific and relevant qualification is legally required to practice that type of job and use the professional job title.
This includes, among many other subjects, Medicine, Dentistry, Architecture and certain types of Engineering.
Adviser Tip: If your student is planning to return to their home (or another) country after studying towards a designated profession in the UK, they should check that any professionally regulated course is valid in their next country of residence. In some cases, they may be required to take a conversion exam.