Are you considering a postgraduate course? Perhaps you’ve just finished your degree and are now looking for that something extra to go on your CV. Or maybe you’re thinking about taking a postgraduate course because you’ve got a personal interest in the subject and want to learn about it in more depth.

Postgraduate courses can be a fun and challenging way to develop your research skills further and really specialise in a particular area. However, despite the fact that they follow on from undergraduate degrees and are taken in the same buildings, postgraduate courses are actually very different.

Finance and funding

Unlike undergraduate degrees, the government does not offer help in funding postgraduate courses. Therefore you will have to look elsewhere to finance your studies.

There are plenty of options out there, though some are more competitive than others. For example, you might want to search for scholarships or look at grants from charities and trusts. Another option might be to take out a Career Development Loan that you pay back when you finish your postgraduate course.

In any case, the way you fund your postgraduate course is going to be very different to your first degree and may require more budgeting.

It’s all about you

Your undergraduate degree probably involved a lot of independent study, especially in comparison to when you were studying A Levels or other college qualifications. However, when you start a postgraduate course, you will be required to do even more independent study.

This means that you must have high levels of motivation and dedication as well as good organisational skills. You will be expected to use your initiative and carry out research without being told what to do or where to look for information.

Harder, faster, longer

The expectations of the standards of your work on a postgraduate course are far higher than when undertaking a first degree. It’s likely that you will have tighter deadlines and have to produce a longer piece of work with a high word count.

You will have to submit assignments that are of a much better quality than at degree level – by going into more depth, doing more research and making accurate analysis of information.

Time to learn

Undergraduate degrees have a standard length of three years – four if you did a sandwich course. Postgraduate courses vary though. You might choose to take a postgraduate certificate or diploma which will probably take less than a year. Then there are the MA and MSc courses that usually take a year or two; not to mention three to four-year PhDs.

This is something to think about because you are specialising even more than in your undergraduate studies so you need to be certain the subject of your postgraduate course will continue to stimulate you for as long as it progresses.

Social life

It’s a fact that there will be less partying on your postgraduate course than while you were doing your undergraduate degree. Though you can still join clubs and societies and attend union events, your timetable is likely to be much more packed than before so fitting in all those nights out will be difficult.

On the plus side, postgraduate courses tend to have quite a small number of students per year so you’re likely to become good friends with your fellow students. This means that lunch breaks can be prime opportunity for socialising and that creating study groups is easier.

Going forward

There are many other ways that postgraduate courses differ to undergraduate courses and they change from course to course. Our postgraduate course search page will help you find your perfect postgraduate course if you already have a subject in mind or you might choose to browse your options if you haven’t yet decided.

Source The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)