Voting for TSRs Ultimate Study Playlist is NOW OPEN >>

Scotland unis

Do you have to do 4 years of uni? Why are their degrees 4 years long instead of 3?

I have heard they do 1 year less of schooling - could this be why?

Reply 1

University of Strathclyde

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

Do you have to do 4 years of uni? Why are their degrees 4 years long instead of 3?

I have heard they do 1 year less of schooling - could this be why?

Hello!

No, you don't have to do 4 years at uni if you'd rather study for 3. Most courses will offer something called 'Advanced entry' which would allow you to start at a later entry point (e.g. 2nd year so you can finish your degree in 3 years), and we would ask you for higher qualifications at school if that was your intention. Our qualifications (Highers/Advanced Highers) are different here, as they are taught over one year usually in S5 and S6 (equivalent to Y12 and Y13). Sometimes students will leave school after S5, however many will stay on until S6 and complete two sets of exams. If they left after S5 technically they would have one year less of schooling and could still progress to uni, but I'd say it's more common for students to stay on.

Our degrees are 4 years as standard allowing us to provide both breadth and depth of study, and also build flexibility in to most of the degrees. Lots of students enjoy this way of learning as they get to experiment with different subjects before picking what you'd like to focus on. It also allows us to build in more time for work experience and study abroad too.

I'm not sure on the exact reasons why tbh, but we've taught like this for years and the system allows for lots of opportunities for students here! American universities also have a four year system which I believe was copied from the Scots! :smartass: