[Andreaa]

Hello everyone
I am planning on applying for a taught masters that would begin in the fall of 2013. About when should one begin to apply? Also, in social sciences, how many programs would be recommended to apply to? I have a short list of six that I would really love to do and just don't know if it would be better/safer to extend to more.
Thanks so much for any information you can give me! I'm a student from the United States and am still figuring out the whole UK system
Andrea

[Sadik899]

(Original post by Andreaa)
About when should one begin to apply? Also, in social sciences, how many programs would be recommended to apply to?

Hi Andreaa,

My advice would be to go check out a website called 'hot courses'. I am new to this TSR I don't know why I can't write the link here. Anyway, search for it on google. There is an option for Masters and all the details will pop up.

The best time to apply is really between June-August. As far as I know majority of the deadlines are at the end of August or mid August. More applications means more chances. I would recommend 10. Also if you are new to UK, the right university will get you the job. Make sure you do solid research on the universities before applying.

Hope that helps

[wompahferret]

If you're thinking of applying for scholarships (I'm in humanities so I'm not entirely sure what would be available for social sciences, it depends on where you're going I guess), I would apply around October 2012-January 2013, maybe even February, as the deadlines for these scholarships usually end around then. Also, the deadlines may be in June or August, but some postgraduate courses fill up quickly in the first few months of the year. It depends on how popular these courses are as well.

Sadik899 is correct: do your research on where you're applying, send a few e-mails to respective departments, etc. Applying to six should be more than enough though.

Where do you plan to go, Andreaa?

[Andreaa]

OK-so that sounds about right on with American universities as far as deadlines go. Thanks
Wompahferret- I'm looking at Peace Studies programs mostly in Northern Ireland/Ireland!
Queen's University Belfast
University of Ulster
Trinity College Dublin
University of Limerick

[wompahferret]

Ah, OK! That sounds cool. I should warn you that the Irish system is a little bit different from the UK -- whereas in the UK you apply to individual universities, in Ireland you apply for them through the PAC (Postgraduate Applications Centre). I'm not sure about the North, but in Ireland the deadlines for scholarships are later than in the UK (you should check them out, they've announced a lot more of them ever since the maintenance grants for postgrads were cut by the government almost a year ago). If you want more questions about the Irish system (I just finished my undergrad in NUI Galway), let me know.

[CUFCDan]

I'm sure you've looked at the courses, but I'd imagine that sort of course in Ireland would be heavily Irish-centric, so be wary.

[Andreaa]

Thank you all so much for the responses! I have another question: I feel like I've done about all the research possible on the universities' websites: I've read all about the courses, modules, etc.; I think I have a pretty good handle on reputations for the universities and such, but there is really only so much one can learn online (the unis are after all trying to sell themselves to prospective students!) For anyone who is doing/has done a postgraduate degree: did you/would you recommend visiting the university? Obviously it would be ideal for me to be able to visit them, but being across the Atlantic has its disadvantages. How crucial would you say a visit is?

[MJ1]

Hi,
I'm just completing my master's and I don't think you need to visit the university before hand. There is a wealth of information about each univeristy online and they each have their own facebook page. Read up about the individual course you are hoping to attend and make sure it suits your interests. Then have a look at the reputation of their staff members. Look into the actul university city or town and make sure if fits with what you are hoping for i.e. small town that is very friendly but maybe without much to do or a busy city where you can go out for big nights out. Also see if the university you want to attend has a club or society you are interested in if there is one thing you couldn't do without.

Master's courses are really straight forward and as long as you have an interest in the modules you are doing, the staff have good reputations in particular with supporting their students, and the university suits your pace of life then I think you'll be fine withought doing so.

You could also look for a facebook page or group with students studying your particular master's course this year and ask them anything you'd like to know

Good luck!

[gutenberg]

(Original post by Andreaa)
Hello everyone
I am planning on applying for a taught masters that would begin in the fall of 2013. About when should one begin to apply? Also, in social sciences, how many programs would be recommended to apply to? I have a short list of six that I would really love to do and just don't know if it would be better/safer to extend to more.
Thanks so much for any information you can give me! I'm a student from the United States and am still figuring out the whole UK system
Andrea

(Original post by Andreaa)
OK-so that sounds about right on with American universities as far as deadlines go. Thanks
Wompahferret- I'm looking at Peace Studies programs mostly in Northern Ireland/Ireland!
Queen's University Belfast
University of Ulster
Trinity College Dublin
University of Limerick

I did my undergrad degree at Trinity College Dublin, and I think the recommended time to apply is in the spring, so around March or April; I'm not 100% sure if it's the same at UL and the Northern universities, but as someone above said, in Ireland deadlines tend to be later. As regards funding there is practically zilch for taught Master's programmes in the Republic, so applying early for scholarships and so on is not really an issue. Queen's and UU might have some though, could be worth checking out, and they could have earlier deadlines.

As regards visiting, I don't think you have to really, especially as it's just a one-year Master's. There's a lot of info online, such as the following forum which is where TCD students post about the college: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=468
I think UL also have a forum on that site, and possibly the Northern colleges too.

I did politics and had some interaction with the Peace Studies staff so I could try and answer some very basic questions if you wanted; if you've any general queries about TCD then don't hesitate!