<p>I'm aiming to go to Imperial College London. Although I'm strongly attracted by British undergraduate education for its feature such that it lasts only for three years at the minimum, I cannot decide whether to stay in ICL for three years or four years. The reason of my hesitation is because it requires deep research experience and some accomplishment in research to go to great graduate programs. </p>
<p>Do you think it is better to stay in ICL for three years? Or four years?</p>
<p>If you graduate in 3 years, you’ll leave with a BSc. If you graduate in 4 years, you’ll leave with a masters (MSc) on most courses. So, it’s an undergrad degree and masters all rolled into one. This is likely to involve research (check what modules are on offer in fourth year - this will tell you), and often allows you to go straight onto a PhD, if you want to.</p>
<p>That’s not quite true. The four year degree is an undergraduate masters course (MSci, MEng, MGeol, MPhys etc) - they aren’t true master degrees though. They are somewhere in between a BSc and a MSc. The fourth year does involve a large research project, but smaller than what you would do on a conventional MSc.</p>
<p>Also in the UK (in the sciences at least) it is quite normal to go onto a PhD having just done a BSc. The reason undergraduate masters are becoming more popular is because they make it a bit more likely that you will receive funding from the research council.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, ICL doesn’t offer a program related to my interest which provides MSci and etc. So, even if I choose to stay in undergraduate for four years instead of three years, I cannot gain master but just an experience of research in some outer institute or in some industry. Can I go to competitive graduate program even after finishing three years in ICL? Or should I spend four years? How long is the average years to be spent in PhD program in UK?</p>
<p>I do not only consider to go to graduate school of UK but also that of US. If I will spend only three years in ICL, Will I be considered as a competitive applicant in US? </p>
<p>Thanks so much for your valuable information.</p>
<p>What Imperial BSc is 4 years long? Are you sure? I’ve never heard of such a thing. The only 4 year BA/BSc degrees I know of are either in Scotland or they involve a year abroad or a year of work experience. The average PhD length in the UK is 3 years.</p>
<p>[What</a> can you study?](<a href=“Imperial College London”>Imperial College London)</p>
<p>The above link shows that there are four year BSc courses as well as ones of three years. But since it seems quite normal to graduate after spending three years, I will probably not take courses of four years. I hope to go to Cambridge’s graduate program of stem cell research after graduation. Or I will move back to California until getting PhD, since Cambridge and universities in California are the most popular places for stem cell research. Is it common for students who got BSc in UK to take graduate programs of American universities?</p>