* Graduate student: This term refers to anyone who has completed a bachelor's degree (or equivalent undergraduate degree) and is now pursuing further education. It's a broad term encompassing both postgraduate *and* professional students. A graduate student could be in a Master's program, a doctoral program, a professional degree (like law, medicine, or MBA), or even a post-baccalaureate certificate program.
* Postgraduate student: This term specifically refers to a student who is pursuing studies *after* having completed a bachelor's degree. It's a *subset* of graduate students. Postgraduate studies typically involve advanced research and coursework at a higher academic level than undergraduate studies. This usually includes Master's and Doctoral degrees.
Therefore, the main difference lies in the scope:
* Qualification: All postgraduate students are graduate students, but not all graduate students are postgraduate students. A graduate student might be in a professional program, which isn't strictly considered "postgraduate" in the academic sense, even though it follows a bachelor's degree.
In short: "graduate" is the broader umbrella term, while "postgraduate" is a more specific category within it. The term "postgraduate" implies a focus on advanced academic study beyond the undergraduate level.