Why do a postgraduate degree?

Postgraduate study develops your skills, supports your career progression and allows for rich personal development – and it's more affordable than ever

The government offers postgraduate loans of up to £11,222 for students in all subject areas staring a masters after 2020, as long as you are under 60 and a UK or EU national living in England.

We have over 150 postgraduate courses, many of which offer flexible study options and a strong graduate employment record. We also offer a variety of scholarships and bursaries for UK, EU and international students alike.

Still not convinced? Here are some more reasons why you should consider a postgraduate degree.

Find out how to apply for a postgraduate degree

Read about postgraduate fees and funding

Find your course Find your course

Freedom to explore your interests

If there was a part of your undergraduate degree that really interested or inspired you, a postgrad degree is the perfect opportunity to explore it in greater detail. Typically, you will complete an extended research project or dissertation towards the end of your course, giving you a chance to contribute to the knowledge base of your chosen field.

If you are interested in pursuing an academic career, a postgraduate degree provides the perfect stepping stone between bachelor's and PhD level. MRes programmes – as opposed to MA or MSc programmes – are specially designed to improve your research skills in view of doctoral study.

Career-changing possibilities

A postgrad degree is an opportunity to build on your undergraduate degree and become an expert in a particular discipline. Psychology could lead to community psychology, marketing to digital marketing, computing to user experience design, and so on. Progressing in this way allows you to develop a specialist skillset and fine-tune your career path.

Alternatively, you could use a postgraduate degree to change career direction altogether – not every programme requires you to have studied the subject before. Our Law CPE, for example, is an accredited conversion course that helps non-graduates of law to kick-start their career in legal practice.

Enhanced employability

With more and more people taking undergraduate courses, a postgraduate degree is a chance to gain an advantage over other graduates and show your commitment to your field of interest. It also demonstrates advanced, transferable skills in communication, project management, critical thinking, data analysis and problem solving.

But it won't just help you to get a job after university – it will also help you to earn more money in the long term. According to a report by the Sutton Trust, students with a postgraduate degree can expect to earn £5,500 more a year than those with just a bachelor's – that's around £200,000 in a working lifetime.

Why Brighton?

Professional accreditation

Many of our postgraduate courses are recognised and accredited by leading professional bodies, so you can be confident that your studies are relevant to your chosen career. We also have links with hundreds of large companies and small–medium enterprises, helping you to build a professional network while still at university.

Flexible study

We offer a range of flexible study options to help you balance work and life commitments. Many of our courses are available to study part-time, including some on a distance-learning basis. You can also choose to take a break from study – exiting with a PGCert or PGDip – or take certain modules as stand-alone short courses.

World-leading research impact

The University of Brighton is recognised for research that brings significant benefits to society and the economy, with 92% rated as world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of research impact in the latest REF. As a postgraduate student, you will gain expert insight from the same inspiring lecturers behind our research success.

Financial support for Brighton graduates

Alumni discount

If you're already a student or graduate of the university, you may be eligible for a discount on tuition fees for postgraduate courses.

This is providing that:

you are paying all the course fees yourself and are not funded by, for example, a scholarship or your employer
you are paying non-regulated fees (ie fees that are not limited by legislation); regulated fees include undergraduate degrees and PGCE courses

Contact Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement at alumni@brighton.ac.uk to confirm your eligibility.

To receive the rebate you need to complete a tuition fee discount schemes application form (pdf) and send it to us before 1 November, or within four weeks of your formal start date if your course starts after 1 November. You need to do this for each year of your course.

Vice Chancellor's masters alumni scholarship

The Vice-Chancellor's masters alumni scholarship is available to University of Brighton alumni who graduate with a first or 2:1 in academic year 2019–20.

Eligible graduates must be applying to start a postgraduate course in 2020 or for deferred entry (for a maximum of one year).

The scholarship amounts to a £3,000 discount on the standard tuition fee for full-time masters study.

The scholarship is also open to part-time students. In this case it is only available for the first two years of study, with the £3,000 discount on the standard tuition fee being divided pro-rata according to the number of credits studied per year.

Graduates taking advantage of this scholarship will not be eligible for the standard 10 per cent alumni discount or any other University of Brighton postgraduate scholarship for the same course.

Find out more about the VC's masters alumni scholarship.