• At the age of sixteen, following two years of study, students
may take A-Levels (Advanced Level examinations) required for
university entrance in the UK. Over these two years following
secondary school education, students specialize in three or four
subjects that are usually relevant to the degree subject they wish
to follow at university (Expatica Communications, 2018).
• Once a student has been through all the misadventures and
hardship of compulsory education will be in an undergraduate
degree program. An undergraduate degree may be a BA
(Bachelor or Arts), BEng (Bachelor of Engineering), and BSc
(Bachelor of Science).
• Undergraduate degrees take four years course to complete in Scotland, while in the rest of the
states take only three leading to a first degree such as medicine, dentistry, veterinary science take
up to six years. When graduate level is reached, it only takes a year to have a master´s degree, two
for a research master´s degree and three for a doctoral degree (Expatica Communications, 2018).
• Higher education is not for free. Students must pay a contribution to the cost of teaching (tuition
less) and also have to pay their living costs (maintenance). The government provides loans to help
them pay for university education wich has to be paid back from earnings once their income
reaches a certain level. Universities receive and deciding which course to offer (Expatica
Communications, 2018).
• Studying a degree in the United Kingdom is not simple; universities and colleges are quite
expensive and not all people have the chance to pay for that. Another important aspect to take into
consideration is the requirements to enter to these institutions. Many people find it difficult to
fulfill such requisites, so they decide not to study a degree.
• Since 1992 the government began to eliminate distinctions between universities and other
education centers for higher education. All universities in United Kingdom are autonomous and
each one decides diplomas and certificates granted, it also decides the conditions for obtaining
them, most included research and courses at pre-and post- graduate levels (Expatica
Communications, 2018).
