UK universities range from the ancient universities of England and Scotland, with a history going back centuries and a corresponding reputation for excellence, through to nineteenth century foundations in the major cities such as London or Manchester on to more recent foundations that have a history of less than 50 years.
UK Universities
Most UK universities are large comprehensive public universities – Buckingham is one of the few private universities. Manchester is the largest UK university with 40,000 students. Specialist colleges would include LSE, Imperial College and SOAS in London and Cambridge maintains 3 women’s colleges. There are a wide range of specialist Fine Arts and Performing Arts institutions as well. The best known UK universities belong to the
Russell Group, 24 research intensive universities that maintain a reputation for excellence.
UK Degrees
The typical UK degree is a 3 years single subject Honours degree. Most universities will now offer 4 year options which will include a year spent studying overseas in a partner institution or an internship year. Buckingham offers a 2 year degree with no holidays. Specialist degrees are still the norm at UK universities but there is now a wide range of alternative options, including dual degrees (known in the US as a double major) or combined degrees on a Liberal Arts model.
UK University Applications
UK applications are very straightforward. All applications go through the UCAS website and to the same format. The only exception to using UCAS are applications to specialist Conservatoire or Art Schools which will take direct applications.
Scottish Universities
Scottish degrees are 4 year degrees and include a general first year that has borrowed from the US Liberal Arts approach: this allows students to explore a range of subjects before deciding on their major field of study. Scottish universities range from the ancient to the new: Heriot Watt is the only UK university featured in the QS “50 under 50” Ranking.
Scotland’s Ancient Universities
The best known Scottish universities are the 4 ancient universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and St Andrews – St. Andrews is in fact the oldest university in the UK, predating Oxford. All have an established reputation and will feature in global university rankings. St Andrews is probably the most international of Scottish universities with almost half the student body being born outside the UK.
Students who want to study for a UK degree do not have to travel to the UK to achieve this – many UK universities have now set up international campuses that provide an education similiar to that provided by the home campus and that award a UK degree.
