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| Hats off to our graduates! |
The decision to take a masters degree is a big one. If all students chose University courses for the same reasons we would just need one course for each discipline in one huge University. This is of course not the case as Universities compete for a valuable but increasingly diverse market.
Choosing a UK University
According to the Higer Education Association, most non-EU applicants (58.5%) focus on the reputation of the University compared with only (43.6%) of UK-residing applicants. Instead, these UK residents are far more interested in the location. Less that 10% of full-time applicants cite flexibility of the course as an important factor in selecting a course but for part-time students this is higher at almost 50%. Offering separate courses for all of our target markets is just not feasible so comes down to designing courses that cater for students needs.Meeting student expectations is far from easy!
In the UK, all students have their say on how we are doing through the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES). We use this to improve our courses and student experience. At Keele we are proud to be number one for student experience for two years running. This is no accident.... |
| Students visiting a wind farm with lecturers |
Meeting Career Expectations is Key: what to look for in a course that meets your needs
Weighing up whether the fees and yet another year (two if its a part-time course) can be dictated by several factors. You need to ask a lot of questions to check out if a course is right for you and preferably go to open days, like ours here.. Many of these are available online like ours here. From my experience of postgraduate masters applications and teaching, I have found that most students applying to my course fall into three main categories. |
| Environmental testing in the field in Wales |
1. Career Builder.
This applicant often has already had a job and realises that they want to, or need to, retrain in a more secure or prosperous area to gain job security or job satisfaction. They often recognise a specific skill gap. This applicant may be a mature student that has been out education for a while and they may be apprehensive about a return to study. A course linking dissertations with career aspirations can be a big driver for this student in choosing a course. If this is you, ask about opportunities for industrial collaboration and ask to speak to former or current students about their experience. |
| Gaining new skills is vital to career enhancement |
2. Passionate Learner.
This applicant lives and breathes study. They don't necessarily have a background directly related to the masters course but are interested in the subject. They are often keen to get going and get stuck in. This applicant is often focussed on the expertise within the University and course leadership team and often haven't considered specific career objectives apart from continuing their epic journey of learning into a PhD. If this is you, ask about opportunities for fieldwork and to do a dissertation in an active research group.3. Time Traveller.
This person is trying to buy time to reverse a disappointing degree result or to tackle difficulty in securing employment. This applicant could even be trying to right the wrongs of a misspent undergraduate career of too many late nights, late drinks and late assignments! They are often, like the Career Builder, focussed on employability, but they may be less experienced and therefore keen to build their CV and portfolio of skills. They see the course as a second chance to improve prospects and a chance to focus on an area of interest. If this is you, ask about past performance and career prospects of former students on the course. See if you can sit in on a couple of lectures to get a feel for if this is for you.Keele is holding a Postgraduate Fair on March 16th, 2016.
