About the UK’s Higher Education system

Approximately 1.8 million students currently are in the higher education system; about one third of young people go on to higher education at age 18 (with almost 50% of students in Scotland), and an increasing number of "mature" students are studying either full-time or part-time for university degrees. Higher education is a priority in current policy for the government, with a target set to attract 50 percent of 18- to 30-year-olds to higher education by 2010.

The new Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills (DIUS) brings together functions from two former departments. Science and innovation responsibilities from the Department of Trade and Industry. Skills, further and higher education from the Department for Education and Skills.

Most undergraduate degrees take three years to complete, with undergraduate degrees at Scottish universities lasting four years. At the graduate level, a taught master's degree normally is earned in a single year, a research master's takes two years, and a doctoral degree is completed after three years. Professional courses, such as medicine, veterinary medicine, law and teaching, usually are undertaken as five-year undergraduate degrees, but students who already have been awarded a different undergraduate degree often can take a shorter, graduate-level course.

Our guide for prospective students provides full details on different degree programs and degree types. For more information on recognized degrees in the UK, visit the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills.

Our guide to studying in Scotland provides information on the unique history and structure of its education system.

How institutions are funded

Nearly all UK universities and higher education colleges are publicly-funded by the central government via funding councils (and by the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland). Funding levels are contingent on enrollment figures for a given institution.

Institutions also receive funding from student tuition or via Local Authorities.

International students, non-EU students, as well as students not resident in the UK pay different tuition rates as international students. Information on tuition, funding, and costs for international students can be found in our guide for prospective students.