After a lot of thought, weighing the pros and cons, and coming to the decision to go back to school, the next step of my postgraduate journey was choosing a master’s degree program. Easy, right? Just sift through hundreds of programs at different universities around the world. To make things easier, I made a list of different things to consider when researching programs. This is how I chose my master’s degree program.
1: Research vs. Taught
There are 2 main types of Master’s degree programs to choose from: research and taught.
- A research degree offers more independence in your study because there aren’t regularly scheduled classes or exams to attend. Instead, you get to plan and conduct research on a topic of interest with help from supervisors. This is great if you have the self-discipline to do it. (I do not.)
- Taught degrees, on the other hand, are more structured. They have scheduled classes and exams, similar to an undergraduate degree. They also sometimes have a research component to them so you can still get academic research experience. If you know what kind of career you want(I do), a taught masters can be a great way to get the experience and instruction in the specific topics you would need for that career.
I didn’t mention it in the last post, but another reason I hadn’t considered doing a postgraduate degree was that I thought that all postgraduate degrees were research degrees. I didn’t have much confidence in my ability to carry out a large research project, and couldn’t think of one thing I wanted to research. I was also worried that spending all that time on research would leave me unprepared for the more practical side of an animal care career. On top of that, I feel I do better with a more structured, predictable schedule to work with.
Taught degree it is then.
2: Degree Concentrations
Decision 1 down, now it’s time to narrow down a degree concentration. There are 3 main things I considered when looking at degree concentrations:
What are my interests?
I’ve always been interested in animals and already had a Bachelor’s degree in biology with a focus on conservation, so a program that covered topics related to conservation and animal care was what I was searching for.
What are my career goals?
Going along with interests, what kind of career was I aiming for? What type of concentration would help me get that job? Looking up job listings in the field and seeing the qualifications and requirements of the job gave me an idea of what topics would be helpful to study, but I also wanted to keep my options open and learn skills that could apply to a variety of jobs. In my case, not just animal handling and care in a captive setting, but techniques useful for field study as well.
What is my previous experience?
When applying for a postgraduate program, they’re going to want to know how your academics and experience make you a worthwhile addition to the program and capable of completing the course material. While I only had 2 internship experiences, these were in 2 different aspects of wild animal care and conservation: wildlife rehabilitation and zoo work. Looking back at these experiences, I enjoyed both so programs requiring similar work would be a good fit and also meant I would be well prepared for the coursework.
3: Course Content
The next thing to look at is the actual content of the course.
What core classes do I have to take?
Are there additional classes I can choose from?
Is there a research component?
Is there a practical component?
This is where I had to do some combing through the course catalog and program page. I read through all the class descriptions to see what would fall in line with my interests and match the needs of my future career. I also wanted practical experience so I was looking at what programs offered that as well as how much. A few other things I looked at were:
What additional opportunities are available, such as fieldwork or the use of special facilities?
What is the research component and how is research conducted in the program? For example, does the school provide connections with other schools or facilities for completing research?
After I narrowed it down to 2 programs at 2 different schools. I tried looking up student reviews of the programs, attended an online info session (which ended up not having anyone for that specific course available to chat with), and joined the postgraduate student Facebook group for the other school. I was able to get in contact with 2 graduates from the course and get some additional information about what the course was like and what they liked about it. This helped me decide that this was the degree program I wanted to go for.
4: School
So I found a program I like, time to take a closer look at the school.
Now, I may have this a bit reversed compared to other people.
They might choose to look up which schools have a good reputation for their degrees first and go from there. I prioritize the program content over name recognition of the school. While name recognition may make your degree stand out on applications, if the program isn’t something you’re passionate about it seems like a lot of effort and cost just to put a famous name down on your degree.
(By which I mean, I didn’t think to look up what schools have a good reputation for that type of program, but I also don’t care about name recognition so…)
Here is a list of some of the things I looked at when prowling the university website;
I. Is the school/faculty reputable?
I know I said reputation wasn’t my top priority, but it’s still something I’m going to look at. Partly to know that the school is good, but also to have a realistic expectation of how difficult it may be to get in.
II. What kind of research are they doing?
I also want to see what kind of research they are doing. I thought that this might help me get an idea of what research I could do as well as see what impacts the school was having.
III. How employable are graduates?
I put a lot of thought into choosing a program that will assist in my career goals, so something to look into is what kinds of jobs are program graduates getting and are students from the University overall able to get employment post-graduation.
IV. What are the school’s priorities? What is its atmosphere?
This is a bit vague, but basically, I was trying to get a feel for whether the atmosphere of the school resonates with my interests and needs. How are the grounds and study areas? Does the school support the things I care about, like environmentally friendly initiatives?
V. What amenities/services are offered to students?
I was going to be living away from home (again) and spending a lot of time on or around campus, so I wanted to know what services are available for students. Assistance with finding accommodation and funding was high on my list, but other things I looked at were the campus gym or study areas, student groups and clubs, accessibility, etc. In terms of accommodation, what is available? What are the costs?
#5: Location
In addition to scoping out the university’s services and amenities, I also wanted to get a feel for the city it was located in. How easy would it be to get around? What kind of entertainment/recreation is available for when I have free time? What is the atmosphere of the city?
This was to give me a better idea of what studying the program at the university will be like. I wanted to be excited to study there and feel like I would be comfortable living and studying there. The less stressed I am the better I can perform in courses and maybe even have a social life!
One final note to think about was if I was going to study abroad for my degree. This adds additional considerations such as language barriers, extra costs, and paperwork. However, the positives could outweigh the negatives. In my case, the U.K. was attractive because of the shorter program length which would help minimize costs.
6: Cost
Speaking of costs, education costs money and I am but a poor student. There were a few different aspects of postgrad costs I had to think about when choosing a program. First, of course, is the cost of tuition. Depending on the length of the program and if I would be an out-of-state /international student, the tuition could be higher. Then there are the living expenses. Will I live in University housing or rent privately? How much will utilities, food, and transport cost? What other expenses might I have, like for research?
And while we’re on the subject of other expenses,
Debt
Coming from a country of exorbitant student debt, loan payments were another expense to take into consideration. Looking at the cost of international tuition in the U.K., it was close to what I would probably pay as an out of state student back home. With the shorter program length, this could be manageable. I also had a manageable amount of debt (about 1/3 the national average), so I wasn’t drowning yet.
If you don’t want to drown in debt, it’s good to have something to keep you afloat. And that’s where funding comes into play. When looking at schools and programs, I also looked at what scholarships and funding were available. This meant program and school-specific grants, grants aimed at international students, and really anything I could find online that I was eligible for. I made a list of scholarships and grants I could apply for while trying to calculate how much I could save up.
When I initially decided to get a master’s degree, I had no money. By the time I started seriously researching programs and planned on applying though, I had paid off my student debt and would be able to have some savings before starting school. By studying in the U.K. with a shorter program length, I could minimize tuition and living expenses. There were some scholarships I planned on applying to, but if necessary I could take out a loan to help cover my living expenses and not be too burdened since I was starting debt-free.
Using this list, I made a spreadsheet with the different categories so I could make quick comparisons and narrow down my choices. Deciding to go back to school can be overwhelming, but breaking it down into smaller parts, and focusing on one thing at a time, really helped me get through the decision process. And in the end, I chose the University of Bristol’s MSc Global Wildlife Health and Conservation program.
