Staying on to Do Your Postgraduate Study

Are you graduating soon? What’s your plan after graduation? This question might be daunting to some of you or even to students in general. Perhaps it’s a good idea to start exploring the possibility of staying on to do your postgraduate study!

Postgraduate study is a way to stand out to your employers and to enhance your undergraduate skills. However (this is where things get more interesting), we all know that sometimes our sense of curiosity drives us to learn things outside our main field of study. Did you know that the University offer conversion courses? Conversion courses allow you to do a postgraduate study that is of a different field from your undergraduate study, but usually specialised, which is aimed at those with no prior experience in the field. An example of these is the Psychology course here.

When applying for a conversion course, experience and grades obtained during your undergraduate (in any subject) will be taken into consideration as they often show your drive to learn.

As a former student at the University of Aberdeen, you will be entitled to the special “loyalty discount” of 20% off the cost of any element of self-funded graduate study at the University. Aside from this, there are several other funding sources to assist with financing your further study. Search the funding database here.

I was enrolled in the postgraduate taught programme of MLitt in Film, Visual Culture and Arts Management. Based on my personal experience, I would say that anyone coming from an undergraduate programme will experience a shift in curriculum focus, workload and relationship with academic staff, among others. The subjects of your postgraduate programme will be more specific than those from your undergraduate and will reflect your own interests rather than a curriculum. There will also be more hours allocated for independent study, but with closer supervision. The number of students enrolled in a postgraduate class is more limited, thus students can get more thorough guidance from the academic staff. Another perk of having more independent study sessions at the postgraduate level is the opportunity to get involved in more non-academic activities such as at the University’s clubs and societies as well as volunteering. Fun, right?

Transitioning from being an undergraduate to a postgraduate student can make one feels jittery in the beginning. But don’t be afraid! The University provide free seminars at the beginning of the term to help tackle any problems arising from the transition. And as you’ve known, the University staff will always be happy to help you out.