Post Graduate Study

Doing further study after your first degree can appeal for several reasons, like

• To develop your academic interest in a specific area
• Train for a particular career e.g. teaching, social work or physiotherapy
• Develop research skills - useful for potential academic/research careers

You will need to think clearly about what you aim to get from postgraduate study, and why you want to do it. If it is to increase your chances of finding the right career afterwards, you need to research how the additional qualification will help you with this, will it give you more technical knowledge, skills, experience, contact with employers than just having your first degree? Does it have accredited status for future employment (if this is needed)? Just doing further study will not automatically give you an 'edge' with future vacancies, although it can often do, if done for the right reasons and researched thoroughly first.

Researching and applying for postgraduate study needs to start happening early on in your last year of your undergraduate course. Especially if you are keen to apply for possible funding support that universities or research bodies/organisations have. This will be rather limited, so you will need to put a strong case forward!

More information can be found at www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduate-study, including what courses are available where; for more information about finance, look at www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduate-study/funding-postgraduate-study.

There is also more information on the careers Moodle pages about research and academic careers, so for instance a list of research institutes, so do take a look!

It is definitely a good idea to talk through your options with this area, either with your tutor or make an appointment with the university college careers adviser.