Education in England:
Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. At local level, local authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools.
Students who have completed a first degree are eligible to undertake a postgraduate degree, which includes:§ Master's degree (typically taken in one year)England UK
Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. At local level, local authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools.
Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 16 (inclusive). Students may then continue their secondary studies for a further two years (sixth form), leading most typically to an A level qualification, although other qualifications and courses exist, including Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) qualifications and theInternational Baccalaureate. The leaving age for compulsory education was raised to 18 by the Education and Skills Act 2008. The change will take effect in 2013 for 17-year-olds and 2015 for 18-year-olds. State-provided schools are free of charge to students, and there is also a tradition of independent schooling, but parents may choose to educate their children by any suitable means.
Higher education typically begins with a 3-year Bachelor's Degree. Postgraduate degrees include Master's Degrees, either taught or by research, and Doctor of Philosophy, a research degree that usually takes at least three years. Universities require a Royal charterin order to issue degrees, and all but one are 'financed' by the state with a 'low' level of fees, though these are increasing, for home and European Union students.
Students normally enter University from 18 onwards and study for an Academic Degree. All undergraduate education outside the private University of Buckingham is largely state financed, with a small contribution from top-up fees. The state does not control syllabuses, but it does influence admission procedures. Unlike most degrees, the state still has control over teacher training courses, and uses Ofsted inspectors to maintain standards. The typical first degree offered at British universities is the Bachelor's degree (typically three years). Many institutions now offer an undergraduate Master's degree as a first degree, typically lasting four years. During a first degree students are known as undergraduates. The difference in fees betweenundergraduate and traditional postgraduate Master's degrees (and the possibility of securing LEA funding for the former) makes taking an undergraduate Master's degree as a first degree a more attractive option, although the novelty of undergraduate Master's degrees means that the relative educational merit of the two is currently unclear.
Some universities offer a vocationally-based Foundation degree, typically two years in length for those students who hope to continue to take a first degree but wish to remain in employment.Postgraduate education
Students who have completed a first degree are eligible to undertake a postgraduate degree, which includes:§ Master's degree (typically taken in one year)§ Doctorate degree (typically taken in three years) Postgraduate education is not automatically financed by the State, and so admission is in practice highly competitive.
Specialist qualifications:
§ Education: Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), Certificate in Education (Cert Ed), C&G7407 or Bachelor of Education (BA or BEd), most of which also incorporate Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
§ Law: Bachelor of Laws LL.B.
§ Medicine: Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery studied at Medical school (United Kingdom)
§ Business: Master of Business Administration MBA.
§ Psychology: Doctoral training. Educational Psychology (D.Ed.Ch.Psychol) or Clinical Psychology(D.Clin.Psych.).
Fees
In the academic year 2009/2010 undergraduates pay tuition fees set at a maximum £3225 per annum. The fees are repayable after graduation contingent on attaining a certain level of income, with the state paying all fees for students from the poorest backgrounds. UK
Postgraduate fees vary but are generally more than undergraduate fees depending on the degree and university. There are numerous bursaries (awarded to low income applicants) to offset the undergraduate fees, and for postgraduates, full scholarships are available for most subjects which are awarded competitively.
Differing arrangements apply to English students studying in Scotland and Scottish / Welsh students studying in 