When preparing to apply for postgraduate study in the UK, you must carefully confirm it to ensure the smoothness of studying abroad. Next, we will introduce the application requirements for studying in the UK for postgraduate studies. How to apply for studying in the UK for a master's degree?

Conditions for studying abroad

1. Academic requirements

When we start to choose schools and majors, we should consider whether our average scores and background meet the requirements. Requirements of the school you want to apply for; usually, applying to a British university requires a 2:2 honors bachelor's degree or above from a British institution. If you want to apply for G5, you generally need to obtain a first-class or second-class honors bachelor's degree, in addition to the application from the institution. In addition to the gap in requirements, the requirements for different majors in the same institution will also be different.

For undergraduates who have graduated from domestic institutions, applying for postgraduate courses in the UK generally requires an average score of 78-90 points. The specific score depends on their academic background. Relatively speaking, undergraduate graduates from key universities The average score requirement will be slightly lower than that of non-key universities.

2. Language requirements

For Chinese undergraduate graduates, language requirements are also a hurdle that everyone must cross when applying to study in the UK; usually, applying for postgraduate courses in British universities requires at least IELTS Achieve 6.0 points with no individual score lower than 5.5. If you want to apply to the top 100 British universities in the world, the IELTS requirement is usually a total score of 6.5 points with no individual score lower than 6.0. The IELTS requirements for applying to G5 colleges and universities are even higher. Oxford The IELTS requirement for both the University and the University of Cambridge is no less than 7.0.

In addition to the differences in language requirements among various institutions, the language requirements for different majors in the same institution will also be different. Generally speaking, English majors have the highest requirements, followed by social subjects such as business and law, and engineering and science majors. is relatively low.

3. Financial requirements

The tuition fee for postgraduate students studying in the UK is generally around 20,000-30,000 pounds (equivalent to RMB 180,000-270,000 yuan), but in addition to tuition fees, we also need daily expenses Expenses, such as accommodation fees, round-trip air tickets, daily necessities, food expenses, etc. Therefore, if you want to study in the UK, you need to prepare at least 250,000-300,000 yuan in RMB.

Application materials

1. Application Form (Application Form)

Most universities need to fill in the online application form, that is, Online Application Form. Individual Institutions will require students to fill in an electronic application form. Usually, the application form needs to fill in basic student information, application course information, academic background, language ability, recommender information, Fund, and material upload. After completing the above information, submit the application. Some institutions require an application fee to submit applications, such as Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, and IC. Individual schools also require application fees for individual majors, such as business courses in Manchester and Edinburgh. Students need to prepare their credit cards in advance. Years of experience tell us that the credit cards of Bank of China and China Guangfa Bank are the best.

2. Personal statement

Personal statement is a very important document in the application materials. A successful statement must not only have fluent language, rigorous logic, and clear layers, but also fully demonstrate the applicant's talent and capture the attention of the admissions officer.

Screen, integrate and optimize the following content based on years of experience and the requirements of the institutions you are applying for:

University's Statement of Purpose should be involved in the following items:

1. What relevant academic, research, or practical experience do you have?

2. Why are you applying for this particular program of study?

3. Which areas of study within the subject especially interest you?

4. What’s your career plan after postgraduate program in the UK?

The content generally includes: personal study, research experience, extracurricular activities or internships, work experience, etc. The statement can highlight academic achievements and practical abilities, including the ability to combine theory and practice, activity organization ability, Team spirit and more. It is important to reflect the students’ unique insights into their chosen major, the direction they want to study in depth in the future, and their clear plans for their future. British university admissions officers will use the personal statement to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the applicant's motivation and learning ability.

3. Letter of recommendation

Usually graduate application requires two letters of recommendation (Reference/Letter of Recommendation), and some institutions require three letters of recommendation, such as Oxford. The first is the choice of recommender. If you are a current student, you need to provide two academic recommendation letters. It is best for the recommender to be a teacher who has more contact with the applicant and knows the student's situation better. If the student has been working for many years, he or she can provide one academic recommendation letter and one work recommendation letter. Academic recommendation letters mainly reflect recognition of students' learning ability, school performance and other abilities and strongly recommend students. Work recommendation letters mainly give objective evaluations and recommend students on aspects such as students' work ability, professional level, teamwork, etc. It should be noted that the recommendation letter must include the recommender’s position, email, phone number, and the name and address of the employer. The school may contact the recommender for confirmation.

4. Academic materials

Original undergraduate certificate in Chinese and English (for current students) or original diploma and degree certificate in Chinese and English (for graduated students), undergraduate transcript in Chinese and English Original. Transcripts are generally issued by the school's Academic Affairs Office and require the seal of the school's Academic Affairs Office. All academic materials must be issued by the school and stamped with the school’s official seal. It should be noted that some colleges require students to provide proof of GPA when applying.

5. Proof of English proficiency

Most universities in the UK require applicants to provide proof of English proficiency, such as UKVI IELTS scores and TOEFL to prove their language proficiency. According to the requirements of the British Immigration Service, UKVI IELTS is required to study courses below a degree in the UK. When applying for the IELTS type test, students are asked to apply for UKVI IELTS to avoid problems later. Some schools have made it clear that they can also accept other proof of English proficiency such as TOEFL scores. Regarding conditional admission: Under normal circumstances, applicants can obtain a conditional offer from the school without providing IELTS scores first. The IELTS scores can be supplemented later to obtain a formal offer.

6. Other bonus materials

How to make your application materials more comprehensive and make you stand out among many applicants? Of course, bonus materials are essential.

Award certificates, participation in extracurricular activities, what specific work they were responsible for in the activities, and which aspects of abilities were improved by participating in the activities; scientific research projects participated in, focusing on learning and scientific research abilities; work experience, volunteer activities, published articles, etc. These can add points to your application and must be reflected in the personal statement or combined with the CV, and relevant supporting materials must be uploaded to the application system when submitting the application.

Types of postgraduate students

1. Taught Course

There are two main types of Taught Course: one is a master’s degree course, usually lasting 12 months, including classroom Lectures, special discussions, examinations and graduation thesis, etc. At present, most of our domestic college students apply for this kind of master's degree program. The second is a postgraduate diploma course (without a degree), which usually lasts for 9 months and includes the teaching content of the master's course, but does not include the graduation thesis.

2. Research Course

Research Course is also divided into two types: research master’s degree course and doctoral degree course. It usually means that students choose their own research topics and conduct research under the guidance of a tutor, thus providing the best opportunities for students who want to develop their own professional interests. For research-oriented students, independent research ability and effective research methods are crucial.