Types of courses

After completing your undergraduate course you may be considering postgraduate study, whether it be a masters course or a PhD or other types of postgraduate study. UCAS is a good starting point to help you find information on postgraduate courses in the UK or try FindAMasters and FindAPhd.

Benefits of postgraduate study

There are many benefits to contonuing with your education. Depending on your choice of course, benefits might include developing: 

  • specialist knowledge
  • high-order technical skills
  • independent project management experience
  • advanced application of critical thinking, analysis and creative problem solving skills
  • professional experience, e.g. through work-based projects
  • professional connections in your field.

Before applying for a course, consider your reasons for wanting to pursue a higher qualification and how it will help you to achieve your personal and professional ambitions. If career advancement is your main purpose for postraduate study, it's important to remember that completing a postgraduate course alone does not guarantee better employment prospects. An important aspect of postgradute study is engaging with all the "extra" activities and opportunities as these will help you to maximise your success, build professional contacts and hone your transferrable and specialist skills.

Funding  

You can either self-fund your postgraduate course or you can apply for a government loan. The amount you are eligible for will depend on the type of study you want to pursue. If you choose to enter the job market first, it's possible that your employer might fund your studies as part of your professional development, e.g. if the qualification carries professional accreditation. However, this would happen only if the qualification is deemed necessary by your employer. 

If you are looking for a funded PhD you can find those vacancies here as well as by looking directly on universities’ websites. 

How to apply 

Each institution may have specific requirements in what they would like you to submit as part of the application. As a rule of thumb, you can expect that you will need to submit a personal statement and a CV or an acadmeic CV. If you are thinking of applying for a research based course such as PhD, you could also be asked to provide a research proposal.  

The Careers and Employability team can help you with:

  • deciding if postgraduate study is right for you 
  • choosing what course to choose 
  • navigating the application procces

To book a careers consultation, email careers@buckingham.ac.uk.