'Masters' (MA/MSc/MRes, etc)

Nix

Nix

Nix

Soldato
Joined
26 Dec 2005
Posts
19,841
Hey, I've started to consider my options for when I finish university and I'm beginning to like idea, providing my degree falls into either a 1st or 2:1 of continuing with a masters, possibly in the area of 'Global Environmental Change' or something similar.

I'm just curious as how people who've gone through with a masters managed to fund themselves? I'm aware that the SLC don't help you and that you can apply for grants or fundings but I'm not entirely sure how this all works, so I'm hoping some people 'in the know' would be kind enough to shed some light for me.

Funding for myself isn't an option as I'm not exactly well-off ;)

If I did manage to obtain a good degree (a good incentive to do well I think), what is the likelihood of actually being awarded funding? I'm just confused and curious.

TIA <3 :)
 
Funding is hard to find unless you ve left prison 0-5 years ago, immigrant seeking asylum or from an ethnic minority because their are lots of places that are willing to fund you.
If your not from one of these 3 groups then its almost impossible but there are a few places very limited and competitive. Most people get funded thru work.
 
crashuk said:
Funding is hard to find unless you ve left prison 0-5 years ago, immigrant seeking asylum or from an ethnic minority because their are lots of places that are willing to fund you.
If your not from one of these 3 groups then its almost impossible but there are a few places very limited and competitive. Most people get funded thru work.
Click to expand...

Word.
 
crashuk said:
Funding is hard to find unless you ve left prison 0-5 years ago, immigrant seeking asylum or from an ethnic minority because their are lots of places that are willing to fund you.
If your not from one of these 3 groups then its almost impossible but there are a few places very limited and competitive. Most people get funded thru work.
Click to expand...

You nearly got a 'Cliché Full House' there - the only thing you missed out was a mention of 'PC gone mad'.

Shame.
 
It largely depends on the subject you want to do. Typically if theres moneys in it, there will likely be available funding providing you get the required grade, although I think it's done on a first come first serve basis to an extent. Emailing your DoS might be a good bet to get more info. Self funding may prove difficult as some of my friends have just started their MA's which cost in the region of £5k, needless to say though, there's little money in social sciences.
 
Masters seemed pretty pointless to me so I skipped it and went straight to a PhD.
My undergrad degree, all courses in the final 2 years were shared with masters- we do the exact same course material same homework and sit the same exam. Hlaf my degree was an MA degree anyway (the other half a BSc).
My undergrad project was bigger than a Masters project.

So there was nothing to gain form doing it.



+ a Masters in the UK is very pants and not well accepted in other countries. If I was to do a Masters I would do in In France/Germany/Switzerland/Holland. Its a 2 year thing, but you get a year to do a project which is much better. I know a Masters student form Delft who has been working on his MSc project for 18 months now, and wont finish for anpther 6 months. Compare that to the pointless 5 month projects you get in the UK.

Of course, that assume MSc type Masters.
 
Nix said:
I'm just curious as how people who've gone through with a masters managed to fund themselves? I'm aware that the SLC don't help you and that you can apply for grants or fundings but I'm not entirely sure how this all works, so I'm hoping some people 'in the know' would be kind enough to shed some light for me.
Click to expand...

Funding is usually awarded by the relevant organisations or trusts associated with your chosen subject. It will depend on issues such as financial status, achieved grade and possibly a few other factors (there are ethnic specific awards although these are less common).

There is a Career Development Loan which can pay a large percentage towards your tuition fees... here is a rundown.

You can borrow anything between £300 and £8,000 to help you fund up to two years of learning plus (if relevant) up to one year’s practical work experience where it forms part of the course

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) pays the interest on your loan while you’re learning and for up to one month afterwards. If you finish the course before the agreed date, the repayment holiday will end up to one month after your last day of training.

You then repay the loan to the bank over an agreed period at a fixed rate of interest

Career Development Loans are available through three high street banks: Barclays, The Co-operative and The Royal Bank of Scotland. You do not need to be an existing account holder but the bank may require you to open an account with them
Click to expand...

Funding is often available through work but work will also put conditions on you should you wish to get money from them. Also, they may not consider your choice of Masters 'relevant'
 
Last edited:
D.P. said:
+ a Masters in the UK is very pants and not well accepted in other countries. If I was to do a Masters I would do in In France/Germany/Switzerland/Holland. Its a 2 year thing,
Click to expand...

Sweeping statement ahoy from someone who made a grammatical error in his second sentence...

As I've said before I think you've done well in your education and you are in a good position, but I don't think it appropriate that you should be just a little smug about that. You managed to get into that position with a mere undergrad degree, and yet you would criticise the value of a higher qualification... another reason your sweeping statement is inappropriate is because the validity of various qualifications varies between professions and you should also know that organisations such as the BPS require such validated qualifications in ordered to become a chartered professional, so they're not entirely 'pants' are they... especially when it comes to clinical applications.
 
Im doing an MSc in Advanced Computer Science at Manchester University at the moment.

They offered me a full scholarship (didnt even ask for it) but I think they have more money than they know what to do with at the moment due to them recently merging with the second largest uni in manchester (UMIST.)

So far it just seems like im doing a very long final year of my BSc (september to september with the MSc) The work is a continuation of my previous degree (also comp sci.)

I decided against a PHd as I was fairly sure I couldnt stomach another 3 years at uni, turns out I was right, I cant wait for this to be done so I can get out of the uni environment! Im still glad im doing it though (not only cos its free :p) so many people have BSc's now, if you want to get into the workplace far quicker than those with PHd's yet still have an advantage over a lot of people with BSc's then a masters level is a good way to do it imo.

I'd also like to point out, the work im doing at MSc level is definately far higher than what I did at BSc level. I now do things based onthe "basics" I learnt during my BSc, my project will also be far larger. Although my BSc project was more or less at MSc level I was told so i'm hoping the jump won't be too massive...

Finally, if our MSc's arnt "respected" in other countries, why, of the 89 people on my course, are only 8 of us of british origins? Most of them on the course pay out of their own pockets and a good half are from the afformentioned "better" european countries (france, germany etc etc)
 
Last edited:
crashuk said:
Funding is hard to find unless you ve left prison 0-5 years ago, immigrant seeking asylum or from an ethnic minority because their are lots of places that are willing to fund you.
Click to expand...

He's about the only person from Westcliff who's not one of them, ironically :D
 
I have a Master Degree In Information Systems. It was a lot of hard work and grants were available from various sources under several programmes.

if you want some practical advice then answer the following questions.

Do you like university ? Do you want to continue at University? Would a masters make you more employable or just be a stepping stone to more Academic achievement would you say ?
 
D.P. said:
Masters seemed pretty pointless to me so I skipped it and went straight to a PhD.
My undergrad degree, all courses in the final 2 years were shared with masters- we do the exact same course material same homework and sit the same exam. Hlaf my degree was an MA degree anyway (the other half a BSc).
My undergrad project was bigger than a Masters project.

So there was nothing to gain form doing it.



+ a Masters in the UK is very pants and not well accepted in other countries. If I was to do a Masters I would do in In France/Germany/Switzerland/Holland. Its a 2 year thing, but you get a year to do a project which is much better. I know a Masters student form Delft who has been working on his MSc project for 18 months now, and wont finish for anpther 6 months. Compare that to the pointless 5 month projects you get in the UK.

Of course, that assume MSc type Masters.
Click to expand...
As CBS said, that's a huge generalisation you're making there. Stop now, you're embarassing yourself :p
 
A generalisation for sure, but I did say that for me it seemed pointless.

...Do work I have already done, and do a short project that is smaller than my undergrad project. But then I went to university in Scotland and did a 4 year BSc so to me I have basically done the UK masters. And the European Transfer Credit scheme would agree- I have an additioanl 60 credits over a standard european BSc (including almost all english BScs). A UK MSc is worth 90 credits so by the Bologna agreement I have 2/3rds of a Masters anyway.
I spent 13 months doing my project


Now the university where I am at now would force me to do an additional "4 credits" (these aren't the same as european credits) . However, they also accepted me without an Msc if id did the 4 extra credits and had an exam set by my supervisor (which means he will just talk to me for a couple of hours and say i have passed, unless he really thinks I am not working appropriately). So all in all it would make no difference at all to me in the end. I have to to go to 4 hours of additional lectures a week for 12 weeks and sit an exam because I don't have a MSc. Im glad I saved 1-2 years by not doing it.

As for people coming from EU to UK to do a Masters. The simple fact is that it is cheaper for them. They can get a Masters in only 1 year and not 2 if they are not bothered about the European Credit Points.

The point that everyone has BSc and having an MSc to put you ahead of the game is a very valid point. But I had already positioned myself in a niche area, and I achieved a good first class in a joint honours degree, which indicates my academic ability. And the fact there is no real MSc degree that would be appropriate for me.

MSc seem a good choice for people who started a fairly general degree like maths, and then wants to move into Informatics etc. Or going from a CS degree and specialising in, say neuro informatics. I was already specialised though.
 
Last edited:
D.P. said:
snip
Click to expand...

Some people aren't prepared to dedicate an additional 3 years to university at the expense of potentially more valuable work experience and money. IMHO 17 years of education is enough for anyone.

OT but was there a guy in any of your undergrad classes with a mahoosive ginger afro? :D
(edit - I'm assuming you went to edinburgh)
 
Last edited:
D.P. said:
A generalisation for sure, but I did say that for me it seemed pointless.
Click to expand...
No, a HUGE generalisation. You said, "+ a Masters in the UK is very pants" and followed it with further unsubstantiated claims, so don't try and backtrack. How you can seriously criticise our entire country's education system, specifically our M.Sc. courses, I just don't know. How about you substantiate your claims or withdraw them?

"pointless 5 month projects you get in the UK"? Good grief.

You're offering the OP advice which concerns his education so I would expect a little more responsibility than such throwaway remarks as the ones you made. For you, your particular M.Sc. may have been pointless I don't know, but for many other people, an M.Sc. is an excellent path to follow as postgraduate work and luckily I'd say most employers would tend to agree with me.
 
OK, as it is xmas, i will withdraw the statement.
In it is place I will provide this

"For me, because of my prior education and field, a Masters would have been pointless." :)
 
trojan698 said:
Some people aren't prepared to dedicate an additional 3 years to university at the expense of potentially more valuable work experience and money. IMHO 17 years of education is enough for anyone.

OT but was there a guy in any of your undergrad classes with a mahoosive ginger afro? :D
(edit - I'm assuming you went to edinburgh)
Click to expand...

Given a choice between education and working for the machine I know what I would choose ;)

yep, there was a dude with a huge afro :D
 
I'm seriously considering a Masters too, in something related to accounting/finance.

I've almost finished my degree in Economics, should get a 2-1, possibly a first. I enjoy uni, and would quite like another (albeit more intensive) year in education.

I do question it's worth though. In the increasingly competitive graduate jobs market, will it really give me much of an advantage over other applicants?

My other concerns lie withing my ability to finance it, I'll look into some of the things posted here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom