The university said that in some subjects the three year degree would become ¡°standard¡± and could lead to the phasing out of the traditional four year Scottish degree.

Subjects expected to be offered as shorter programmes from 2012 include art and design and life sciences. In the future ¡°all appropriate degree programmes¡± could be taken over three years, Dundee said.

A spokesman for the university said that while for most subjects undergraduates would have the option of studying either for three or four years, in some areas a three year course would become the norm.

He said that whether the option to take some subjects over four years was phased out or not depended on demand from Scottish and rest-of-UK students.

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The university announced that it will charge undergraduates from England, Wales and Northern Ireland ?9,000 a year from 2012, although this will be capped at ?,000.

Dundee stressed that its aim in offering three year courses was to try to cut down student living costs, which unlike tuition fees have to be paid up front.

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¡°These new programmes will allow students to gain an honours degree in the same length of time as in the rest of the UK,¡± the spokesman said.

¡°This significantly reduces the total cost of a degree once living costs such as accommodation are factored in.¡±

Scottish students will also be able to take the three year degree.

In a separate development, the University of Strathclyde has also set fees for rest-of-UK students at ?9,000 a year, with a maximum fee of ?,000 for a four year course.

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It said that suitably qualified students would be able to enter straight into the second year of study.

And the University of Abertay Dundee has announced that it will charge students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland ?7,000.

As with most other Scottish universities, rest-of-UK students will be able to study their fourth year for free, meaning a maximum bill of ?21,000 for a degree from Abertay.

david.matthews@tsleducation.com