Hi everyone, it’s Matt here.
This article will be the first part of a new series from Stridi, focusing on postgraduate courses – reasons to do them, what you might gain, and what support is available for your mental health.
I’m going to bring you some insight from a few past students, as well as some university staff members. This is all to provide you with a bit of help and guidance, so that you can make an informed decision when the time comes.
We are living in strange and unique times. If you graduated over the summer, you’ve likely just finished a very difficult period of time, stuck indoors in the hot weather, finishing off essays and dissertations. If that is you – congratulations, it’s an absolutely phenomenal achievement to come out of such an uncertain period with a shiny degree. Hiring managers will be sure to look upon the graduates of 2020 with a lot of respect.
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You may have already decided on your immediate future. Whether that’s coming in the form of a postgraduate course, perhaps an MA or an MSc. Or maybe you’re currently working from your living room in your first job.
But if not, if you’re going into your final year at uni and you’re a bit unsure about what might come next – it’s not the end of the world. This is a difficult time in your life, not just because of the current climate, but because you’re coming towards the end of a major period of education and now you are being faced with several options of where to go next.
Postgraduate courses have become very popular in the last few years. A shiny MA will give your impressive CV that extra edge that might just win you an interview for your dream job, and even might give you an edge over another candidate who has similar skills and experience.
I had a chat with an old friend of mine called Rob Davies. Rob did an MSc at Bath Spa in 2016. My first question was focused on the value for money of his postgraduate course. Rob had this to say:
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“Value for money - the big question on all prospective students’ minds when applying! Well I think there are many factors to bear in mind, possibly too many to go into. My masters in Environmental Management (delivered as a one year full time course) was advertised at around £6,400 for the 2016/17 academic year at BSU. As I had been a student previously on the BSc (Hons) Environmental Science course I was automatically given a £1,200 discount on the tuition due to being an alumni, a policy which goes some way to promoting university loyalty and encouraging alumni back to continue studies.”
Rob continued:
“This (the alumni discount) brought the tuition fee down to about £5,200. However, being a full-time course, I needed to be resident in the local area which made it a bit more expensive. Considering Bath Spa - at the time of writing – is ranked 93 out of 130 universities in the UK according to the Complete University Guide (https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings) this may seem steep for a below average institution. However, on my course the teaching was excellent with consistently enthusiastic, friendly and helpful lecturing and support staff from the biology and geography departments. I think it is worth looking into teaching led vs research led institutions, Bath Spa being the former was certainly shown through the very good quality of the course.
Rob went on to add that whilst many people self-fund their postgraduate courses, often from finances gained during a year or two out after their first degree, there is the option of the Postgraduate Loan System. But Mr. Davies opted to self-fund, on the basis that he didn’t want to add to his existing student debt.
Rob went on to emphasise that postgraduate courses are very useful in the longer term:
“For me, I think the course at Bath Spa has allowed me to effectively ‘break-into’ the environmental consulting sector in providing an academic edge over other applications with a BSc alone, having already gained relevant work experience for the job in a previous role.”
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My next question focused on the mental health aspect. How did he find it?
“Again, a highly variable topic when applied to different people” Rob said.
“Full time studying at postgraduate level is tough and I certainly felt a change from undergraduate level, which is easer to compare as I continued at BSU at postgrad level. Not only were the assignments larger – sometimes up to 5,000 words for an assessment - but the additional subject depth, research and general writing quality required was higher. This did take some adjusting to, however good quality feedback and using feedback moving forward is the key to achieving well – an area where I think teaching led institutions have an edge”
But luckily, Rob found a system of managing his stress levels:
“I did find myself easily overwhelmed by assignments – particularly those with multiple stages to complete – so by the end of the first couple of months I had a system. I would look at the assignment in the morning and think about what it required. Then after a coffee I would go for a walk around Bath and just let my mind go blank. I found that by the time I got back lots of ideas of how to tackle the assignment would pop into my head and would provide a boost of enthusiasm and reassurance that I can perform at a high academic standard.”
Rob added that his system was best utilized when he started his assignments a few weeks in advance, giving him time to get outside for walks and exercise during the day, before sitting down for uni work in the evening. He added that an organized office/study space is also beneficial.
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Next up, I asked Rob about the positives and negatives of his postgraduate experience. He began by advising me of a simple rule: stick with what you know.
“One of the biggest positives of returning to my undergrad university was rejoining all the student societies for social events. I rejoined the university samba band immediately and this provided a great social scene, friendship group, performance events and stress relief.”
Rob continued:
“A negative I do remember which was probably of most concern was the course delivery. All four modules were taught on one day. This was a long day from 9 – 5 (with a break for lunch) with a lot of note taking and information being given and by the end I was a bit frazzled. However, this did mean I could concentrate for 6 days a week on just reviewing notes, researching topics and writing assignments. Everyone on my course was also invited to attend third year lectures, practical sessions and fieldwork for free which also helped hone key skills.”
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Rob added in that paying his rent was his biggest hassle financially, and that in hindsight he would have taken out a postgraduate loan to reduce the pressure a little.
And finally….
“Would I recommend a postgraduate course? – to be quite honest I think anyone who can should pursue a postgraduate qualification, if nothing else to give yourself the extra specialist knowledge and skills to really give your CV an academic edge in your chosen field and to combat grade inflation into the longer term.”
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And that’s a wrap for this week, folks! A big thank you to Rob for his time. Don’t worry, the next article will be up in a few days, where I’ll be bringing you insight from a couple more former postgraduate students. That’ll be followed by an interview with a current member of the student support staff at Bath Spa, who is also a qualified CBT Therapist. So lots of exciting stuff to come.
Ciao for now.
M x
Follow Matt: @Matt_jl_24
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