At the recent Education UK Exhibition organized by the British Council, Stuart Rennie from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Michelle Beagan, market development coordinator, Education UK Scotland, and Lorna Halliday from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh gave Indian students a glimpse into the Scottish education system.

Especially noteworthy is the Fresh Talent Initiative, a scheme that enables international students to live and work in Scotland for two years after their studies are completed. If we are planning to study abroad, it is worth exploring Scotland as an option.

Quick facts:

• Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, along with England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but has its own parliament.
• Scotland is one of the major financial centers in the world.
• It ranks third in the world in research and its main strengths lie in the fields of life science, medical research, biotechnology, informatics, energy, nanotechnology and environmental science. The research for Dolly, the cloned sheep, was pioneered in Scotland.
• In 2003, 18,000 international students took degrees from Scotland -- 1,800 of these were from India.

History of education in Scotland:

• Education became compulsory in Scotland in 1496.
• There are 21 higher education institutions in Scotland including 13 universities, two art schools, a conservatoire (a schoolhouse with special facilities for performing arts) -- the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama -- and the Scottish Agricultural College.
• Subject areas with the largest number of students are business and administration, biological sciences and engineering.
• One year postgraduate studies and MBA programmes are also very popular with international students.
• Regarding the time frame of postgraduate studies:
• Master's degree usually takes 12 months of full-time study. Diplomas and certificate programmes generally take nine months.Research degrees such as a PhD takes up to three years study to complete.

Scottish versus English Education:

• A degree obtained in Scotland has the same status as any other degree obtained in the UK.
• The main difference between English and Scottish education systems is at the undergraduate level. Scotland has a 4-year undergraduate degree as compared to a 3-year degree in England. Scottish students can spend three years to gain an Ordinary or General degree and four years to attain an Honour's degree.
• One of the benefits to this 4-year structure is that, in the first and second year, students have the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects. Specialization comes later, and students can change courses and choose specialist subjects up to the end of second year.
• The cost of living in Scotland is generally less expensive than in other parts of the UK.

Cost of study:

It is not possible to give the exact figures for Scottish tuition fees as they will vary between institutions and depending on the specific course you choose. However, according to www.scotlandistheplace.com, tuition fee costs in pounds sterling are in the region of (all approximate Indian figures:

• Undergraduate £7,000 (Rs 5,41,800) to £10,000 (Rs 7,74,000)
• Graduate (taught course) £8,000 (Rs 6,19,200) to £12,000 (Rs 9,28,300)
• Graduate (research) £7,000 (Rs 5,41,800) to £11,000 (Rs 8,50,800)

Scholarships for study in Scotland:

• The Scottish International Scholarship Programme offers 22 masters scholarships for students from China, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, with six places for Indian students.
• The scholarships are available for taught master's courses of 12 months at any Scottish higher education institution.
• Applications for science, technology, creative industries, IT, media, design and public health, to name a few areas, will be given priority.

Eligibility Criteria to get scholarships in Scotland:

• You could be a permanent resident of People's Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and be in your home country at the time of application
• You must be between 25 and 35 years old at the time of application
• You must have between 3 and 5 years relevant working experience
• You must have a good working level of English demonstrated by an IELTS test result of at least 6.5 on the academic module with no individual band less than 6.0
• You must not currently be working or studying in the UK
• You must not be in receipt of any other scholarships or award for the academic year.
• You must hold a good first degree in a related subject from a recognized university.
• You must not have received UK government funding in the past.

Further details can be found at:

• www.scotlandscholarship.com
• www.britishcouncil.org/scotland-scholarship.htm
• www.educationuk.org/scholarships