When it comes to the highest levels of education, there are more and more different qualifications that you can get. Despite this, only a handful tend to be talked about, making it harder for students to find the perfect qualification for them if the traditional route isn’t it. In this article, we’re going through one of these lesser-known qualifications: the postgraduate diploma.
In short, a postgraduate diploma is a postgraduate qualification that takes about 1 year of full-time study or 2 years of part-time study. It is a level 7 qualification or level 11 in Scotland, making it at the same level as a master’s degree and a level above a bachelor’s degree. This qualification is worth 120 credits and is about 2/3 of a master’s degree.
Continue reading to learn more about postgraduate diplomas from the differences between them and master’s degrees to their entry requirements.
Table of Contents
What is a postgraduate diploma?
A postgraduate diploma is a type of qualification. To better understand what kind of qualification it is, let’s first breakdown the two parts “postgraduate” and “diploma”.
A qualification at postgraduate level is at levels 7 and 8 or levels 11 and 12 in Scotland. This is compared to undergraduate level which is at level 6 or levels 9 and 10.
Postgraduate simply means that you have already completed an undergraduate degree and are then pursuing another qualification at a higher level. You can learn more about this definition by checking out this page of the Cambridge Dictionary website.
You can learn more about qualification levels by checking out this Think Student article. For more on postgraduate degrees, have a look at this article from Think Student.
In the UK, the term “diploma” refers to a type of qualification that is based on credits. This type of qualification is one that qualifies you to work in a certain field. You can learn more about diplomas by checking out this Think Student article.
A postgraduate diploma is an academic level 7 or level 11 in Scotland qualification that may also be known as a PGDip or a PGD. Postgraduate diplomas are worth 120 credits, making them equivalent to about 2/3 of a master’s degree.
Postgraduate diplomas will typically last about 1 year of full-time study or 2 years if studied part-time. You can learn more about them by checking out this page of the University of Hull’s website.
Is a PG diploma the same as a master’s degree?
As we’ve already mentioned, a postgraduate diploma is a level 7 qualification, which is the same as a master’s degree, and worth about 2/3 of a master’s degree. As it’s equivalent to 2/3 of a master’s degree, evidently, it’s not the same as one.
However, we can look further into the features of each to see what makes them different.
While a postgraduate diploma will typically take a year (as in an academic year) to complete full-time, a master’s degree will typically take somewhere between 1 and 2 years if studied full-time. You can learn more about master’s degrees in this Think Student article.
Moreover, a postgraduate diploma is worth 120 credits, whereas a master’s degree is worth 180 credits. The main reason for this difference in credits is due to the postgraduate diploma lacking a dissertation that is required for master’s degrees. For more on this, have a look at this article by Prospects.
Despite these differences, postgraduate diplomas and master’s degrees are in fact very similar. In fact, depending on your university’s policies, you may even be able to “top up” your PGDip into a full master’s degree by taking on some extra time studying and completing a dissertation. For more information on top up degrees, have a look at this Think Student article.
How much does a postgraduate diploma cost?
Unfortunately, weighing up the cost of a qualification, particularly one at postgraduate level, can often be a deciding factor on whether or not you choose to study it.
Unlike bachelor’s degrees, postgraduate qualifications don’t have a cap on the cost to students. This means that each university can have very different tuition fees for postgraduate diplomas.
As of January 2024, the average postgraduate costs between £5,000 and £7,000 for domestic students per year for full-time study or divided accordingly for part-time study. Although, it’s important to note that universities may still charge more or less than these figures. You can learn more about this by checking out this article by University Compare.
Also, for international students the costs will typically be slightly more expensive. For example, at the University of Glasgow, the PGDip in History costs £7,100 for domestic students and £16,000 for international students.
Moreover, the PGDip in Biotechnology & Management still costs £7,100 for domestic students but costs an increased fee of £20,160 for international students. Please note that these figures are true for the 2024- 2025 academic year. You can learn more about this by looking at this page on the University of Glasgow’s website.
Alternatively, universities may have fees that are slightly less than the average for domestic students. For example, at Teesside University, a PGDip will cost domestic students either £4,500 or £4,920 for their standard fees. You can learn more about this by checking out this page on the Teesside University website.
What are the entry requirements for a postgraduate diploma?
If you’re thinking about taking a postgraduate diploma, one of the most important things you need to know is if you can actually get onto the course. Other than finding out the costs and if it’s financially viable, you also need to know if it’s academically viable through the entry requirements.
Each university has their own policies and so can set completely different entry requirements. However, the entry requirements for postgraduate diplomas will typically be about the same as master’s degree entry requirements.
For master’s degrees, students will typically need to get an upper 2nd class honours degree (2:1) in order to get onto a master’s degree course. Although in some cases, a lower 2nd class honours degree (2:2) may be accepted. Universities may also have other entry requirements, such as work experience or other things.
You can learn more about the entry requirements of a PGDip in this article by Prospects. For more on master’s degree entry requirements, have a look at this Think Student article.