To begin a postgraduate course in the UK, you'll need to hold an undergraduate degree from the UK or overseas. This is the foundation from which you'll be able to go on to a postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma or a master's degree and then, afterwards, to a PhD. You'll be expected to have obtained at least a good 2:1 (or international equivalent) in a directly related subject and you'll also need to speak English to at least IELTS 6.5 level.

You'll find the exact entry requirements for each course explained clearly on the course profiles on this website. To give you a rough idea, the sort of qualifications you'll need are as follows: You may also want to read some information about recognition of qualifications between France and the UK.

Pre-master's courses
You may need to take a pre-master's course if your qualifications or English language skills don't quite match the standard required to begin a master's degree. Pre-master's courses can last from one term to a complete academic year and cover academic study, cultural instruction and language training. Many courses will guarantee progression onto a master's course at a particular university.

Postgraduate certificate or diploma (PG Cert/Dip)
Postgraduate certificates and diplomas are one-year taught postgraduate courses that don't usually involve research. They're often accepted as professional qualifications in the relevant field, such as education or management, giving you a fantastic head start in your chosen career.

Taught master's (MA, MSc, LLM, MEd etc)
Taught master's courses generally last for one year and consist of two elements: you'll complete a number of modules (which will include attending lectures and seminars, writing essays and taking examinations) and produce a dissertation from original research.

Research master's (MRes, MPhil)
On a master's degree by research, you won't typically attend lectures - instead you'll devote the entire year to research. Your final mark will be determined by the quality of your dissertation.

Master of Business Administration (MBA)
An MBA is a one year specialist business taught master's course that will give you a real step up the managerial ladder. It's the best-known and most popular postgraduate qualification.

Doctorate (PhD)
A PhD, also know as a doctorate, will take you three to four years to complete, during which you'll be working on a single research project. In you final year, you'll be asked to present a dissertation of approximately 100,000 words.

New Route PhDs
New Route PhDs include taught elements as well as a research project and give you the opportunity to undertake interdisciplinary study.

You'll get great value for money from a UK postgraduate education no matter where you choose to study. The figures below show approximately what you can expect to pay, but it's worth bearing in mind that university course fees can vary considerably between institutions. You can find more details on individual education institutions’ fees on our site by checking out their profiles.

Part of the reason that UK postgraduate qualifications are so highly valued across the world is the strict quality measures imposed on them. Many of the checks and reports are available online, so you'll never be left in any doubt about the validity and quality of the course you choose.

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) ensures that UK higher education is of a standard that's respected and admired across the world. Further details can be found on their website at www.qaa.ac.uk.

Every few years, the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) takes place to judge the quality of research being carried out in UK colleges and universities. The results of the most recent assessment can be downloaded from www.hero.ac.uk/rae.

You can also find information on postgraduate courses on the Teaching Quality Information (TQI) website, which provides information on many different areas of postgraduate education, including results of the national student survey and destination information of recent postgraduates. See www.tqi.ac.uk.

At postgraduate level, including masters degres you can apply directly to the university or college which runs the course you are interested in. There is no restriction on the number of different courses you can apply to in any one year, but student advisers recommend that you draw up a shortlist of six to eight institutions.

Some postgraduate courses fill up their places very quickly, so you must prepare well in advance of the starting date. This might be as early as the October or November of the previous year; ideally, it shouldn't be any later than April, although some courses accept students as late as August.

Your should also consider the time it takes to gather information, the time referees need to supply references in support of your application, and the fact that it may take a number of weeks for a university to make a decision.

Additionally, we offer an exclusive service to registered users that allows you to apply to an institution online via our website. To apply online all you need to do is follow these simple steps:

1. Search for and click on the course you're interested in
2. Under interactive options (right hand box), click 'Apply online for this course'. This feature will only be visible if the institution supports online applications
3. Fill in the required fields on the form. As you finish each page, click 'Continue application' to go to the next page. When you reach the end of the form, you will be given three options:
• Click 'Amend' if you want to make further changes
• Click 'Save and submit later' if you would like to check your details before you submit them
• Click 'Submit' when you are happy that your form has been completed correctly.

Click 'Submit' when you are happy that your form has been completed correctly.

There are certain mandatory fields on the form, which are indicated by an asterisk (*). If you fail to add your details to any of these you will not be given the option to 'Submit' your form. So check your form very carefully.

View all institutions that offer online applications.