Grad Studies Abroad

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

I have a few questions regarding graduate studies abroad, specifically in the UK or Ireland, or possibly Australia. How does it work? What's the difference between and MSc or an MPhil? What do they mean by "where will you get your funding?" (and where WILL I get my funding?) What's school like in England? How do you go about evening CHOOSING a place?

 

[beli]

What do you want to study? Answering that question should assist in choosing a Uni. Not all subjects are taught at all Unis and some are "famous" for certain subjects.

 

[anitram]

I've done a lot of research re: studying in the UK for the purposes of an MSc a few years ago. Ultimately, I decided it's not for me, and I personally think a MSc is kind of a waste of time unless you want to get a PhD after it.

The main difference between Canadian and UK schools is that in the UK you have the option of doing a 'taught' MSc or a research based MSc. Taught means you spend 1/2 the time in the classroom, and 1/2 the time doing research. It is "easier" if you have very little research experience, but it's also much less useful to you if you want to do research after. Also in the UK, it lasts 1 full year, no time off except for a couple of weeks for the holidays. In Canada, it would take you 2 years for a MSc.

It is also considerably more expensive in the UK unless you are a resident of the EU. Tuition alone will run you something like $25-$30K Canadian + about $10K for the living expenses.

 

[beli]

UWA offers a master’s degree by way of:

* Research (by thesis) where the thesis represents 100% of the course requirements
* Research (and creative work) where the assessment is based on a thesis and a creative and/or performance component
* Thesis and Coursework where the thesis represents 66.6% or more of the degree requirements
* Coursework and Dissertation where the dissertation component represents less than 66.6% of the degree requirements
* Coursework where the coursework is 100% of the degree requirements.

Thats from the Uni I work at. Im sure that confusing things.

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

Well, specifically, I want to do psychology.

Much of this stems from the fact that I have very little desire to live here anymore (Canada). It's not that it's not a wonderful country: it is, it just isn't for me. Unfortunately, France is for me, but my knowledge of French, while passable, isn't sufficient for study/working in France.

Thus, this leaves me with English speaking countries.

Ani--you mentioned it being substantially less if you're a resident of the EU: what if you simply hold citizenship there?

And Belo--no, that actually helps clear a few things up Thanks

 

[anitram]

It's not good enough to hold citizenship anymore - the Europeans have caught on our cheatin' ways, I'm afraid. Now, there may be some schools that allow it, but at all the ones I looked at in the UK (UofBirmingham, UofManchester, Imperial College, King's College, Oxford, Cambridge), the definition of a resident of the EU was somebody who held EU citizenship and resided in the EU for 2 years on a full time basis, immediately preceding attending the school.

So unfortunately, citizenship may not do much for you, but you can look into that more. It used to be that citizenship in an EC country was enough to get you reduced tuition, but right now they are differentiating between citizens and residents, and IMO, it is because there is such a large number of EU citizens worldwide right now who have probably not lived in Europe for years if not decades, have paid no taxes and so on and it's therefore seen as unfair of them to take advantage of the system.


ETA: Have you looked at the US at all? It's also expensive, but there is a huge number of great schools.

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

I have a bit--generally, I'm tired of North America--it's culture, the people, etc. I know it sounds horrible of me. I've just never been happier than when I was in Europe (not because I was travelling, but with everything, lifestyle, educational systems and the like). I dislike the national unity, the lack of commraderie, school spirit, etc. I actually just wrote out a semi-political rant here, but deleted it as it would have been better suited to FYM. So I'll leave it that I'd rather go to school in Canada than the States, despite the institutions.

The second reason, and the one I'm most ashamed of, is that I am deathly afraid of the GRE. I loathe standardized testing, but that's not even the half of it--literally, I've had nightmares where I've woken up in cold sweats just thinking about it. There is something paralyzingly evil about studying for months and months at a time in order to write a test that doesn't correlate with intelligence or graduate school success. Unfortunatly, psych is also one of the few/if not only programme in canada that requires the GRE for admission.

 

[jkayet]

I got a masters in London last year - I have to run to work now, so I can't write you back here, but feel free to email me! I wrote my profs before beginning the course to ask those same sort of questions.
jkayetaylor@hotmail.com

 

[meegannie]

As far as I know, the MPhil is somewhere between a MSc and a PhD, and is a two-year course in the UK, while a Masters is only one year. It my vary somewhat according to what course you're doing, but I did history and had two modules a semester (so I was only in class for two hours a week), classes ended at the beginning of May, and the summer was spent writing dissertations.
The best way to choose a univerisity is to think about the kind of area you where want to live and the kind of university you want to attend....fees for international students will be just about the same anywhere (a little more expensive at London unis and possibly Oxford/Cambridge). You can also look at league tables (published by the Guardian and the Times), which rank universities by subject, but their usefulness depends on how highly you regard rankings.

It's difficult to get funding as an international student, and most finance their study through loans, but each university should have information (try contacting the international students office) about scholarships/grants available to Canadian/Commonwealth students. When I applied, the University of East Anglia automatically considered me for funding and offered me funding a few months after I'd applied, but at the other two universities (Durham and Nottingham) I had to submit seperate applications for funding and find out which awards I was elligible for on my own.

 

[skjuls]

The second reason, and the one I'm most ashamed of, is that I am deathly afraid of the GRE. I loathe standardized testing, but that's not even the half of it--literally, I've had nightmares where I've woken up in cold sweats just thinking about it. There is something paralyzingly evil about studying for months and months at a time in order to write a test that doesn't correlate with intelligence or graduate school success. Unfortunatly, psych is also one of the few/if not only programme in canada that requires the GRE for admission.

The GRE is not that bad, really! I did better on this exam than I did on the PSAT and ACT! I rocked the GRE!

You just have to study. Some of the study guides are really good now and since GRE is computer based now I believe scoring is more fair since the computer decides how hard the next question should be if you got the previous question right or wrong.

Don't be afraid to take it, I was and I had to take the GRE in Sofia, Bulgaria.

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

It's difficult to get funding as an international student, and most finance their study through loans, but each university should have information (try contacting the international students office) about scholarships/grants available to Canadian/Commonwealth students. When I applied, the University of East Anglia automatically considered me for funding and offered me funding a few months after I'd applied, but at the other two universities (Durham and Nottingham) I had to submit seperate applications for funding and find out which awards I was elligible for on my own.

When do you apply for all this stuff? On applications, when they ask you about funding, what do you write? 'Applies for scholarships?'

 

[anitram]

From what I recall (and it's been a couple of years), you don't need to specify where/how you will obtain funding on your application. You cay say something like personal/educational loan. But when you get your acceptance letter it will be conditional on proof of funding - that is, you will not be able to formally accept or enroll until you have shown them that you have sufficient funds.

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

Meg-I meant to ask: approx. what was the cost of living there for two year/per year, etc.

 

[jkayet]

I emailed you. Let me know if you have any other questions...not sure that i can answer, but I can try!