Why undertake postgraduate study?

There are many reasons why you may wish to do postgraduate study. These include:

• Enjoyment of your chosen subject. A highly motivating reason, but make sure you consider whether the postgraduate programme fits in with your long-term career plans.
• Your chosen career requires a professional qualification.
• It may enhance your job prospects, and help you stand out from the crowd. However you should be aware that although some employers place great value in the more specialised skills and knowledge from a postgraduate course, for other employers it does not offer any advantage. Given that  fees for postgraduate courses are usually high and funding more sporadic and competitive than for undergraduate degrees, it is important to check out the potential career outcomes before you sign up. It is always a good idea to investigate the destinations information of course finishers for those courses which interest you.  You can do this by contacting the university’s careers service or in many cases, looking on their careers service’s web-site.
• Convert to a new career area. Many postgraduate programmes provide a way of converting to particular career areas, such as non-business graduates who wish to work within the field of business or non-law graduates who want a career in law.

For more information on types of courses, how to apply and fees and funding please read the AGCAS leaflet "About postgrad study"

You may also wish to view the Journey to Work: Postgraduate Study video where recent graduates, recruiters and career advisers are discussing pro's and contra's of going into postgraduate studies.