Finding your perfect postgraduate degree

Postgraduate study is a significant step up and you'll want to make sure you enjoy it, as well as getting the educational benefits. Masters student Shannon has some tips on finding the course that's right for you.

If you’re considering a postgraduate course straight after undergraduate (like me), my advice would be to look at all available courses which interest you. These can be in a very similar vein to your undergraduate degree, but the next level up, or could be a different course altogether.

For example, you might want to get an MBA to help you start your own business in a subject you studied. Perhaps you want to go on to teach with a Masters in Education, or grow your scientific expertise.

When I was considering postgraduate degrees, I looked at which courses were available to see if they interested me. I then spoke to the course leader to gain some further information on what the course would entail.

Course leaders will be able to support you in your journey as you progress to postgraduate study. They can provide you with course information and the context in a bit more detail and help with the application form if you need to write a personal statement, for example.

Attending a postgraduate open evening is useful too. You're able to meet the course leaders and lecturers, and gather more information on the course content and how you will be assessed.

If you're unsure which course you would like to do, these open evenings are beneficial as you can speak to course leaders for all of the courses you're interested in. If you’re not already familiar with the course tutors, because you’re moving into a new school or faculty, this is a particularly good way to start making the right connections and get your questions answered.

Whatever you do, do your research and make sure you’re going to enjoy your postgraduate degree. It will require a lot of hard work over the next one to two years and in my experience, it’ll be much easier if you enjoy it and can really get stuck in.

Interested in chatting to tutors about postgraduate study? Sign up for our next postgraduate Open Evening, and explore your options at ARU.