Higher education
Students normally enter University from 18 onwards and study for an Academic Degree. Apart from a single private university, all undergraduate education is largely state financed (with tuition fees set at a maximum index-linked £3,000 per year, repayable after graduation contingent on attaining a certain level of income, and with the state paying all fees for students from the poorest backgrounds), and UK students are generally entitled to student loans for maintenance. The state does not control syllabi, but it does influence admission procedures.

The typical first degree offered at British universities is the Bachelor's degree (typically three years). Many institutions now offer an undergraduate Master's degree as a first degree, typically lasting four years. During a first degree students are known as undergraduates. The difference in fees between undergraduate and traditional postgraduate Master's degrees (and the possibility of securing LEA funding for the former) makes taking an undergraduate Master's degree as a first degree a more attractive option, although the novelty of undergraduate Master's degrees means that the relative educational merit of the two is currently unclear.

Some universities offer a Foundation degree, typically between one and two years in length for those students who hope to continue to take a first degree but are not academically strong enough.