Degree apprenticeship or university: how to choose
Both routes lead to a degree. The difference is how you get there: studying full time and then looking for a job, or working for an employer and studying part time at the same time. Neither is better for everyone, so here is how to compare them honestly.
What you get from a degree apprenticeship
- A salary from day one, and your employer and the government pay the tuition fees, so you do not take out a student loan for the degree.
- Real work experience while you study, which employers value when you apply for later roles.
- A job with the organisation, usually with training towards professional qualifications as well as the degree.
What you give up
- Choice. You study the degree your employer's programme offers, at a partner university, rather than picking any course anywhere.
- The full-time student experience. You work most of the week and study alongside, so there is less time for societies, travel and moving away.
- Easy second chances. Places are limited, each employer runs its own selection, and rejection is common, so you need to apply widely.
Questions to ask yourself
- Do I already know the kind of career I want, or do I want time to explore it?
- Am I happy to work and study at the same time, week after week, for several years?
- Do I want to live near the employer's offices, or is moving away to study important to me?
- Does the subject I want (for example medicine) only exist at university?
You do not have to choose yet
Plenty of people apply for degree apprenticeships and to university through UCAS at the same time, and decide when offers arrive. Applications for degree apprenticeships often open in the autumn, and many close earlier than UCAS deadlines, so start by finding who is open now and what each employer asks for.
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Last updated 6 October 2026. This guide describes common practice; always check the employer's own advert and rules.