Once wizarding students earn their NEWTs from a wizarding school, there are several options to further their education. One could choose to become a graduate student at one of several accredited schools, or someone could become a research aide for a specific expert or institution that specializes in a certain field of magic. There are also options for artistic education, most commonly provided by the sister art school institutions WADA and WAVAD. Skipping a formalized education approach in favor of a hands-on approach can mean an apprenticeship is more suited to the wizard. There are also specialized training programs made for certain professions, such as Healers and Aurors. No matter what path one wants to pursue, there are options!

OOC Note: Yes, tuition exists for furthering education schools, but we don't have an exact amount OOC. This means you can RP scholarships and/or loans if you want to.

There are several graduate schools across the globe that cater to furthering wizarding education. They usually require a person to have a handful of NEWTs to apply. Most often these schools have three or four subjects that they focus on, such as the Magical Academy for Divining Astronomy which has several courses teaching in-depth about Divination and Astronomy. Classes and exams are the structure for these schools, often culminating in end-of-year degrees and opportunities to become established academics.

Research institutions and companies also exist, looking for aides who focus in one specific subject to support experienced academics. One such example is the Institute of Hybrid Herbology, where researchers are often looking to better their understanding of certain magical plants and some even try to breed new ones. Research aides at institutions like this usually report to an established expert in the field who needs assistance with their thesis research. The aides spend a year learning from the research they assist with, a less formal education style than a school.

OOC Note: Yes, you can makeup an accredited institution (eg a small school or an independent company looking for students) that your character pursues their studies at.

The Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts (WADA) and the Wizarding Academy of Visual Arts and Design (WAVAD) are two global art institutions in the wizarding world. Although founded at different times and with unique backstories, they grew popular and became "sister" institutions, sharing similar structures and aiming to have schools in the same cities (though maintaining completely separate campuses). They have both formed over the years from smaller schools being accredited into the umbrella of WADA or WAVAD.

WADA is an institution that provides training in theater, acting, radio, music, dance, and other performing arts. Many performers in the wizarding world attended WADA for one year, earning a foundational certificate that gets their foot into the door of their chosen field. They accept both wizards and squibs because the majority of their curriculum does not need magic, though incorporating magic into performances is allowed and encouraged.

WAVAD is an institution that provides training in several art forms, such as painting, drawing, photography and other visual arts. They also have design courses for wandmaking, broommaking, architecture, wizarding world fashion and magical crafts. Squibs can study there too, but they are limited in the classes they can take as most design courses involve the use of magic.

Both schools focus on the foundational knowledge of their students, which is why they only offer one-year programs. Some students may take longer than a year to finish all their classes if they only want to attend part-time, but at the end of a student's education, they get a certification. After this, staff provide students with professional contacts to get them into the working world - to gain real experience in their field rather than spending several years at the academy. Although you can enroll again after receiving a certificate, there is no tangible benefit (ie no second certification) to completing the program twice, though some may do it just to refresh their knowledge.

Prospective students of either school must apply and attend a school interview the summer/winter before the school year starts to establish their knowledge of the school's subjects and create a custom schedule. WADA and WAVAD follow the school year of most wizarding schools, beginning in September and ending in June.

LOCATION
There are several campuses for each school on all six inhabited continents. They are located in cities that have MacMillan cupboard transport centers (see this link: viewtopic.php?t=20150), allowing for international travel. The campuses generally cater to their local languages, but students can apply to foreign campuses if they are confident in their language skills. Once a student is accepted at a WADA or WAVAD campus, their classes will be entirely at that campus for the year (ie they can't switch between campuses of different countries).

Due to the nature of WADA and WAVAD forming from individual schools joining the larger institution, most campuses are unique in design and look completely different from each other. One common feature of each campus though is that they all offer student housing for an extra cost (studio or two-bedroom accommodation where you can choose to be matched with another student), otherwise students would commute and attend their classes during the day.

CURRICULUM
WADA teaches several subjects, such as dance, acting, theater operations, radio operations and music courses. These are all taught in introductory, intermediary and advanced class levels depending on the student's knowledge before beginning the year. Students might be bumped into a higher class or down to the previous class during the school year as suits their learning speed and style. Before the school year starts, students can choose which subjects they wish to study, but WADA will advise students to fill their schedules with all the classes just to gain basic appreciation for all the arts, even if they have a specific discipline they intend to pursue.

At WAVAD, it is more common for students to choose visual arts or design as a focus. Both can be taken at once, but it is considered a huge course load. Some of the visual arts classes include painting (and how to enchant magical paintings), photography (and how to develop magical photography), drawing and branding. Some of the design courses include architecture, broom design and creation, wand design and creation, metal charming, and the art of enchanting crafts such as toys. There are no introductory, intermediary and advanced classes here as WAVAD is more structured to include several professors in a single art class, coaching students on a more individual basis.

OOC Note: The list of classes provided are not all encompassing, they are there to give ideas and inspiration about the classes you can write about. If you think of a class that your character would want to take that makes sense for WADA or WAVAD to teach, you can write about it.

If you choose to go the route of apprenticeships, its most common form is an expert in a field takes on a protegee and teaches them one-on-one. There can be group apprenticeships as well, but it's less common. This path is especially useful for those who do better in more personalized training as opposed to the rigid school structure of exams. It also appeals to those who just want to jump right into the work world, as apprenticeships can be paid.

Apprenticeships can also be stepping stones in the path to becoming an expert in your field. You can go from being a research aide to an apprentice to gain even more experience. There are also some apprenticeships that teach things you can't learn elsewhere (eg becoming an apprentice tattooist, where you learn that runes can be tattooed into designs alongside charmed ink to let designs move across the recipient's body at will).

OOC Note: Yes, you can make up a mentor if you can't or don't want to find a PC to play the role. This mentor would be considered a dNPC.

Training programs for healers and aurors follow the same September to June schedule as most wizarding education does, but they are a lot more involved than a regular school structure. Several NEWTs are required to qualify for these programs.

HEALERS
Magical hospitals around the world have training programs for prospective healers. Qualified individuals with the necessary NEWTs can apply to any magical hospital's training program. Healer training programs are intensive, involving long days of classes, intensive exams every few weeks, clinical shadowing in the hospitals themselves, and exposure to all kinds of injuries and diseases. A lot of people join the program and can't stomach the work or don't earn the grades to pass, so they drop out or have to repeat the year of training. For those who do pass the training program, they could be offered an internship to continue their healer training, or they may be more called to becoming a mediwizard or nurse.

AURORS
Magical law enforcement is necessary around the world, and the Ministry of Magic (or that country's equivalent) provides the necessary training. Qualifying for the program involves achieving several NEWTs beforehand and having a clean criminal record. Once wizards enter the program, they are taught about all the basics of law enforcement and investigation. Aurors serve as officers of magical law, but they often serve as detectives too. The yearlong program involves not only combat magical training and how to handle suspects, but also emphasizes potions and charms that can help with investigation itself.

OOC Note: The above does not cover everything that could happen in the programs, so there is a sense of freedom to creatively think of experiences your character would have. Healers can have experience similar to doctor training (school + clinicals) and Aurors have similar experience to police officer training if you're looking for inspiration. You can makeup other magical hospitals. If your character has another citizenship other than UK, they could work as an Auror for another country's Ministry.