Text 5. Higher Education

There are over 100 universities in Britain plus other institutions including teacher training colleges.

Undergraduate courses normally take three years of full-time study, although a number of subjects take longer, including medicine, architecture and foreign languages (where courses may include a year abroad). They lead in most cases to a Bachelor's degree in Arts or Science. There are various postgraduate degrees, including Master of Arts or Science, Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy, the last two being awarded for research in Arts or Sciences.

Degrees are usually awarded by the Institution itself. Students of law, architecture and some other professions can take qualifications awarded by their own professional bodies instead of degrees.

In the 1980s the main sources of income for students in higher education were parental contributions and the maintenance grant (money paid by the local authority to cover living expenses, books and travel). By the 1990s this had changed and student loans gradually replaced the old system of grants. By 1999 loans formed 24 per cent of total income for students.

Universities accept students mainly on the basis of their “A” level results, although they may interview them as well. The Open University was started in 1971 to cater for adults who did not have these formal qualifications. The emphasis has changed in all forms of higher education to include greater numbers of students and encourage people from different backgrounds to apply. In 1970 there were 620,000 students in higher education of whom 33 per cent were women. By 1999 these figures had increase to 2.1 million students of whom 53 per cent were women. Life-long learning skills have also become more important.

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