Taught Masters Courses in the UK

One of the great advantages about taking a taught Masters course in the UK is that most of them are one year rather than two (one calendar year - 12 months). This does not mean that the quality is lower or that they are easier than in other countries, qualifications from all British universities are recognised worldwide. They are simply more intensive than equivalent qualifications in other countries.

This has distinct advantages for overseas students. Because the courses are completed in 12 months it makes them considerably cheaper because tuition is only paid for one year and only one year living expenses are necessary. In addition to this students return to the job market a year earlier. This leads to career advancement at a younger age and money being earned when students choosing other destinations are still completing their qualifications. Bearing in mind that Taiwan is a qualifications driven society, Taiwan students should be asking themselves "Can I afford NOT to do a 1 year Masters?" rather than "Can I afford to do a 1 year Masters?"!

Most taught Masters courses start at the end of September or the beginning to October - the academic year follows the same dates as in Taiwan - although there are a few Masters courses starting in January (mainly in business related subjects). Courses are usually in four terms as follows:-

September - Mid-December
3-4 weeks holiday for Christmas and New Year
January - April
3-4 weeks holiday for Easter
May - June
Postgraduate diploma examinations
July - September
Dissertation

This is a general outline as dates vary from course to course and from institution to institution. Also some universities now use a semester system rather than a term system (holidays remain the same when this occurs). In most courses the taught element takes place from September to June and then "postgraduate diploma" examinations are taken. Students must achieve high enough grades in these examinations to be allowed through to continue to the dissertation and Masters level. (Some courses do not have the PG dip examinations as students are graded on course work alone.) Dissertations vary in length from about 12 thousand words to 25 thousand words. Students should check the course outline for details of this.

There are thousands of different types of Masters course in the full range of academic disciplines. In order to choose the most appropriate course students should make sure they get as much detail as possible on course content.

Pre-sessional UK English Courses

Because British masters courses are only 12 months long it is essential that students have a high enough level of English (6.5 IELTS for most course) at the BEGINNING of the course otherwise they will fall behind with the course work and risk failure. For students who have a slightly lower level of English it is often possible to take a pre-sessional English language course at the University. Courses can last for up to three months and it is often possible to get a confirmed offer from the University dependent on "satisfactory completion" of the course and not upon taking another IELTS test. Students should be careful to fully understand the details of a pre-sessional offer as some offers will require another IELTS test at the end of the course.