Education System
British Education has long attracted and welcomed high caliber students of different nationalities and backgrounds, and today builds on hundreds of years of experience in providing quality education to international students. With more than 150 institutes of higher education to choose from, all equipped with extensive facilities, Britain is able to offer a broad spectrum of subjects.

Most undergraduate degrees take three years to complete, with undergraduate degrees at Scottish universities lasting four years. At the graduate level, a taught master's degree normally is earned in a single year, few universities are offering 1.5 years taught master's degree as well, a research master's takes two years, and a doctoral degree is completed after three years. Professional courses, such as medicine, veterinary medicine, law and teaching, usually are undertaken as five-year undergraduate degrees, but students who already have been awarded a different undergraduate degree often can take a shorter, graduate-level course. The session normally starts in February and September every year.

Eligibility
Under Graduate Level
For Undergraduate course British students undergo thirteen years of pre-university education as compared with twelve years in India. Good grades in CBSE/ICSE Examination or their equivalent, or the first year of an Indian degree programme are therefore usually required for direct entry into an undergraduate programme in UK.

For those who do not, as yet, have these qualifications, there is a range of access or foundation courses available. Foundation courses range from four months to a year.

Applicants must satisfy both general and course requirements for admissions.
General Requirements
A specified number of subject passes at both GCE "A" Levels and GCSE at grade C minimum is required for admissions in UK educational system. CBSE, ICSE and State Board Examinations (i.e., Maharashtra State Board, West Bengal State Board examinations etc.) are considered and recognized as an equivalent Indian qualification.

Course Requirements
Course requirement details can be obtained from website and prospectuses of institutions which are available at the Education Counselling Service located in the British Council offices or Libraries in India and other countries. For Entry into Oxford, Cambridge and London University, 'A' level results are required. This in Indian context would mean one year in a college after 12 years of education

Post Graduate (Master's & Doctorate) level
Most UK universities accept the Indian graduation system of three years for entry into most postgraduate courses. An Indian bachelor degree like BA, B.Com. or BSc is equivalent to a British Bachelor (Ordinary) Degree.

However, some courses (i.e., Masters of Engineering (MEng) etc.) and universities may require a qualification equivalent to British Bachelor (Honours) Degree, which requires 16 years of formal education, which would mean another year after graduation or a four year degree course like B.E., B.Tech or other such courses.


Academic Calendar
This calendar relates to students following a standard undergraduate academic year.
 

Standard term dates 2007-08

• Autumn 24 September - 21 December 2007

• Spring 7 January - 14 March 2008

• Summer 31 March - 30 May 2008