HIGHER EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN
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 col-leges 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 prestig-ious
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 twen-tieth 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, examina-tions,
appointment of staff, or the way they
spend money. The universi-ties 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 cer-tificate and
exam scores are not enough. Universities choose their stu-dents after
interviews.
Colleges for further education include polytechnics, colleges of
edu-cation, 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 student’s 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 year’s 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
