Graduates adopt the 'new gap year' - and take another degree abroad

By Claire Duffin. University leavers are increasingly going abroad for postgraduate studies in a trend which education experts say has made a foreign masters degree “the new gap year”. A combination of cheap tuition fees, a dramatic rise in the number of universities in Europe offering tuition in English and a highly competitive market for jobs in Britain has helped fuel the rise. Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that in 2012, at least 1,590 students went abroad to continue their studies, a larger proportion of postgraduates than in 2011, with a prediction that this summer will see even more go abroad. Read more...