Choosing a course

Once you've decided that postgraduate study is for you, you'll need to choose which courses and institutions to apply to.

Do your research

student reading a postgraduate course prospectus in the library

Undertaking further study can be time consuming and expensive; take the time to carefully research any courses or programmes you are interested in.

Good people to talk to are:

  • the course provider - recruitment/admissions staff, or the programme leader, should be able to answer many of the questions you might have.
  • current students or past graduates from the course

You could also consider talking to employers you're interested in working for - how do they view the course?

We've listed some questions below which you might want to ask when researching courses.

The course

  • What are the entry requirements?
  • How long has the course been running?
  • Which institutions offer the course?
  • How is it delivered? Full time, part-time, distance learning
  • Teaching style on the course?
  • Will you be able to cope with the academic demands of the course?
  • How much flexibility is offered in terms of module choice/research topic?

The institution

  • What facilities are available?
  • Who will be delivering/supervising the programme?
  • Is accommodation available for postgraduates?

Your job/career prospects

  • What have past students from the course gone on to do?
  • How is the course viewed by employers?
  • Is it accredited by a professional body? e.g. NCTJ for journalism courses, CIPD for human resources, RIBA for architecture

Funding

  • How will I fund the course?
  • What financial support (if any) is available through the institution?
  • How can I apply for funding?

Location

  • Do I feel comfortable here?
  • Are there many opportunities for part-time work to help support my studies?
  • What is the cost of living (rent, transport etc.) like in this area?

Who can help me make a decision?

Making choices can be difficult. If you're struggling to decide if a particular course is right for you, it might help to chat with a careers adviser - no appointment needed.

You could also consider talking things through with friends, family or your personal tutor.

Resources to help you research courses and institutions

Postgraduate study fairs and open days

Visiting universities that you are considering applying to is often a good way to find out if you are going to be comfortable studying there. It's also a good chance to explore the surrounding area.

Comparison data

  • Unistats - compare institutions, subjects and employment proospects using data obtained through the annual National Student Survey (NSS) and Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DHLE) survey.
  • Research Assessment Exercise 2008 - research quality indicator for UK higher education institutions.

While university league tables can be a useful point of reference, it is unwise to base your choice of course or institution solely on this kind of data. The methodology used to create each league table differs, so care should be taken when drawing conclusions.

View the latest versions of some of the main university league tables:

Destination information

Every UK higher education institution is required to survey its graduates to collect information about what they were doing 6 months and three years post-graduation.

Visit the website of the institution you are interested in attending to view their destination data.

Be aware that data may not be published for courses with insufficient respondents or low numbers of students.

Reference books available in the Careers Service