Graduate Study in Europe

If you are considering studying a graduate program, look no further than Europe. Boasting some of the oldest and most highly-regarded universities in the world, Europe offers a first-class graduate education with an unrivalled cultural experience.

What is Graduate Study?

The term 'graduate study' covers the range of courses and research available to students who have completed a first degree at a university. The courses defined as graduate are those with the following titles:

• Graduate Certificate
• Graduate Diploma
• Masters (by coursework or research)
• Doctorate
• Professional Doctorate
• Post-Doctoral studies
  

Pathways to Graduate Studies

There are a number of pathways to a graduate course. A traditional path has been for academically gifted (credit average or better) students enrol in an honours year in their undergraduate degree and, if successful in this course (which usually includes a research topic, project or essay), they move on to doing a Research Masters (sometimes called an Honours Masters) degree or straight into a PhD.

However, it is possible to enrol in a university-level Graduate Certificate or Diploma course in an academic field on the basis of relevant employment (or, in some cases, life experience) and then progress to a higher level graduate qualification on the basis of success in these less academically demanding courses.

In a similar way, enrolment in a Masters by coursework can follow relevant work experience and/or the successful completion of a Graduate Certificate or Diploma in a relevant area, or by finishing an undergraduate degree that is deemed by the university you wish to attend as a suitable and adequate preparation.

Things to Consider

If you are thinking about undertaking graduate study, it is important to consider the following questions:

• Why do you want to do graduate study? Is there a valid reason or does it just postpone the moment when you have to make an employment decision?

• Will the graduate courses you are considering be useful to you, either as personal enrichment or as a marketable qualification? Your careers service can assist you with this issue, as can a study of job advertisements in the newspapers and on the Internet.

• Are you strong enough academically to undertake a higher degree? Some self-analysis and discussion with academic staff can help here.

• Is the graduate course you're interested in the right one? Talking to people who have done a similar course and to the people supervising it can clarify this.

• Is it better to undertake graduate study immediately after your first degree or to wait until you have some work experience?

For some higher degrees, particularly Masters of Business Administration, work experience may be a prerequisite.

How to Apply to a Graduate Course

Each university processes applications for graduate study separately so you will need to apply individually to each university in which you are interested.

Studying Overseas

If you are interested in studying overseas, you can do it in a number of ways:

• Enrol in a foreign university as a full fee paying student

• Enrol in a foreign university using a scholarship awarded for overseas study

• Enrol in a European university with a student exchange program and spend some time of your degree overseas

• Enrol in a European university with a travelling fellowship program and spend a short amount of time overseas researching a specific area of interest

Obviously each of these options has advantages and disadvantages, and the option you choose will depend on your area of interest and your financial situation. Take the time to investigate the programs offered through each university before you enrol.

Why Europe?

The Bologna Process is an initiative that is being implemented (and in many European countries, is already in place) to make it easier for international students to study abroad and have their existing qualifications recognised in their host country. Most countries in Europe are unifying to one standardised schedule of graduate qualifications which means that your graduate degree will be worth the same whichever country you study in. Thousands of international students are choosing Europe as their study destination as the Bologna Process ensures that graduate education is more accessible to students from overseas.

Studying a graduate program in Europe gives you access to a whole host of different countries and cultures to explore. If you study in mainland Europe, then you need not travel far before you are exposed to a diverse range of languages, food, entertainment and traditions. The cost of studying in a European university is much lower than studying in the United States for example.

If you want to enhance your languages skills and broaden your horizons then perhaps Europe is the study destination for you. No-where else will you find such diversity of people and quality of graduate education in one continent.