All Posts Tagged With: "master’s"
How profs talk about you behind your back
Prof. Pettigrew explains what’s in the reference letter
Sealed letter by zappowbang on Flickr
In Robertson Davies’ The Rebel Angels, Simon Darcourt takes up the task of writing letters of reference for his students when he happens to be in a bad mood. Worse, his students have irked him by making requests at the last minute and expecting him to pay for postage. So, in a fit of pique, he savages them: “treacherous, never turn your back on him” he says of one; he describes the mind of another as “flat as Holland—the salt marshes, not the tulip fields.”
When I was a student I was always respectful when asking for letters, lest my profs be offended and take out their anger on me in the same way. Now, as a professor who has written dozens upon dozens of reference letters for scholarships, grad programs—once to help a student get an apartment—I can see how nerve-wracking the process must be for those doing the asking.
The fast track
For some students, four years of undergrad is too much
Photo by Cole Garside
From the 21st Maclean’s University Rankings—on newsstands now. Story by Richard Warnica.
Shawn Alavi, who graduated from McMaster University in 2006, was 21 when he landed his first engineering job. Today, at 26, he’s a certified engineer—a P.Eng. in the jargon—with years of professional experience, money in the bank and a settled career. “Getting out of school earlier meant I was able to clear my debts earlier,” he says. “Now I’m just saving for my future, deciding on my next step.”
In engineering, Alavi found a profession that allowed him to enter the workforce after just four years of school and to achieve his professional certification through paid experience. “I’ve been working for almost five years now,” he says. “I’ve been able to get my life on track a little quicker than most.”
Should I pursue a master’s degree?
Prof. Pettigrew explains the basics of grad school
Photo by Gibson Claire McGuire Regester
Even if you’ve just started university, you may already be wondering what graduate school is all about. By “graduate school” I don’t mean professional programs like law or medicine or education; I’m talking about continuing your studies in the same academic discipline you’re majoring in now, like Anthropology or Physics at the master’s level. Obviously, every school and program will have unique features, and you should do your own research to decide where to go and what to take. But here are a few thoughts to help you decide whether a graduate degree may be right for you in the first place.
1. Is it hard to get into a graduate program?
Yes. Graduate programs will often give a minimum requirement for admission (say a B or a B-) but in reality, the standards are usually much higher. You will generally need at least an A- average.
Post-secondary education pays: StatsCan
Largest difference in earnings was between bachelor’s and master’s degrees
A new study suggests it pays to go to school.
The Statistics Canada survey found that more than 80 per cent of college and university students who graduated in 2005 and did not pursue further studies had found full-time employment by 2007, while earnings generally increased by level of study.
A higher proportion of graduates with a master’s degree were working full time than college graduates or those with a bachelor’s degree or a doctorate.
The pool of graduates with a master’s was higher in 2005 than it was in 2000 for both men and women.
However, the employment rate among master’s graduates remained stable for men at 94 per cent, while it rose for women, to 92 per cent in 2007 from 89 per cent in 2002.
Findings also showed differences in earnings from one level of education to another, with the largest earnings gap existing between the bachelor’s and master’s levels.
The agency says the earnings gap between a master’s and doctorate suggests that the monetary gain from employment two years after graduation for doctorate students is marginal.
About half the 2005 graduates who did not pursue further education financed their post-secondary studies without taking on any education-related loans. Nearly half (46 per cent) of all 2005 bachelor’s graduates completed their studies debt-free, as did 56 per cent of doctorates, 55 per cent of college grads and 54 per cent of those with a master’s.
While relatively similar proportions of college, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate graduates were able to find work two years after graduation, there were differences in terms of their earnings.
The median annual earnings among those working full time in 2007 was lowest for college graduates at $35,000. This increased to $45,000 for bachelor’s graduates, $60,000 for master’s graduates and $65,000 for doctorate graduates.
- The Canadian Press
Where to go for university – and does it matter?
Deciding where to get your Master’s can be a tricky thing. Here are some tips
Got a question this week.
I am a mature student just finishing my first year of studies. Looking to my future, I will complete a Masters degree in Economics. My question to you is, does it really matter where I obtain my degree?
There were more details in the full question, but the fellow in this case has some fairly compelling reasons to stay one place. He also has concerns about the reputation and marketability of the degree. And he has some fairly significant professional experience. My answer is going to hinge significantly on this last point.
Reputation, employment prospects, all the intangible aspects of a degree at one institution vs. a degree at another … frankly, I would never pretend to be in a position to evaluate all of these things accurately. But I do feel the frustration from students and applicants as they realize they aren’t in a position to do that either. The fellow who wrote in this week put is as well as I possibly could, so I’ll just quote him.
Universities spend a lot of money on marketing, luring prospective students to their campuses. They post succession rates, average salary after the program, jobsites of recent graduates, etc. This leads the reader to believe that one school degree is better than another, depending on where the student wants to work, or how much money he wants to make. All of these statistics can be grossly misleading.
Hell yeah. That’s the problem boiled down perfectly to the essentials. This sort of data is very misleading. Even when the data is collected by third parties in a comparative environment it still relies, of necessity, on the self-reported success of students. And then it’s very rarely collected by third parties at all. When you get this data it’s almost certainly presented by the school itself, and all the inevitable problems of bias and self-interest creep in. It’s probably safe to assume that no reputable school is going to outright lie to you, but there are a lot of ways to create a false impression without actually lying.
For the sake of the guy who actually wrote in, I’ll sidestep this problem entirely and give him my advice for his particular situation. When you’ve got a student who has significant employment experience already, and other sorts of qualifications to stand on, the intangible benefits of one institution over another are much less significant. Even grades become less significant. The classic example is the business executive who needs a MBA to take the next step in her career. Getting the degree may be critical. But where it comes from and what sorts of grades she actually receives are less important.
Spanish police clash with protesting students
Baton-wielding police charge students protesting education reforms with sit-in
Seven people have been arrested and 80 injured in clashes in Barcelona between police and university students protesting planned education reforms.
The clashes occurred during two city-centre protests Wednesday in the northeastern Spanish city after police forced students out of a university office they had occupied since November.
Police wielding batons charged the protesters as many students threw rocks, chairs and bottles at the officers.
The spokeswoman says 46 of the injured are police officers and several news photographers were also injured.
None of the injuries was reported to be serious.
The spokesman discussed the situation on condition of anonymity in keeping with police regulations.
Groups of university students across Spain have been protesting for months against changes proposed under a Europe-wide reform of higher education called the Bologna Process, which is meant to allow students to study abroad more easily and for university degrees to be equally recognized in participating countries.
The intended changes have been received without criticism in most countries, but some Spanish undergraduates complain the moves are likely to benefit wealthier students who can pay for postgraduate specialization.
- The Canadian Press
University launches master’s degree in The Beatles
Course can be studied both full and part time, includes a dissertation on the Fab Four
From Liverpool Hope University:
Liverpool Hope University has launched a brand new MA in The Beatles, Popular Music and Society, the first of its kind in the world. The new course, which can be studied both full and part time, covers four modules with specific issues relating to The Beatles and Popular Music, consisting of four 12-week taught modules, plus a dissertation.
Mike Brocken, Senior Lecturer in Popular Music at Hope, said ‘There have been over 8,000 books about The Beatles but there has never been serious academic study and that is what we are going to address.
‘Forty years on from their break-up, now is the right time and LIverpool is the right place to study The Beatles. This MA is expected to attract a great deal of attention, not just locally but nationally and we have already had enquiries from abroad, particularly the United States.
”The Beatles, Popular Music and Society’ marks a seminal advance in popular music studies. For the first time in the UK and possibly the world, a postgraduate taught course is offered to research into The Beatles, the city from which they emerged, the contexts of the 1960s, technology, sound and songwriting and the industries that have set up in their wake to capitalise on tourism in the city of Liverpool.’
Ontario to create 3,300 new graduate spaces
More than $50m targeted at high-demand programs, like engineering and environment
Ontario says it’s committing $51.6 million to add some 3,300 graduate spaces at its universities over the next few years.
The government says the investment will enable more students to study in high-demand sectors such as engineering and environmental studies.
The money, from the $6.2-billion Reaching Higher program, will create 1,925 new master’s spaces and 1,373 new PhD spaces.
Ontario’s seven largest research universities will receive about 75 per cent of the new spots.
The University of Toronto will get the most with 588, followed by the University of Western Ontario with 504.
According to government estimates, seven out of 10 new jobs created in Ontario over the next decade will require post-secondary education or training.
“Ontario’s highly skilled workforce is our province’s greatest asset,” Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities John Milloy said in a release.
“By helping more Ontarians pursue higher education, we can strengthen our economy and attract the kind of jobs and investment that will build prosperity for all Ontario families.”
Here is a list of universities slated to receive the spaces and the allotments:
University of Toronto – 588
University of Western Ontario – 504
University of Waterloo – 461
McMaster University – 338
University of Ottawa – 277
Ryerson University – 289
University of Guelph – 232
York University – 168
Queen’s University – 97
University of Ontario Institute of Technology – 97
Wilfrid Laurier University – 68
Carleton University – 67
Lakehead University – 49
Laurentian University – 33
Trent University – 26
Ontario College of Art and Design – 6
University of Windsor – 4
- The Canadian Press
