UCAS pay an application fee and obtain a reference before submitting their application online by the appropriate deadline. The application is then forwarded by UCAS to the universities and colleges that the students have applied to, who then decide whether to make students an offer of a place. Universities give students either an unconditional offer, where the student will receive a place regardless, or a conditional offer, where the student will receive a place subject to their grades being met. For applications to universities in the UK, entry requirements for individual courses can either be based on grades of qualifications (e.g.
Master's degree in Europe takes three years (with the exception of the teaching courses, where a bachelor's degree lasts for four years). The master's degrees are either fully integrated five-year programmes (admission does not require undergraduate degree) leading up to a graduate degree, or two-year courses at graduate level which require an already completed undergraduate degree. Following the graduate level, education is given at the doctoral level, usually through a four-year research fellowship leading to a PhD. Before the implementation of this system, various titles were given in accordance with the field of study and the length of the course. For instance, a three-year