FAQ
BEFORE YOU APPLY
Courses can be split into three levels – foundation programmes, undergraduate courses and postgraduate courses.
Foundation programmes are one-year courses designed for international students who are not able to apply directly for a UK bachelor degree with their high school certificate. The foundation programme acts as a pathway into a bachelor degree.
At undergraduate level, students can choose to study a three-year degree or a four-year degree with a one-year work placement. Courses such as Engineering, Medicine and Dentistry normally take four to six years. A distinction is made between a Bachelor of Arts (Ba) and a Bachelor of Science (BSc). A Bachelor of Arts is awarded to students who take subjects in the fields of arts, humanities and some of the social science. A Bachelor of Science is awarded to students who study a scientific subject.
Postgraduate courses can be a master’s degree or a PhD degree. A Master’s degree is usually one year and includes a combination of lectures, seminar and a research project. A PhD will take three to four years to complete and focuses entirely on one research project.
Undergraduate courses are commonly known as bachelor degrees. Postgraduate courses can be split into two categories, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research. Postgraduate taught courses are known as masters degrees and include MA, MSc, MBA, MRes and LLM amongst others. Postgraduate research programmes usually refer to PhD courses.
There are hundreds of universities and colleges in the UK with different specialities. You can choose your options based on University ranking, fees, employability or even find out how many other international students are studying there. You can also check if the university has cultural or social clubs you would like to join.
All the data come from sources in the public domain such as The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), The National Student Survey and the 2014 Research Excellence Framework. Some data were also obtained directly from websites of individual universities.
Entry requirements are set by each university and therefore they can vary from one university to the other as well as from one course to another. We have included the official link to country specific information in the profile of each university. If you are unsure you meet a university/college’s criteria or you cannot find your country in that link please contact our team for further guidance.
Alternatively, contact the national agency NARIC, which specialises in translating international qualifications to their UK equivalents (there is a fee for this).
English language requirements can vary for different courses. You need to check the entry requirements set by the universities to ensure you can apply for the course. We have included this information in the profile of each university.
As of 6th April 2015, the list of UKVI approved English language tests will include only IELTS and ‘Integrated skills in English (ISE)’.
IELTS: This test can be taken at UKVI approved test centres worldwide and is accepted by all UK universities. International students who are applying to study in the UK and are not already in the UK will need to book an IELTS. There are also test centres in the UK for applicants who are already here.
ISE: This test can be taken at UKVI approved test centres in the UK only. Therefore, only international students who are already in the UK can take this test. The test is not currently accepted by all universities in the UK, please check with the university you want to apply to.
Other popular English language tests, such as TOEFL or Pearson Test of English Academic, will no longer be accepted. If you have recently taken another English language tests, please check the UKVI websitefor further information.
The average UCAS tariff score of new undergraduate students is based on HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) data for 2016–17. Each student’s examination results are converted to a numerical score (A level A*=56, A=48 … E=16, etc; Scottish Highers A=33, B=27, etc) and added up to give a score total. HESA then calculates an average for all students at the university. The results are then adjusted to take account of the subject mix at the university.
A high average score (it is over 200, or A*AAA, at some universities) does not mean that all students score so highly or that you need to take lots of A levels to get in. The actual grades required vary by subject and few if any courses will ask for grades in more than three subjects.
Student Satisfaction score is a measure of student views of the teaching quality at the university. The data comes from The National Student Survey (NSS), a survey of final-year undergraduate students in 2017.
Research Quality is a measure of the quality of the research undertaken in the university. The data comes from The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) undertaken by the funding councils.
Graduate is a measure of the completion rate of first-degree undergraduates studying at the university. The data comes from HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) performance indicators, based on data for 2016–17 and earlier years. The figures in the tables show the percentage of students who were expected to complete their course or transfer to another institution.
There are overviews of all courses in the official websites of universities.
You can also find more detailed information by speaking to our team. Our live chat support is available between 8am and 10pm, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You can start a chat by selecting the chat icon at the bottom of the page.
Those applying for a Tier 4 student visa and coming to the UK for 6 months or longer will be required to pay an immigration health surcharge as part of their visa application fee.
Students will be required to pay £300 per year for the duration the visa will be granted. If the leave includes part of a year that is 6 months or less, the amount payable for that year will be £150. If the leave includes part of a year that is more than 6 months, the full annual amount of £300 will be payable.