Well, I'm a Literature Major by training, and am potentially going into a program that would be linguistics heavy and I just haven't taken enough linguistics to feel confident in a linguistics research program yet. I feel like a year of intensive classes would prepare me for that. I do see what you mean about a research Masters being more useful.
Haha oh man, it's all so confusing!I guess I just need to start contacting people and talking to professors and whatnot...
Ok great, that's exactly what I was just wondering.
So it looks like an MPhil or any Masters by research would be more useful than a taught Master's and could potentially speed up the whole process, but I wouldn't necessarily be shooting myself in the foot by taking a taught one instead.
Thanks for your detailed responses! I've found them super helpful :)
The M.St. option is only at Oxford, and it's in the English department under English Language. What field are you in? Are you a grad student? Where are you studying?
Most of the taught Master's appear to have a dissertation section that isn't quite a thesis but is still a self-driven research project. A few of the programs I am looking at don't have research equivalents. As far as I can tell (and as I'm sure is normal, this list changes daily) these are the courses that correspond closest to my interest. I was surprised to find some schools like Durham and Leeds didn't have similar degrees.
Cambridge - Mphil - Linguistics
Oxford - M.St. - English Language
Edinburgh - M.Sc. - (Linguistics and) English Language
Manchester - MA - (Linguistics and) English Language
Lancaster - MA - (Linguistics and) English Language
Thanks for the vote of confidence for employment. I've heard varied opinions all across the board.
I will have completed my undergrad in English Lit (Honours) at the University of British Columbia by the end of this term. The degree itself has been great, I just realized near the end what it was exactly that I wanted to study, and that for the majority of my degree I hadn't been studying it. Isn't that always the way
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It it were me, I would contact the schools directly to find out exactly what the various Master's level degrees mean - everyone has a different version. For example, my 'master's year' was called an MA, but the beginning year of my PhD was called an MPhil, which I was 'transferred' from when I passed my upgrade panel. This was, however, just doing straight literature, so it may be different for linguistics and more science-based subjects
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"and the direction of the wind on alternating Thursdays."
Yes! Man, the best descriptions are always the most dispiriting :p
What do you mean when you say "baptism by fire?" Did they just throw a bunch of information at you with the hope it would stick or was it even more harrowing? I've heard one year Master's programs can be really overwhelming; I wish there were more MPhils or 2 year programs in general in what I want to do being offered in the U.K.
By 'baptism by fire' I mean the MA was a massive learning curve (mostly because of the differences between US uni education and UK education), and a time when I was learning so fast I didn't even realise I was learning. Going from a broad but not particularly challenging BA in English to my MA (in-depth, challenging, and fast) was quite a gear-change. The faculty were really friendly and more than happy to help if I had problems, but it was still very sink-or-swim. I wouldn't call it stressful, as such, nor harrowing, but I think intense is probably the best way to describe it.
My PhD has been very similar, but for reasons that I think (hope!) are unique to my situation.
MSt is only on Oxford thing, isn't it? A master's degree from Oxford has not to my knowledge ever hurt anyone, especially if that's where you want to do your PhD
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Ooooh where did/do you study in Wales? I really want to apply to Cardiff but their department appears to be more focused on applied linguistics (and maybe brain?) and not so much historical/English linguistics :( Do you mind if I ask what you're studying?
AAAh that's so cool! I'm hoping to focus my degree partly on Welsh/Old Welsh/Old English type things. In any case I'm hoping to teach myself modern Welsh during my gap year - we'll see how that goes! I took an Arthur of the English course last term and it was rad - we talked a lot about the Welsh stories.
You want to avoid Conversion Courses. Generally they're not very good.
The way my programme works, you have to pass the first two semesters with a high enough grade to do a dissertation. Without a dissertation, you get a Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip); the dissertation takes (in theory) 3 months (though extensions are available) and, upon passing that component of the programme, you receive your Master's. The entirety of the programme takes one year - two semesters taught and a dissertation over the summer.
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Haha oh man, it's all so confusing!I guess I just need to start contacting people and talking to professors and whatnot...
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
So it looks like an MPhil or any Masters by research would be more useful than a taught Master's and could potentially speed up the whole process, but I wouldn't necessarily be shooting myself in the foot by taking a taught one instead.
Thanks for your detailed responses! I've found them super helpful :)
Reply
Reply
Most of the taught Master's appear to have a dissertation section that isn't quite a thesis but is still a self-driven research project. A few of the programs I am looking at don't have research equivalents. As far as I can tell (and as I'm sure is normal, this list changes daily) these are the courses that correspond closest to my interest. I was surprised to find some schools like Durham and Leeds didn't have similar degrees.
Cambridge - Mphil - Linguistics
Oxford - M.St. - English Language
Edinburgh - M.Sc. - (Linguistics and) English Language
Manchester - MA - (Linguistics and) English Language
Lancaster - MA - (Linguistics and) English Language
Thanks for the vote of confidence for employment. I've heard varied opinions all across the board.
Reply
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Yes! Man, the best descriptions are always the most dispiriting :p
What do you mean when you say "baptism by fire?" Did they just throw a bunch of information at you with the hope it would stick or was it even more harrowing? I've heard one year Master's programs can be really overwhelming; I wish there were more MPhils or 2 year programs in general in what I want to do being offered in the U.K.
Reply
My PhD has been very similar, but for reasons that I think (hope!) are unique to my situation.
Reply
Reply
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You want to avoid Conversion Courses. Generally they're not very good.
The way my programme works, you have to pass the first two semesters with a high enough grade to do a dissertation. Without a dissertation, you get a Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip); the dissertation takes (in theory) 3 months (though extensions are available) and, upon passing that component of the programme, you receive your Master's. The entirety of the programme takes one year - two semesters taught and a dissertation over the summer.
Reply
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