Postgraduate

I’m not sure of what is exactly a postgraduate course, or what it means in France, what is its equivalent, thus sorry in advance if I have misunderstood !

Of what I have read, I figure out it may be what we call a master in the European system of higher education “LMD” (License, Master, Doctorate). A license is the first three years of university, often very general, which delivers a national diploma that permits to begin your professional life. Then you have the master, the fourth and the fifth years where you specialise more yourself on a specific aspect of your discipline (for instance, if you have been studying law, you can pursue your cursus in a master of European law, company law, public law, health law etc.). It is not obligatory but strongly recommended as the labor market tends to be more competitive. Finally, you can do a doctorate in three more years and follow up your dream of being a university lecturer and researcher (just kidding).

Now that I explained how higher education works in Europe, I personally want to do a master’s degree in law called “Legal and Judicial Careers”, in order to enter the National School of Magistracy (see my previous post for more information about this). This master in only taught in my university in France, which is rather a school than a university, as we have a dual education system with “Grandes Ecoles” (considered more prestigious) on one side and universities on the other hand. As I am already in the school (it’s very selective, in contrary with universities who are public and free), I do not have to pass an exam to enter this course nor to pay tuition fees as I have a State scholarship. It is a great master’s, well recognised at a national scale, thus it demands a huge capacity of work. I hope I’ll be fine !

If you have any question about the European/French educational system, please feel free to ask, I'll be glad to answer !