Diploma courses usually last six to nine months and masters courses may last one or two years. Before you consider doing a postgraduate course you must ask yourself why you want to do it. And, more importantly, you must answer yourself honestly. Most shorter postgraduate courses provide a training for work and some are aimed at equipping you for further study or research. There are many different reasons why you might want to study at postgraduate level, but the three main categories people fall into are academic, vocational and drifting.
Academic reasons are often the most obvious for continuing in or returning to higher education.
You may have developed a keen interest in a particular subject and want to advance your knowledge. This can be for career reasons leading to work in a university, or it may simply be that you want to extend your learning and expand your knowledge for pleasure. You can, of course, do both. Vocational factors are often easier to identify where a course and qualification provides specific career benefits. For example, diplomas in social work, counselling or law all provide clear career benefits and training.