6 Great Things About Postgraduate Study in Europe

Postgraduates from across the world don’t just flock to Europe for the excellent quality of life, historic cities and great food (although those factors probably play an important role in the decision-making process).

According to Times Higher Education’s rankings, nearly a quarter of the world’s top 100 universities are on the European continent, helping explain its global reputation for research and teaching excellence. Combined with the obvious delights of studying abroad in Europe, this abundance of world-class institutions is responsible for making Europe such a popular study abroad destination.

Plenty of European countries offer free tuition (the Nordic countries, Germany, Austria) or relatively affordable fees (the Netherlands and France).

These low (or non-existent!) fees are sometimes only available to EU / EEA nationals, but there are exceptions: places like Norway and Germany have generous policies towards non-EU nationals.

Masters courses in Europe are usually longer than their UK counterparts, often taking two years to complete (this does differ from country to country, however). They’re normally worth 120 points in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) rather than the 90 ECTS credits that comprise a traditional Masters qualification in the UK.

This gives you more time to carve out your own academic niche or achieve a broader understanding of your subject than you might have had on a one-year course. Summer internships are also fairly common between the first and second years of a 120-credit Masters, allowing you to gain valuable extra-curricular experience around your discipline.

Of course, you’ll also have to budget for an extra year of study, but part-time student jobs are relatively easy to come by in most cities. If you’re an EU, EEA or Swiss national, you’ll be entitled to work without restrictions across the European Union.

Studying abroad isn’t all about saving money and gaining extra ECTS credits, though. You’ll also benefit from being in a vibrant, multicultural environment, making friends from all over the world.

I’ve studied in Europe twice: I spent a semester in Helsinki as part of the Erasmus programme, and I also studied a Masters at the University of Amsterdam. These two stints on the continent have given me a fantastic network of pals from across the globe, from Switzerland and Suriname to Indonesia and Italy. It’s impossible to predict what kind of adventures and opportunities your time abroad will lead to.

To give a couple of examples: back in 2012 I was lucky enough to spend New Year’s Eve in Venice with my Erasmus friends, while this summer I went to a hippy festival in the middle of the German countryside with a former Amsterdam flatmate. Who knows where your Masters will take you?

And it’s not a one-way street, either – if you’re particularly enthusiastic about your home city, you might find yourself hosting visitors there once you’ve finished the Masters. Personally, I was delighted to show my new friends around Sheffield and share the wonder of Henderson’s Relish with them.

Reports on the impact of the Erasmus programme find that students who spend time abroad enjoy better job prospects than peers who stay in their home country. Erasmus alumni are more likely to be employed and have higher levels of entrepreneurship than ‘non-mobile’ students.

Although this research is based on the Erasmus exchange programme, it’s likely that similar results would be true of people who study a Masters abroad. After all, you’ll be developing the same skills and values that Erasmus focuses on – tolerance, curiosity and confidence, to name a few – within the context of a postgraduate qualification. These qualities will be just as important to potential employers at home and abroad.

The benefits of learning a new language while studying abroad are well-known: it can boost your employability, help you immerse yourself in the local culture and increase your mental dexterity.

My own attempts at speaking Dutch were a mixed bag – let’s just say that I won’t be passing a Dutch language test any time soon – but it wasn’t too long before I could order a drink or buy a cinema ticket without being replied to in English. Even getting a handle on the basics like this can go a long way towards making you feel like you belong in a foreign city – whether it means understanding snippets of conversation on the tram or having the confidence to ask a local for directions.

There’s also a lot to be said for the multilingual atmosphere of most study abroad experiences: you’ll meet people who speak many different languages and, if you’re anything like me, find yourself fascinated by the myriad parallels and contrasts between them and English. You’ll probably also pick up an eclectic selection of foreign words and phrases from around the world – I now have a robust working knowledge of Italian profanities and can count from one to 10 in Thai – and you never know when this will come in handy.

Studying a Masters in Europe represents a fantastic chance to explore places you might not have otherwise considered (depending on the countries travel restrictions). Using your university’s location as a base, you can branch out to local cities and towns that wouldn’t necessarily be on your radar if you were flying all the way from the UK (or further afield).

For example, I ended up taking in Rotterdam’s futuristic architecture, Utrecht’s unique canals and cutting-edge culture in Den Haag – all places I probably wouldn’t have visited if I hadn’t lived in Amsterdam.

If you’re tempted by the idea of an international Masters, our guide to Masters study in Europe features dedicated pages on all the major European postgraduate destinations, with essential information on tuition fees, funding, applications and much more.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this blog was first published on 11/10/2018. We've checked and updated it for current readers.

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