What are the merits and demerits of a Top up degree?
What is a Top-Up Degree?
In the last year of your undergraduate studies, you can opt for a Top-up degree. A top-up course is meant for the students, who have completed a similar type of foundation level course and acquired a degree. Hence, when an individual wants to get a degree after having an existing qualification, such as an HND or foundation degree, the same degree is known as a Top-up degree. These students are provided with the option of studying for an honors degree.
These degrees can be beneficial as they help to enhance the skills, knowledge, and understanding of a specific topic, while they are awarded an internationally acclaimed qualification. Although, if a student wants to join a top-up degree program, if they do so in the final year of the undergraduate course, there is one thing that they should remember: they cannot top up their regular degree program to a standard degree program with Honours as for examples a BSC. Hons Degree.
Top-up degrees enable students to select from different types of subjects or programs. Some of the most popular subjects include International Finance, International Business & Management, Finance and Law, Design Engineering, Global Media Practice, Computer Animation, Food and Hotel Services Management, and Tourism Management.
Hence, a top-up program can be further pursued when a student completes a higher national diploma HND successfully. Then when he or she chooses to study the final year of their Honours program, at that time, the Top-up plan comes into the picture. No matter the type of field one chooses, studying a top-up program will help to build fundamental knowledge, which is specific to the market, thus aiding to develop understanding one would like to excel in. For example: when a student has acquired the qualification in Hospitality, he might want to top it up to International Hospitality and Tourism Management, which can be easily pursued. In this course, they will learn management from the perspective of hospitality full-time or part-time, from renowned professionals in the UK. The Top-up program can be acquired in the last year of a BA or BSC degree course.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the top-up degree program?
While acquiring the relevant qualification, one might enjoy a wide range of benefits or advantages of a top-up degree. Not only does it help the student to travel to different places, but it also allows them to live in a foreign country. For this reason, Top-up degree programs have received international accreditation. These programs can also be studied in countries such as Hong Kong, France, Canada, and Denmark. It also enables the students to decide where they want themselves to be located, at the time of studying for their top-up degree. One must remember that a top-up degree cannot be an alternative to an honors degree as Top-up programs will enable you to move in the right direction and make yourself future-ready. There are quite a few universities in the UK, which provide a student with the facility for credit transfer. Hence, before enrolling yourself in the Top-up degree course, do not forget to check with the university if they have a facility for credit transfer. For a student who has just completed a foundation course, a top-up can be the best way to enhance his knowledge.
However, in case your based course is not aligned with your Top-up course, then problems can arise. As an example: A Nursing top-up degree for becoming a registered nurse is considered better than acquiring a top-up degree in AI.
What are the entry requirements for a top-up degree course?
The following are the entry requirements for seeking admission in Top-up courses in the renowned universities of The UK.
- You must have a Foundation degree program from recognized institutes
- A relevant BA Hons degree from an accredited university
- An HND degree from a recognized college or university
Also, if your mother tongue is not English, you must prove your language skills, and that must be equal to IELTS 6.0.
At the time of seeking admission, you must remember that for joining a Top-up program, your earlier qualification must be relevant. An irrelevant qualification will not allow you to find an entry.