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Updated: 18-Dec-2009

The 2-year degree

Buckingham was the first UK university to offer the academic content of a standard 3-year degree into a 2-year programme, running over four terms per year.

You can complete your degree and earn a year's salary in the time it would take you to study for the same undergraduate degree at a state-subsidised university. Or you could follow it with a Masters degree and be better qualified at the end of the three years than other graduates.

Features of the 2-year degree

  • An intensive, fast track degree offering as much academic content in two years as other universities offer in three.
  • Allows you to start working and earning one year earlier.
  • The best ratio of teaching staff to students of any UK university means we can guarantee small class sizes
  • You make full use of the whole year, including the long summer holiday period of other universities, which is better preparation for the world of work.
  • Flexible start dates.
  • Teaching is generally provided over 2 semesters (2 terms a semester) of 20 weeks.
  • Your degree will comprise a full 360 credit units, just like other Bachelors degrees .

Value for money

Our full honours degree in two years means that we can be competitive in price with other universities. Fees and maintenance costs are incurred for only two years instead of three elsewhere (see below).

From January 2010 annual tuition fees for home students at most UK universities will be £3,225 – a total of £9,675 for a 3-year degree. Buckingham's tuition fees are £8,640 per year (January 2010 start) but taking into account the year's saving on living costs afforded by the 2-year programme, the total cost of a 2-year degree can offer a saving compared with 3-year degrees at other universities.

For example, taking the sum of the loan and maintenance grant to represent a typical year's living costs (£4,950 + £2,906 = £7,856):

  Buckingham Other universities
Tuition Living costs Tuition Living costs
Year one £8,640 £7,856 £3,225 £7,856
Year two £8,640 £7,856 £3,225 £7,856
Year three 0 0 £3,225 £7,856
Sub-total   £32,992   £33,263

We believe Buckingham offers excellent value for money. Not only do we offer a high quality of education, but the overall cost of a degree here is competitive with other universities – and you have the chance to start earning a year earlier as well.

See also: