Page 33
Study
Choosing a Masters Degree: An Interview with Sarah Jones from the TCD Career Services By Demilade Adeniran, SF Law How should a student decide on which country/university to pick for their master’s? Does studying somewhere abroad matter?
Well, studying abroad matters if it is something you want to do, for yourself and your future career!
Researching options and making applications for postgrad study is a process and we would recommend everyone goes through that process when choosing a taught or research masters abroad. To start with we would encourage everyone to use a few search engines like findamasters.com or mastersportal.eu to get a broad overview of what is out there and to create your WISHLIST. You can search by subject or country. These websites are heavily advertised but a good place to start. Also, talk to your academics and people in your network to see if people who are in the field have any personal recommendations. Also look at the Erasmus Mundus website to see if there are any masters that might interest you there. Keep an eye on MyCareer (https://mycareerconnect.tcd.ie/) too to see events where representatives will talk you through particular initiatives further afield, like the Fulbright Scholarships. When you have a few masters courses on your wishlist, I would recommend you ask the following questions of each of them to lead you towards your favourites.
Does the content of the master’s really interest me, and if so, why?
You can find this out by looking at the individual modules as well as the title of the masters, drill down into what each part would be like. You have an undergrad experience under your belt now so you know the terminology; course handbooks, module descriptors, assignments, course delivery… picture how it will be delivered and understand the focus and demands of the course. Also, have a look at the academics who are teaching on the course. What are their areas of interest? What have they published on recently? Will the day to day research and the assignments and group work of this masters interest you and if so why? Can you get excited about doing a piece of research/a dissertation in this environment and with these academics? There is usually a Course Coordinator listed on the master’s webpage so email them to ask any questions you might have. Don’t worry about sounding unsure, you are doing research and need to ask questions!
Does the environment suit me as a person and a student?
You can find this out by looking at the general university webpages and by looking at some external chatrooms like thestudentroom.co.uk. Do you prefer small classes or big? Do you work better in a problem based learning group environment or do you like independent learning? Most universities will offer a blended approach but the balance can vary, so see what they say in their documentation. Also, what about the clubs and societies of the university? Does it have a reputation both in the social sphere and in the academic sphere? You will be investing a lot in this master’s so also check out where the university ranks to get a better insight into the perceived accomplishments and offerings you could work towards as a graduate.
