What is a postgraduate degree?

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If you’re currently studying at university, you might have heard the term ‘postgraduate’ thrown around, but what exactly does it mean and is it the right next step for you?

What is postgraduate study?

A postgraduate degree is also known as a Master’s and is the next step in education after your undergraduate degree.

Why do a postgraduate degree?

After three or more years of going to university for your undergraduate degree, you might be wondering what the benefit of another degree is. Master’s study can boost your employability and your future earnings!

Plus, further study often offers you the chance to explore your passion and delve deeper into topics you’re interested in. Find out why a Master’s degree can benefit you.

Different types of postgraduate degrees

There are different types of Master’s degrees which relate to the area of study the subject sits under. For example, the qualification obtained after studying a Master’s in fine art is a Master of Art.

The different types of qualifications include:

  •        Master of Art (MA)
  •        Masters of Science (MSc)
  •        Masters of Philosophy (MPhil)
  •        Masters of Engineering (MEng)
  •        Masters of Architecture (MArch)
  •        Masters of Research (MRes)*

*An MRes is a qualification awarded for research-based study.

Postgraduate Open Days

Join us for an on-campus Open Day where you'll be able to learn about our postgraduate courses in detail, explore our campus and chat with current postgraduate students.

Do I have to study the same subject as my undergraduate degree?

A lot of the time, postgraduate study is a way for students to build on their learning at undergraduate level. However, if you want to explore a new subject or your career aspirations have changed over the past few years, a conversion course might be for you.

Conversion courses do not usually require you to have a specific undergraduate degree because they’re designed for students wanting a fast-track option into a new career or subject area.

How do I fund a postgraduate degree?

Master’s funding is a little different to the funding you might have received as an undergraduate student. You can still apply for a government loan to cover your course fees but this will be sent straight to you instead of the university, so it’s up to you to manage your money.

Students also choose to fund their postgraduate course and living costs through scholarships, bursaries and part-time work. Find out more about funding your postgraduate degree.

What comes after a postgraduate degree?

Studying a postgraduate degree gives you an extra year to connect with others in the industry, gain work experience and build on your skills. All of this prepares you for the graduate job market.

If you really enjoy academic research and would like to progress further, you could apply for a PhD. Check out our PhD blog to find out more about further study and the opportunities it presents.

What should you do next?

Come to a Postgraduate Open Day

Come to one of our Postgraduate Open Days to meet our subject academics, find out more about your course in detail and learn more about postgraduate finance.

Book your place

Download our postgraduate guide

Our Postgraduate Guide provides details of all our postgraduate taught and research courses. It also provides information about the research environment at Birmingham City University

Download the guide

Apply for a course

So, you’re interested in applying for postgraduate study? Here’s a step-by-step guide covering all you need to know to apply. Unlike undergraduate degrees where you will apply via UCAS, you can apply straight to the University for a postgraduate degree.

Find out how to apply

Sign up to find out more

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Get advice on your personal statement

Not sure what's required of you in a postgraduate personal statement? Don't worry, our guide has top tips, examples from real students and all the guidance you'll need.

Download the guide

Speaker 1 Hi, I'm Danielle and today we are going to be discussing everything that you need to know about a postgraduate degree. Hi, I'm Izzy and I'm studying Fashion Design. Speaker 2 My name's Josh and I'm studying Sport and Exercise Nutrition. My name's David and I'm studying Physiotherapy. Speaker 1 My name's Danielle and I'm studying dietetics. So what is a postgraduate degree? It's any course that you do after an undergraduate degree. So this could be a Master's or you may go on to do a PhD after your Master's. You can also do a PGCE if you wanted to go into the more teaching route or you can do more specialist courses if you wanted to go on to do architecture or nursing. So what are the benefits for you studying a postgraduate degree? Let's have a discussion. Speaker 3 So I did my undergraduate here, I did Garment Technology and I only found out the niche I wanted to go into at the end of my final year, so I knew that I wanted to continue researching adaptive fashion and clothing for people with disabilities, so the best way for me to do that was to carry on to do a postgraduate degree. Speaker 2 Yeah, likewise as well. With my undergrad I really liked research and I thought I suited the place quite well here at BCU. So my dissertation was really good at undergrad, I got an award for it and I really wanted to pursue the avenue of going into research as well. Speaker 1 Wonderful. Speaker 4 For me, what made me want to do a Masters was, as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a physio, because I have a background in sport and football and whatever, but when I did my undergrad, that was in Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, so I said, 'ok, I know that, I still want to be a physio, so I now need to do a Master's so that I can make sure I get there', and on top of that, the Master's gives me a deeper understanding in terms of my job role in the future, so yeah, that's what brought me here. Speaker 1 Nice, great. Well for me personally, it was kind of a natural progression on from my undergraduate, so me and Josh did the same thing. So we did a Sport and Exercise Nutrition degree and personally I just loved the nutrition side of things and it just felt like the natural next step to become a dietitian because it's just something I'm very passionate about. So also what really helped me make that decision as well was the facilities that we've got here at BCU. I knew that they've got excellent places to do all the mock ward stuff as if you're actually in a hospital. Did you guys feel the same? Is there anything that drew you to BCU? Speaker 3 When you do something like fashion, it's really important to get used to industrial professional style machines and technology and some of the technology such as the CLO 3D, which is a 3D software, it's just quite expensive and inachievable to do yourself at home, but as we have access to that software and Gerber software in the university, staying just made a lot more sense for me. Speaker 2 I think as you said earlier, doing the same undergrad, the facilities we had at the old building at the Seacole, now moving to the Alex, using the heat chamber, the RMR machine, loads of different technology that's been moved over, it's allowed me to think I want to be retained within BCU, I really enjoy it here. Speaker 4 I feel like the facilities is definitely something I looked into. So I did my undergrad, as you guys know, elsewhere. So when looking around at different unis, I was looking at what they have and also what support they have as well. So me, myself, I'm in the process of getting diagnosed with ADHD. Speaker 1 Hey same! Speaker 4 The uni, they really helped and they were really supportive with going through that. So now they've done stuff like put things into place to get support. Speaker 1 That's wonderful. Speaker 4 And also they had loads of good things that they would practise ward. Speaker 3 The support is really good at BCU, I've been here since my undergrad and I've had ongoing health issues and I've had to have multiple surgeries where they've been cancelled and rearranged so getting extensions and things, it can be really stressful. And so with BCU and with my tutors in particular, they were really helpful at just making sure I remained calm and that they trusted me. Speaker 4 I feel like the common misconception... Oh were you about to say? Speaker 1 You go! Speaker 4 I feel like the common misconception between, amongst people is studying a Master's is that you're by yourself and I've been here for a while now and I don't actually feel by myself, if that makes sense. I've got the support of my classmates, your lecturers are still there even though it's a self-guided way of studying. Speaker 1 I felt exactly the same. During my undergrad I had my first child and the support that I got from my lecturers was just unmatched. So I fully get what you guys are saying. So for anyone who's watching this, who is maybe undecided about where they want to go to university or what course they want to take and what they want to specialise in, how do you think that they could best make that decision? Speaker 1 For me, as a returning student to BCU, the main draw was that returning students have a 20% discount from the fee they have to pay and that made a really big difference for me because fashion is a subject where there's a lot of material costs, so I had to think long term about what the cost of my course would be. Speaker 4 I mean, I wasn't a returning student, so I was doing research about different unis and looking at course content, the breakdown facilities they had, that kind of thing, like them kind of things because I feel like if you don't research all that beforehand, then you're in for a massive shock. Speaker 1 Did you go to, I know you weren't a student here before, did you go to any Open Days? Speaker 4 I went to everything. Speaker 1 Oh, did you? Speaker 4 I went to everything, I went to the Open Day, I went to some like, some fair that they were running and I just wanted to just get a feel and sometimes it's not always about course content and breakdown, sometimes you have to go there and see and think can I see myself actually being here. Speaker 2 If you go to an Open Day and you see a lecturer and think I'm going to click with this person, obviously at face value it's going to help you a lot. Speaker 1 Yeah, having that one to one time with the actual lecturers and course leads that you might be associated with I think makes a huge difference, doesn't it. Speaker 4 I met one of my lecturers on the Open Day and his name was Greg and honestly it was from that moment I met Greg I said, yeah. I said, I know. Because if you can click with your lecturers, these are the people that you're going to spend a lot of your time with. So if you know from a moment, 'ok, I'm going to click with him', then you know down the line, ok this is going to be a good fit for me. Speaker 3 I think it's important to come to the Open Days as well, if you're not from Birmingham specifically. I'm someone who was, like yourself, born and raised here, so I think I take for granted how central and connected to the rest of the UK Birmingham is, especially some of the more central campuses. We're by New Street Station, which is one of the biggest train stations in the UK, it can connect you to pretty much anywhere. And then it's also, we're not too far from smaller, more green areas and towns rather than just the big city, it's quite a diverse area, really. Speaker 1 Great, so for more information on postgraduate study, go to the BCU website.