If you thought it wasn’t cheap studying for an undergraduate degree, it does not get any cheaper at postgraduate level. While you may not have to pay much more for living costs, tuition fees could be a lot more expensive.

Tuition Fees
In a similar way to the new top-up fees for undergraduate courses, universities do not have a fixed cost for their courses, so they tend to vary according to the course and institution. As a general guide, fees for UK and EU students are generally between £3,000 and £6,000 per year full-time, but they tend to be closer to £3,000. Part-time courses are often slightly cheaper than their full-time equivalents and sometimes significantly so. There are courses that will charge a lot more - typically MBAs, some arts MAs and science courses such as dentistry which can start at around £10,000. However, check with an institution’s postgraduate prospectus as that will have accurate, up-to-date information.International Students can read about fees in our information for international student section.

Living Costs
These will be much the same as for your undergraduate degree, but here are a few guidelines to area costs.If you choose to live in London, the South or South East you will be in the most expensive areas: those who have studied there will tell you. It would be wise to budget up to £10,000 per year for these locations, especially London, although if you are prepared to have the bare minimum of luxuries you should be able to get by on slightly less. Do some homework about local rent prices and budget in bills, food, transport and any other regular outgoings. Remember to be realistic! Outside the London and the South East, living costs can drop to about £7,000 minimum. Again, your wallet will be happiest if you do some advanced budgeting by finding out typical prices. If all this sounds too expensive, you could always stay with family or friends if they will give you a better deal close to the university you want to study at!

Course Costs
A campus library and a couple of core texts may not be enough to see you through your postgraduate studies. Going beyond an undergraduate degree means going beyond the research boundaries of what’s readily available and branching out to uncover original facts and theories as you march on in your academic career. For this you might want to think about budgeting as it can get quite pricy,For example, specialist libraries may require entry fees and are unlikely to let you take any materials from their collection away: you’ll have to pay to make copies if you there’s more than you can put down in note form or if you need an image. Another factor is location: specialist libraries might require travelling quite a distance on a regular basis. Similarly, carrying out field work will add to the costs of your course in terms of travel and, potentially, accommodation too. These might be factors to consider when choosing where to study.