Putting postgraduate study into perspective

PG Taught degrees
Postgraduate degrees can be taught or research. Taught degrees involve a research element such as a dissertation or work project and should include some formal training in research methods.  Master's degrees come with a variety of titles depending upon their specialisation but the most common abbreviations are MA, Master of Arts, MSc Master of Science, M Ed Master of Education, MEng Master of Engineering, LLM Master of Law, MBA Master of Business Administration and MPA Master of Public Administration. Some undergraduate degrees have an integrated Masters year, an example would be a four year combined BEng/MEng.

PG Research degrees
Research degrees tend to be known as MRes, a research Masters degree possibly designed to prepare students for a Doctorate but may also be a ‘stand-alone’ piece of work which is not contributing to PhD study. An MPhil is, on the other hand, an extended Masters degree, (usually the first two years of a PhD), which may contribute to Doctorate study.  Doctorate studies can also have a range of titles, PhD is the most common research degreelasting three or four years, however, if there is a vocational component to the degree it may be entitled DPhil, LLD or D Eng.

Postgraduate Taught Diplomas and Certificates
Some institutions offer a range of Postgraduate Diplomas and Certificates.  PG Diplomas may be shorter than a Masters degree, may be a conversion course prior to embarking upon a Masters degree or may be offered as an alternative to a full Masters degree if students don’t have the qualifications or grades to be awarded the MA or MSc.

Accreditation
CATS and ECTS – are both units to measure study time.  The European Credit Transfer System is equivalent to two CATS (Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme).  Each CAT equates to around 10 hours of study time, including self-directed study. A Masters degree is normally around 180 CATS or 90 ECTS.