postgraduate

postgraduate — noun

IPA/ˌpəʊstˈɡrædʒuət/
IPA/ˌpəʊstˈɡrædʒuət/
  • postgraduatesingular
  • postgraduatesplural

1. a student working toward a master's or other higher degree after a first degree

1.nounB2
Definition

a student working toward a master's or other higher degree after a first degree

Example

Aya became a postgraduate after finishing her history degree.

become a postgraduate after first degree

Two postgraduates share the small lab above the library.

plural noun: postgraduates

Common collocations
  • become a postgraduate
  • postgraduate in economics
  • new postgraduate
  • full-time postgraduate
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be a postgraduate

postgraduate in + subject

new postgraduate

Usage Note

Often followed by in plus a subject area. In American English, graduate student is often more common for this meaning.

Common Mistakes

My brother is a graduate in law and still taking classes for his master's.
My brother is a postgraduate in law and still taking classes for his master's.
A graduate has finished a degree; a postgraduate is studying for a higher one.

postgraduate — adjective

IPA/ˌpəʊstˈɡrædʒ.u.ət/
IPA/ˌpoʊstˈɡrædʒ.u.ət/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun/1, postgraduate is a broad term for someone studying after a first degree, and it is especially common in British English. Graduate student is the closest match and is often the usual choice in American English. Master's student is narrower because it only fits someone on a master's program, not all postgraduates. Research student usually suggests work centered on a thesis or project, often at a more advanced stage. Doctoral student is narrower again, because it only refers to PhD-level study. A British university might say, 'Our postgraduates can apply for housing.' An American campus would more naturally say, 'Graduate students can apply for housing.'

graduate studentmaster's studentresearch studentdoctoral student

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Postgraduate was formed in English from post-, meaning 'after', and graduate. The word first described study that comes after a first university degree, and then also the students who do that study.