Making friends as a Masters student

As a postgraduate student, most of my class was made up of mature students who were returning to education after a long break. Many of them also work full-time and fit studies in around their job. I'd come straight from my bachelors degree so making friends felt a bit daunting.

With my course, there are people who study both part and full-time, so I find that each lecture has a different set of people in the classes. Making friends with the entire cohort can be difficult as it is bigger than you think, but because everyone is in the same boat, I found everyone to be very friendly.

I was fortunate enough to have some friends from undergraduate studies also starting their Masters at the same time as me, so I felt a bit at ease. But there were still so many other people in my class who I wanted to get to know.

I started in September so I began making friends with the people in my class. However my second trimester, we had January starters join our modules and two other degrees began combining some modules – therefore, the class was suddenly bigger again! More people to meet.

At first I found this overwhelming to see so many people that I didn't know in our first lecture of trimester two. But I always feel like I have an advantage, because I did my bachelors degree at ARU, I feel at home here. That's why I wanted to make sure I made the new people feel as comfortable as possible.

Introducing ourselves helped everybody feel more comfortable and at ease. Combined with the confidence I’ve gained over the years at uni and working through the campus Employment Bureau, I felt comfortable talking to new people, so actually making friends was easier in my Masters than in my first year of undergrad study.

My top tip: remember, you’re all adults. Just be yourself.

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If you're interested in postgraduate study, like Shannon, you can choose from more than 100 Masters degrees at ARU. Browse courses or come and explore at our next Open Evening.