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Choosing a location

With so many choices facing potential postgraduate students, how do you choose where to study?

For so many, postgraduate studies mean an MBA. The common perception is that the only reason to continue at university after undergraduate studies is to avoid the drudgery of looking for a job, or for those already in the workplace, going back to university to hone one’s business skills.  But recent research by topcareers.net, the successful team behind the World Grad School Tour and World MBA Tour, provides some surprising insights into who actually wants to take a second, or even a third degree....

The survey, based on a sample of 44,000 people who attended the World Grad School Tour (for people interested in postgraduate Masters and PhD programmes in any discipline) and those who attended the World MBA Tour (people specifically interested in MBA and management courses), showed for the first time that it isn't just MBA programmes that capture the interest of those already working. Over 70 percent of all respondents confirmed that they were working full time, many of whom had been doing so for some considerable time.  Their average age was 26 years, with only 17 percent still at university or college whilst considering a further degree.

The reasons for this? Certainly the rapidly changing global environment has contributed to the feeling that jobs are no longer necessarily for life. Looming recession in many parts of the world has encouraged those in the workplace to examine their positions, resulting in a significant global growth in the demand for postgraduate education and the subsequent acquisition of knowledge and skills for future career prospects.

So what are the choices facing a potential postgraduate student? Well, in this day and age, it is true to say that the choices are quite literally endless. Most local systems of university-level education offer some form of postgraduate education, whether a short diploma, an award-bearing Masters degree or a much longer period of research resulting in a PhD.  Postgraduate education is booming, with over a million students studying outside their home country. Australian, Canadian, French, UK and US institutions are currently recruiting ever-increasing numbers of students on Masters and PhD programmes and leading global institutions like the London School of Economics & Political Science and the University of Chicago are expanding their capacity to teach these types of programmes by adding dozens of new degrees every academic year to meet both demand and interest in new academic areas.

Primarily, choosing a postgraduate degree comes down to personal preferences, but key factors are common to making that crucial decision. Firstly, the length of time you are willing to spend away from employment. Many European and US Masters degrees require you to study for between 18 months and two years, whilst Australian and UK equivalents tend to be one year or less in duration. The time spent to complete a PhD programme can vary enormously from three years in the UK to five years in the US and Canada. Postgraduate degrees are often now available on a part-time basis, to allow for those students wishing to continue in employment at the same time as enhancing their intellectual or practical skills.

Secondly, the mode of study can vary from institution to institution, and country to country. Most Masters degrees are primarily taught programmes in the UK, US and Europe, with significant amounts of contact with academic members of staff in lectures, classes and tutorials. However, some programmes allow for a period of independent research related to an area within your degree. Related to mode of study is who teaches the academic content. The very best degrees will be taught by leading figures in their fields, active in research and often consultancy, actively influencing their particular academic area.

Thirdly, the choice of where you study. Each country and indeed national system of education offers advantages and disadvantages. The choice comes down to a balance of personal preferences - where will I feel most comfortable? Where will I enjoy living the most? And academic ones – where is the best programme for what I am interested in? How internationally respected is the institution I want to study in? Some may consider the ease of remaining in a particular country after their period of study to work as the most significant factor in their choice of destination country. 

Finally, costs. Your choice of where to study so often hinges on how much it actually costs for academic tuition and living expenses. Financial aid and scholarship packages are commonplace, either offered by individual institutions or national governments, keen to encourage the very best international students to come to their country. But these schemes tend to be devilishly competitive and heavily oversubscribed. Some countries allow you to offset these costs by allowing you to work as well as study, but this is not common to all. As a very broad guide, high quality and a strong brand of a particular postgraduate programme tends to be associated with high cost – as with anything else.

In the information age that we live in, finding out about postgraduate study opportunities is relatively simple, but discovering useful and valid information is not so easy. Many web sites and publications purport to offer definitive guides and surveys on what is the “best” university or the “best” programme of study but so often these publications are misleading. The best place to start your research is the relatively unsophisticated actually talking to people who already have postgraduate experience – where and what did they study? Why did they study? What was it like? Would they recommend it as (a) an academic experience, (b) as a life experience or (c) as a way of enhancing their career prospects? Institutional web sites and prospectuses are also good points of reference to get a full understanding of the programmes of study offered, who is teaching the programme and what you can expect from the academic experience. Moreover, international organisations such as The British Council, IDP, USIS, Fulbright and EduFrance represent all the institutions in their particular country and can be good sources of basic information on teaching methods, costs, scholarships and accommodation issues.

But the opportunity to meet admissions staff and academics of institutions you are interested in is also something you should seek. It is rarely practical to travel to your prospective institution for a visit or interview, but touring education fairs provides an exciting platform for potential students and universities to meet one another. Such events tend to offer a dynamic and worthwhile format for those seeking information on Masters and PhD programmes and opportunities to have all of your questions answered.

Further details of the World Grad School Tour are available from Top Universities web site listed in the external links opposite.

About QS:

QS is the leading international network for top careers and education. It links graduate, MBA and executive communities around the world with recruiters and education providers through web sites, publications, selection services and events, both physical and virtual.

Its communities include: QS TopGraduate, QS TopMBA, QS TopExecEd and QS Global-Workplace which together, can support individuals throughout the lifetime of their career.