Higher Education

There are 91 universities in Britain (including the Open University), 47 colleges of higher education and 30 polytechnics. Universities offer three- and four-year degree courses; colleges of higher education offer two-year Higher National Diploma courses and degree courses.

A degree is a qualification you get from university when you pass your final exams.

The titles for a first degree are Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc) or BEd (Bachelor of Education) and for a second degree Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD or DPhil).

British Universities are independent, self-governing institutions. They all receive financial support from the state, but the Department of Education and Science has no control over their curriculum, examinations, appointment of staff, or the way in which money is spent.

The university is like a federation of colleges. It arranges the courses, the lectures and the examinations, and awards the degrees. Each college has its own building, its own staff and students. The colleges are governed by twenty to thirty ‘Fellows’. Fellows of a college are ‘tutors’ (teachers, often called ‘dons’).

Undergraduates – students who are studying for degrees – go to lectures, but most of the work takes place in tutorials: lessons in groups of ten or more when the students discuss their work with the lecturer.

In Oxford and Cambridge the study system is based on tutorials which take place once a week. Attending lectures is optional for Oxford and Cambridge students.

The Open University was founded for those people who, for some reason, had no chance to enter any of the other universities. It takes both men and women at the age of 21 and over. Its degrees are the same as those of other universities.

Most British students go to university a long way from their home town. They think going to university is a time to be independent. Until 1998, British students did not pay for university. Now they must pay about £ 1,000 a year. Many students, whose parents do not earn a lot of money, are given a grant. Some students borrow money from the bank, which must be paid back after they leave university. In fact the grant is not large enough. Students often work during the holidays to earn more money. About 38 per cent of the population under 24 years of age go on higher education.