Studying in the UK : How to find a course

Think about what you want to get out of your studies, particularly your interests, experiences and long-term ambitions. What are the most important factors to you?

A couple of starting points include:

• contacting your local office of The British Council  for advice and information;
• talking to family and friends about your aims;
• talking to other people who have alread studied in the UK;
• speaking to university alumni networks or international officers.

What courses are available in the UK?

Once you have chosen a subject you need to find out which universities offer the courses or research programmes you are interested in. The best place to start is to search courses and research. This online database allows you to search for programmes by subject, institution, qualification and keyword. Each entry includes information on course duration, a description of the course and information relevant to international students and email links so you can contact the course providers directly.
 
In addition to postgraduate opportunities, the British Council’s website Education UK  includes information on boarding school and college education plus English language, career-based, and undergraduate programmes.

The site will also point you to your nearest British Council office. Your local office will have a wide range of books, directories, brochures, guides, prospectuses and CD-ROMs that you can use.

You can search for accredited institutions offering relevant English language courses at English Courses in Britain or find out more about testing your English language skills.

How do I find out more about the course?

UK universities attend exhibitions all over the world. These exhibitions, usually organised by the British Council, provide an ideal opportunity to talk to representatives from the universities and with alumni. It is important to be prepared by knowing who is going to be there and having some questions to ask them. For background information, search universities and departments.

Is my university a recognised institution?

To check the validity of an institution and/or course in the UK, you can: 

• visit the UK government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) - Recognised UK Degrees  for a list of recognised institutions and information on bogus degrees;
• use the Higher Education Degree Datacheck (HEDD) to check that your university is recognised by the UK government;
• examine the latest Research Assessment Exercise , which reviews the quality of each institution's research.

You can get further advice from The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) , an independent body that exists to safeguard and help to improve academic standards and quality of higher education in the UK. The QAA conducts reviews of institutions and courses in UK higher education institutions and these can be viewed on their website at QAA - Institution Reports .