The UK has a vast variety of higher education opportunities with over 100 universities offering various degree programs for students from the UK and around the world. Nowadays higher education in the UK is provided by universities, colleges of education, colleges of arts and colleges of further education.
There are 46 universities in Britain. The universities can be divided into three groups: the oldest universities (Oxford and Cambridge); the redbrick universities and the new universities
Oxford & Cambridge Universities date from the 12 - 13 centuries. They are known all over the world and are the oldest and most prestigious universities in Britain. They are often called collectively Oxbridge, but both of them are completely independent. Only education elite go to Oxford and Cambridge. In the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries the so-called redbrick universities were founded. During the late sixties and early seventies some 20 'new' universities were set up. Sometimes they are called 'concrete and glass' universities.
All British universities are private institutions. Every university is in-dependent, and responsible to its own governing council. Although they all receive financial support from the state, the Department of education and science has no control over their regulations, curriculum, examinations, appointment of staff, or the way they spend money. The universities have their own traditions, which they preserve carefully. A student must wear a cap and a gown. It is a custom from the time when students were clergymen.
University students are carefully selected. The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and good A-level results in at least two subjects are necessary to get a place at a university. However, good certificate and exam scores are not enough. Universities choose their students after interviews.
Colleges for further education include polytechnics, colleges of education, specialist colleges (agricultural colleges, colleges of art and music, etc.), further education colleges. The polytechnics, like the universities, offer first and higher degrees. Some of them offer full-time and sandwich courses for working students. Colleges of education provide two-year courses in teacher education or sometimes three years if the graduate specializes in some particular subjects.
The academic year in Britain's universities, polytechnics, colleges of education is divided into 3 terms, which usually run from the beginning of October to the middle of December, the middle of January to the end of March, from the middle of April to the end of June or the beginning of July.
The general pattern of teaching at the universities remains a mixture of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Each student has a tutor who is responsible for the students progress. Tuition fees are high. The students receive grants from public and private funds, which provide for the payment of their tuition fees and other expenses. Each university and department has its own method of assessment, but, in general, progress is measured through a combination of coursework, dissertation and finals (end-of-course examinations).
After three years of study a university graduate will leave with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, etc. Some courses, such as languages and medicine, may be one or two years longer. The degrees are awarded at public degree ceremonies. Later the graduate may continue research to get Master's Degree. This degree is conferred for a thesis based on at least one years full time work. But it is necessary for a postgraduate to spend three years carrying out research and writing thesis for getting the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
