Types of postgraduate course

Some postgraduate courses lead directly to a professional qualification required for entry into a particular career.

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Understanding postgraduate courses

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Master's courses

A master's course can allow you to extend your knowledge of a specific area of interest, or to explore new topics unrelated to your first degree. Most masters courses last one or two years full-time, though durations can vary internationally. Part-time options are available at some institutions.

The masters degrees you will most commonly come across are:

MA – generally arts, social sciences or business
MSt - generally arts, social sciences or business (commonly offered at Oxford)
MSc – science and technology disciplines (MS in the USA)
MRes – practical research techniques and experience focus, often as a precursor to a PhD/DPhil programme
MBA – management and business, usually after a few years of business experience
MPhil – includes a substantial piece of individual research
Subject-specific degree titles such as MEd, MEng (some titles may be ‘integrated undergraduate master’s’ qualifications rather than postgraduate courses).

Professional qualifications

Some postgraduate courses lead directly to a professional qualification required for entry into a particular career. Examples include the PGCE or PGDE for teaching. Whilst not a professional requirement, the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) supports individuals who did not study law as their first degree to learn what is needed to pass the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). However, there are a whole series of other further study options which could be classified as vocational, ranging from six-week courses in computer skills through to practitioner doctorates such as the DClinPsy/DClinPsych/ClinPsyD, normally required for eligibility to practise as a Clinical Psychologist.

Due to differing time and cost implications, it is important to consider which type of postgraduate course is necessary and sufficient to support your goals. Find out more about study routes into specific career areas in sectors and occupations.

Doctoral degrees

A PhD (known as a DPhil in Oxford) usually requires three or more years' full-time research, involving in-depth study of a specific field, the results of which are presented as a thesis often of tens of thousands of words in length. In some countries, including the USA, doctoral students begin their course with a programme of taught modules before beginning doctoral research in year 2 or 3, making the overall length of a PhD much longer than the 3-4 year average in the UK. Whilst durations vary by discipline, funding model, and institution, examples of typical PhD lengths in countries often applied to by Oxford students are: UK 3-4 years, USA 5-7 years, Canada 4-5 years, France & Germany 3-4 years (post-masters), Netherlands 4 years (post-masters).

Most PhD students join an existing research group in a university department under the guidance of one or more supervisors, applying to conduct research in a particular discipline, conduct a specific advertised research project, or where the candidate has developed a research proposal they wish to undertake. In the UK there are a growing number of structural PhD programmes advertised that are funded by specific research funders. For example, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) research council studentships include range of programme names, including Doctoral Landscape Awards (DLAs), Doctoral Focal Awards (DFAs), Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), Industrial Doctoral Landscape Awards (IDLAs), as well as some remaining programme titles including Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs), Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) and Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs). Structured doctoral training programmes are often four-years in duration with a focus on interdisciplinary topics and formal training in research methods. These four-year programmes can often have 6-month or 12-month initial periods focused on training, short projects and rotations, or other structured programming to help develop skills and interests, and allow time to decide on a specific project for longer term research. These programmes are therefore useful in providing time for individuals who know they have a strong interest in a broader field of study, but do not yet know the specific topic they wish to focus on longer term.

Research masters

Many taught masters courses contain an element of research via an extended dissertation on a specific topic. Research masters courses offering training in research methods and the opportunity to explore a topic in depth are also available at some institutions. The most common of these degree titles are MRes and MPhil, and these are often seen as a precursor to more extended doctoral level research. The titles of research masters can vary substantially, so it is worth researching the format and content of any masters programme to ensure it suits your goals.