Analytic Quality Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Home
Citation reference: Harvey, L., 2004–12, Analytic Quality Glossary, Quality Research International, http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/
This is a dynamic glossary and the author would welcome any e-mail suggestions for amendments or additions.
____________________________________________________________________
A postgraduate
is someone who is undertaking study at post-first degree level.
explanatory
context
Postgraduate
study may be post-bachelor in some counties and thus include masters but may be
post-masters in other countries. In some countries, such as the US,
postgraduate students are referred to as graduate students.
This confuses graduates (those people who have graduated and left the
institution) with those who have graduated from a first degree (from any
institution) but are studying for a postgraduate qualification.
analytical
review
HEFCE
(2003) defines a postgraduate students as:
A student on a course which normally
requires a first degree as a condition of entry.
The UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) (2011)
Postgraduate student: A student who has attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent and is now studying for a qualification at a higher level.
HEA[Ireland] (2004) defines postgraduate as:
A
student following a course of a higher level than a primary degree.
and
postgraduate degree
as:
A
Master's or doctoral degree that is taken after having obtained a Bachelor's or
primary degree.
ICN (2003) refers to a graduate course,
which has the same meaning as postgraduate:
graduate
course : a credit course that may be applied to a graduate degree (that is, a
master's or other professional degree, usually requiring at least 30 hours of
work beyond the bachelor's degree)
University of Canterbury (undated) states:
Postgraduate and graduate courses can only be taken by students who have already completed a bachelorŐs degree, ie, graduates.
Postgraduate qualifications involve more advanced study in the area of your first (undergraduate) degree. They include honours and masterŐs degrees, postgraduate certificates and diplomas, and doctorates (PhDs).
related terms
See
also
sources
Higher Education Authority (HEA) [of Ireland] 2004, Glossary http://www.hea.ie/index.cfm/page/sub/id/519
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), 2011, About us: Glossary, available at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/aboutus/glossary/glossary.htm, updated 7 September 2011, accessed 16 January 2012