Unable to afford the course you long to take? The answer may lie in Sweden or Germany
Mention cheap tuition to any postgraduate student and you may just hear the stifled laugh. "There's no such thing as a free lunch," they'll say, and they should know, especially after the bill for university fees has dropped on to their doormat. Yet some bright students have found an answer to the fees nightmare: in Europe.
Daniel McCartney is two months into a masters course in international marketing and brand management at Lund University, central Sweden. Far from paying top-up or tuition fees, McCartney - who graduated from Leeds University in 2005 with a degree in business management - is studying for free.
"I had no idea that there was the opportunity to do postgraduate study for free until I stumbled upon Sweden by chance," McCartney says. "I visited a friend who was doing an Erasmus programme in Lund. It gave me the opportunity to have a look at both the city and university. I was thoroughly impressed. The aspect that amazed me the most was that in Sweden tuition fees do not exist."
McCartney joins a growing number of students who are opting to do their postgraduate courses in Europe for a fraction of the price of their UK equivalents. The number of students is small, but the courses - which are taught entirely in English - are offering viable competition to UK universities.
Quality teaching
Lund, founded in 1666, is the largest academic institution in Scandinavia. Among the 1,400 courses available to students are 18 international masters programmes that are taught in English. It also offers Swedish lessons to international students. Like other institutions in Sweden, Lund advertises its courses on a website run by the Swedish Institute: www.studyinsweden.se
"Lund has a strong world ranking, and is surpassing my expectations," says McCartney. "There are 21 different nationalities on the course - studying together with people from continents from all over the globe makes it a very diverse place.
"The same course in the UK costs at least £10,000. The high fees effectively close the door for the average student to pursue a masters in the UK."
Daniel Whitmarsh, 25, from Wokingham, also studies in Sweden. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a BA in business and IT and has spent the last year completing an MA in computer science at Uppsala University. "I was not sure what to expect, dropping everything and running to Sweden to go to university, but the standard of teaching has been excellent," he says. "I was not sure about the quality when I arrived, but I know Harvard graduates who are on it."
In the past 10 years, more than 130 British students have chosen Sweden to further their studies. But the potential market is huge and it is not only postgraduate qualifications that are on offer.
So far, Swedish institutions have not openly marketed their courses in the UK. Niklas Tranaeus, senior officer from the Swedish Institute, says: "Swedish universities may in future want to market themselves in the UK, but in general they have been very cautious. The UK is considered a tough market as UK students tend to study abroad less than, say, students from other EU countries. The general perception in the UK is that you have to know the language to study in a European country, but this isn't always so."
UK institutions have an obvious advantage when it comes to teaching in English, but that advantage is being eaten away. While the bill for university tuition in the UK has risen at a steady pace for over a decade, more and more European universities have launched programmes in English.
The European Union encourages student mobility between European countries, and in 1999 the EU set up the Bologna process. This aims to create a European Higher Education Area to make more comparable, compatible and coherent systems of higher education in Europe. Such schemes have helped spread the use of English across the continent.
It is not only UK students that European universities are drawing away. Large numbers of international students - upon whom many UK universities rely for extra funds - are now studying there. Arnav Ghai, 21, from New Delhi, India, a graduate in electrical engineering and computer science at the International University in Bremen (IUB), in Germany, explained: "A representative of the university was touring the world promoting the university and came to my school in India. The IUB charge students up to €15,000 (about £10,000) per year for tuition, but any student who can demonstrate a financial need is offered financial assistance through grants, low interest loans or work on campus. The most highly qualified are offered scholarships.
Living cheap
Living expenses are also lower. The IUB charged Ghai €360 (£240) a month for accommodation including free cable TV, internet access, telephones in each room and free calls within the university. "It was like living in a hotel," says Ghai. "I had considered courses in the UK, and applied for some, but the deciding factor was the fees. In Germany I got a scholarship, which made the whole thing affordable.
"I hadn't even thought about living in Europe when I set off from India. I went with the idea of doing an undergraduate degree and then a masters - not necessarily in Germany - and then finally working," he says.
Holland is another popular destination for UK students. Flights are cheap, it has a population that speaks very good English and it is close to home. Many courses charge as little as €1,500 (about £1,000) a year for tuition and EU students are entitled to rebates of up to €1,000. For anyone who has dreamed of spending a year abroad, the opportunity is almost too good to be true.
UK universities are aware of the new competition. Sandra Elliott, director of Cardiff University's international development division, says: "Cardiff is aware of the development of greater numbers of degree programmes being delivered in English on mainland Europe, but these initiatives have not had a direct impact upon international student numbers."
A spokesman for Universities UK said: "It is understandable that some of our European neighbours are developing new ways to attract international students to their institutions.
Yet it is important to remember that while European countries may offer an English-speaking education, students will be living in a non-English speaking country."
McCartney has found that going out on a limb was worth the risk. "I would recommend studying in Sweden, it offers just as good an education for a fraction of the price.
"If it was more widely known that courses are available in English and are financially viable then they would become incredibly popular."
