Many internationally minded US prospective post-grads seek their degrees in the United Kingdom each year. This is often due to the cheaper costs of the programs there. Also, in the UK one can go straight into a PhD program, as opposed to the US where a masters degree is a prerequisite for the highest achievement of academia.
However, due to the UK’s governmental funding cuts to educational financial aid many may think twice before heading to England. English universities are increasing their schools’ costs from the 6000-pound cap, or almost 10,000 dollars.
Costs Increases Not New – and Probably will Continue
However, for post-graduate programs there is still on-going uncertainty about the price hike. Many schools are still deliberating what they are going to charge for the 2012 academic year. Unfortunately, though, price increases are no new news for these schools. It is estimated higher education costs have increased already 24 percent in the last year!
Also, in the UK, research councils or the universities’ industry partners fund 19,000 PhD candidates. However, the councils are now unsure about how many candidates they will be able to fund in the coming years with the increased costs of schooling. Additionally, there is likely to be an increase in people looking for an edge in the job market seeking to boost their credentials with another degree, which is going to make competition for the funded positions severe.
For Those Still Hoping to Get Their Degree Abroad
Science Magazine suggests a solution for those still with their hearts set on PhDs and graduate studies should seek opportunities to fund their schooling through paid internships or part-time jobs. However, ultimately the most important steps one you could do to lessen the costs of post-grad studies is to look for funding as early as possible.
Read more about the topic at Science Magazine here.