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Degree apprenticeships or university
A degree apprenticeship is a job with a bachelor’s or master’s degree built in. The apprentice is an employee earning a wage, spends at least a fifth of their working hours on training, and the degree is paid for, so there is no tuition cost to them. Places are applied for through the employer, all year round, and not through the UCAS application.
What is a degree apprenticeship?
Apprenticeships in England run at several levels, and degree apprenticeships are levels 6 and 7, which are a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. The apprentice is employed, with a wage and holiday pay, and at least 20% of their normal working hours goes on training, so most of the week is work and the rest is study with a university or college. They take between three and six years.
The apprentice does not pay for the degree. Apprentices are paid at least the apprentice minimum wage, which the government sets and reviews each year, and some employers pay more. Scotland calls its version Graduate Apprenticeships, and Northern Ireland has Higher Level Apprenticeships.
How do you apply for one?
Like a job, to the employer. There is no single deadline, since employers advertise when they have places, and the government’s find an apprenticeship service lists vacancies in England. Employers’ own careers pages are worth checking too, since not every scheme is listed in one place.
Expect an application form and interviews, and at some employers online tests or an assessment day, which is a different kind of preparation from a personal statement.
Apprenticeship or university: how to decide
An apprenticeship suits somebody who is fairly sure of the field they want to work in, since the degree is tied to the job, and who would rather earn and learn at once than spend three or four years studying full time. It means less of the student life that comes with living at a university, and changing direction halfway is harder, because leaving the job usually means leaving the degree.
University gives more choice of subject and more room to change your mind, and the costs are covered by loans that are repaid from later earnings, which the student finance guide explains. Some students apply for both, sending a UCAS application in the autumn and apprenticeship applications as they appear, and decide once they know what they have been offered.
Where to check
- Become an apprentice (GOV.UK)
- Find an apprenticeship (GOV.UK)
- National Minimum Wage rates (GOV.UK)
- UCAS
Checked against these on . The rules change from year to year, so the pages above are the ones to trust if anything here disagrees with them.
Common questions
Do you pay tuition fees on a degree apprenticeship?
No. The degree is paid for, so there is no tuition cost to the apprentice.
Can you apply for a degree apprenticeship through UCAS?
Not through the UCAS application. You apply to the employer, in the same way as for any other job, and in England the government’s find an apprenticeship service lists vacancies.
Is a degree apprenticeship a real degree?
Yes. Degree apprenticeships are at level 6 or 7, which is a bachelor’s or a master’s degree.
Are degree apprentices paid?
Yes. An apprentice is an employee with a wage and holiday pay. The government sets a minimum rate for apprentices and reviews it each year, and some employers pay more.
Can I apply to university and for apprenticeships at the same time?
Yes. The two are separate, so a student can send a UCAS application and apply to employers in the same year, then choose between the offers.