First degree courses in the UK

The UK has an excellent reputation for higher education and research. It offers a lot of opportunities to both national and international students at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Degrees

The degrees vary according to the practice of each university. First degrees after leaving school are often called undergraduate.

Arts, social science and pure science degrees normally last 3 or 4 years because they are designed to follow a very specialized school-leaving qualification. Traditionally university graduates will be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine etc. Later they may continue to take graduate or postgraduate courses.

There is a second higher educational qualification in the UK, known as the

Higher National Diploma or HND. It lasts a year less than a degree course – either

two full-time or three years as a sandwich course. HNDs are vocational (or job related), so a student will not find them in purely academic subjects as history or philosophy. They are available in, for example, science subjects, engineering, business studies, hospitality and tourism management.

Course structure

Nowadays many institutions are changing the way in which their courses are structured. First degree courses in business studies, engineering, science and technology that allow students to undertake practical training are known as sandwich courses and include periods of work experience in industry and commerce.

The new modular schemes offer the opportunity to design a programme of study which suits a particular student’s interests. A modular course is made up of a number of self-contained units of study. These units, or modules, count towards final qualification – whether it is a first degree, a postgraduate award or a Higher National Diploma. The final qualification is of the same value as one which has a traditional structure, but the way in which the course is organized and assessed is different. In a full-time programme the students will study between 9 and 12 modules each year. Some of them may run for more than one term or semester. The work will be assessed at the end of each module, and each module a student successfully passes will give credit points which have a common value within the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme, or CATS for short.

Choosing a course

In most modular courses students still choose the main field of study. This may take the form of a single subject degree in business studies, for examples, or a joint degree in biology and information technology. A student has to take a number of compulsory or “core” modules from a list of optional subjects, either within the specialist subject(s) or in an associated field. A student may also be able to choose modules from completely different subject areas. These are called “elective” subjects and can provide you with additional employment skills, or an opportunity to broaden your academic interests. Options range from language to computer skills, from accounting to fine art courses. In some institutions students may start with a broader choice of subjects and decide which modules to take as they move through the course. In order to gain professional qualifications, it is important to cover the necessary modules which are usually specified in institutions’ prospectuses.

One of the advantages of the modular scheme is that it enables students to choose the topics of professional or general interest and to take modules outside the normal range of studies. Also the end-of-module assessment makes it easier for a student to monitor the progress.

However, there are some difficulties in studying on a modular course. With a new choice of modules each term or semester a student will have more decisions to make. The assessment process means that tutors for different modules may require a lot of planning. Nevertheless, modular courses are very flexible. Through CATS scheme, a student can transfer credit points from one institution to another, and study in more than one country.

(Adapted from http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/)

Comprehension check

1. Match words from column A with the words from column B to make phrases related to education

2. Look back into the text and find the words and phrases that go with the following verbs: