I have finished a fundamental course in cooking at a high school, and I am going to study an advanced course in cooking at a university.

I ask this question because I am accustomed to using "further" as a verb. When I told my friends that "I want to further my study of cooking at a university,
they asked me why I wanted to "pursue a bachelor's degree" on hearing my plan, and this made me wonder if I had misunderstood the usage of "further".

Given that situation, are these two sentences different in meaning?

1. I want to further my study of cooking at a university.
   
2. I want to pursue a bachelor's degree in cooking.