im confused with all the different types of degrees

i seriously dont get whats with all the different types of degress. what does BA, Msc, MA, Msci all mean? and which one i am supposed to do?

also, i did the UCAS course search on economics and found that the only uni i can go to which does the masters degree in economics is exeter. but i when i went on some uni websites, i found that royal holloway and UCL also do economics but i didnt see them on the UCAS course search. is there a reason for this?

Righty. BA and BSC are basically the same. You get a BA if you do say, history, but a BSc if you do physics for example. These are 3 year degrees, or 4? in scotland. This is a bachelors degree. A masters, MA,MSc takes 4 years and an MSci is the same as/similar to a MSc but I can't remember what -if any - the difference is. Check the fees for the master's that you found, if its above the 9K we pay at the moment, it'll be a stand alone masters year, rather than an MSc that takes 4 years.

If theres even a slight inkling that you want to do a master, apply for the MA/MSc straight away via ucas, don't do your BA/BSc, THEN at the end of the 3 years decide 'actually, i do want to do a masters', because then you have to fund the 15K for the masters year, if you apply for the MA via ucas, then SFE pays the tution fees for all 4 years.

so do you have to do the bachelor's degree or is it optional?

With a bachelors degree if you do a science based subject at university, you'll come out with a BSc. If you do an Arts / Humanities based degree you'll come out with a BA. These take 3 years (4 in Scotland).

A Masters is a one / two year course, but it's at postgrad level. So, you have to do the BSc or BA before you can do the Masters (MA).

In the science subjects you can do an MSCi. This is a four year course (England) where you essentially do the BSc, and then the MA but it's all in one course. So, instead of doing a degree (BSc) and then a Masters (MA) you do it all in one course and come out with an MSCi. This is usually in subjects like Chemical engineering etc.

So, you either do a BA/BSc and then do an MA...or you can do an MSCi.

do you need to do the masters degree in order to get a job eg civil engineer? (im still considering of doing an msci degree but i just wanted to know if you can get a job with bachelors only)

Righty. BA and BSC are basically the same. You get a BA if you do say, history, but a BSc if you do physics for example. These are 3 year degrees, or 4? in scotland. This is a bachelors degree. A masters, MA,MSc takes 4 years and an MSci is the same as/similar to a MSc but I can't remember what -if any - the difference is. Check the fees for the master's that you found, if its above the 9K we pay at the moment, it'll be a stand alone masters year, rather than an MSc that takes 4 years.

If theres even a slight inkling that you want to do a master, apply for the MA/MSc straight away via ucas, don't do your BA/BSc, THEN at the end of the 3 years decide 'actually, i do want to do a masters', because then you have to fund the 15K for the masters year, if you apply for the MA via ucas, then SFE pays the tution fees for all 4 years.

The reason why you're finding courses which aren't listed by UCAS is possibly because these courses are actually Masters courses (MA and MScs) and these are postgraduate courses. So courses you do after undergrad (BA/BSc). You don't apply for an MA or MSc through UCAS. Applicants apply straight to the university after they have received their BA/BSc (or in their final year at undergraduate).



An MA or MSc (taught postgraduate course) is usually one, sometimes two, years in length. The only MAs which are four years in length are undergraduate Scottish MAs and these are just undergraduate degrees so the equivalent of a BSc/BA.



Again, MAs and MScs are one/two year postgraduate degrees. You cannot usually do an MA or MSc without an undergraduate degree (for certain courses exceptions can be made for those with substantial relevant professional experience), Nor can you apply for them through UCAS. You apply directly to the university.

As you kno, in the sciences there are integrated masters (e.g. MChem, MEng, MSci) which is what you're referring to. But this isn't applicable to the humanities or other sciences.