What's next for students?

by Ann Wallace© The Herald
Originally published: 20.10.2006


Taking your studies on to the next level can be a rewarding and exciting experience, whether here in the UK or abroad.

It is the chance to specialise or develop a particular area of interest, and there is plenty of scope and opportunity available if you know where to look.

The University of Strathclyde is the UK's largest provider of postgraduate education, including continuing education and professional development programmes.

Its International and Graduate Office (IGO) handles the university's links and agreements with institutions around the world, and has a wide range of services designed to assist UK and non-UK students considering postgraduate and undergraduate study at Strathclyde.

"We exist to promote graduate opportunities within the UK, and to international markets, " explains IGO head Michelle Stewart. "Around 11 per cent of our student population is from overseas, which is in line with the UK average, and we focus on around 20 countries worldwide."

The big change in postgraduate education in recent years, explains Ms Stewart, is the shift away from research funding.

"Funding bodies do not fund as many research degree places, and that's a challenge facing all universities, but there has been a huge growth in the number of instructional courses, " she explains.

"An instructional course is like an off-the-shelf suit: you come in, you choose what you want to do - for example, a postgraduate degree in marketing - and it's formulaic and structured. It has nine prescriptive courses, a dissertation at the end and there is only a small area dedicated to research.

"A research degree, however, covers a much narrower field - in marketing, say, you would focus on how advertising affects young people, and only that."

There has been a big increase in the number of overseas students attending Strathclyde in recent years.

"The kind of support the IGO offers includes things such as what to expect from the course, the university, and from Glasgow, and in some cases we will participate in pre-departure briefings, " explains Ms Stewart.

"Around 65 to 70 per cent of students on postgraduate courses at Strathclyde are from Glasgow and around 38 per cent did their first degree here. "A recent report from the Higher Education Policy Institute makes the point that mobility is a big factor when students choose a particular institution. Most Scottish students tend to stay at home, and if they have done their first degree in Glasgow, do their second degree in the city too. Students from England tend to bounce around a lot more - first degree in Durham, postgraduate in London, and so on.

"The flip side of that, of course, from our point of view, is that we are more exposed to changes in the city's student population."

One of the biggest challenges facing universities offering postgraduate study is funding. "Despite the current trend, we need to find the research students, and be smart about finding the money, " says Ms Stewart.

"We need to help students with funding applications, and be sure that only well-prepared applications are sent off.

"And we need to continue selling the benefits of postgraduate education to students here in the UK and overseas, improve the services we offer, and maintain the strong position we already enjoy."

More information about postgraduate study at Strathclyde is available from the university's website: www.strath.ac.uk