A degree apprenticeship gives you the opportunity to gain a paid-for degree while getting industry experience and earning a salary.

A degree apprenticeship enables you to gain a full undergraduate or master’s degree while you work. Degree apprenticeships take three to six years to complete, depending on the course level.

You’ll spend most of your time working and you’ll also study part-time at university. For example, you might go to university one or two days per week, or in short blocks, such as a week at a time. Overall, you spend about 20% of your time studying vs. 80% of your time working.

You can learn more about degree apprenticeships here

Pros of a degree apprenticeship

• You’ll get real-life experience working alongside your degree.

• Your degree is fully paid for, so there’s no cost to you.

• You’ll get paid a salary just like a normal employee.

• You will still be able to study for a post graduate degree upon completion.

Cons of a degree apprenticeship

• You’ll need to balance working and studying at the same time.

• You won’t qualify for any student loans.

• Apprentices don’t always get the traditional ‘university experience’.

Going to university is another way that you can expand your knowledge, study a course to support your career and gain a higher level qualification.

There are different types of Higher Education that you can see below, you can click on each one to learn more.

• Foundation Degree

• Higher National Certificates (HNCs)

• Bachelors degree

• Postgraduate Qualifications

To cover the cost of university you can apply for a student loan, on top of this you can apply for bursaries or extra money for accommodation or if you are on low income, disabled or have children. To learn more about student finance you can click here.

Pros of University

• University experiences such as living independently, social experiences, university groups and extra curricular clubs.

• Most Bachelor degrees are only 3 years

Cons of University

• For most people, going to Uni involves taking out a loan, or multiple loans, to cover tuition and living costs.

• You’ll have lots of deadlines, often all around the same sort of time, for different modules. Keep this in mind if you find time management tricky.

To apply for a degree you will have to apply through UCAS. However, UCAS is more than just an undergraduate admissions portal. They offer several services for different audiences, and those who want to reach them.

They offer support on writing a UCAS statement, Student Finance, degree apprenticeships. accommodation, distance learning and so much more.

If you are thinking about higher education UCAS is a very supportive website to help you. You can find it by clicking here.