Durham Postgraduate Applicants 2013/2014

It seems that postgraduate applicant threads are sparse outside of Oxbridge.

Following the trend, who is applying for 2013/2014 postgraduate study at Durham?

I sent off my application last Monday for the MA in Early Modern History.

It would be good to see how the application process is going for others, and, of course, I wish you the best of luck!

Oo, good luck! Where will you be coming from? I'm on the Early Modern MA at the moment. Feel free to give me a shout if you have any particular questions or want to know anything specific about the course.

Fantastic! I'm currently at Gloucestershire. Coming from Cheltenham, I decided to stay here and exploit my wonderful wage at Waitrose and save for a master's! Where were you studying before Durham?


So many questions! How did you find the application process last year, and what sort of time did it take to process? Most importantly, how is the course?!


I hope all is going well!

@Cate - good luck with your application

Ah, you're coming from quite a long way away then. I was at Newcastle University for my undergraduate degree so I didn't move that far.

The application process was extremely fast once it was completed (i.e. once you've applied and sent off all of the supporting materials) and they got back to me within 2 weeks.

Have you already finished your undergraduate degree or are you in your final year?

The course itself is very good. There's 6 of us on the Early Modern strand this year and we're doing things ranging from Tudor politics, to magic in the seventeenth century and the role of women in the enlightenment. What sort of history are you interested in? My personal interest is mid-Tudor political thought, with maybe a little bit of religious context.

I'm in my final year now, and cannot wait to leave after 20 years in Cheltenham! And excellent! I believe my referees uploaded mid-last week.

That all sounds very exciting! My major personal interest is in medieval and early-modern cartography (I believe PDA Harvey is an Emeritus Professor at Durham, which is rather exciting). But on the whole, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century print culture and intellectual history - often tied in with religion. I'm surprised there are so few on the course! I would've expected there to be at least a dozen!

@TheRandomer

Wow, you must have really loved it if you're wanting to go back and do a PhD there!
On your year out at the moment, are you working and saving up money?
Also, will you be hoping to join St Mary's again if you get made an offer?

Thanks.

I did! The city is beautiful, fun and everyone is so friendly with lovely accents! You'd love it! Have you visited? Durham's my first choice because I just love the department, the atmosphere and the staff, and it's actually pretty much the top Uni for what I want to study anyway
I'm just doing an unpaid internship atm, doing research at another Uni to hopefully help strengthen my application. Then I'll take some time off to focus on interviews and earn a bit of money before doing some more researchy based things. I want to travel a bit too so I think I'll be absolutely broke by the end of the year haha.
I'd probably join Mary's as a college but try and find a place to live out, how about you? Which college did you apply to? Congrats on your offer!!!

Hi guys,

@Philomath1 - I'm from Gloucestershire too!

I've applied and have been given an unconditional offer to do the LL.M (Master of Law) in Sept 2013.
I applied at the beginning of October and received an offer last week. (I've also applied to Cambridge but it'll be a while before I hear back from them.)

Anyone know which college(s) they prefer?

Whereabouts in Gloucestershire are you from (unless you meant the university)?

Oddly enough, I was looking at the Cambridge masters in Historical Studies but the sheer volume of the material required in the application process changed my mind! Have you finished your degree, then? Or are you a third year?

For my college preference I put, as a lot of people will, University. I'm not holding out hope on a place there, but any 'old' college and I'll be happy. If all else fails I will have to begrudgingly look at Ustinov, but it will make choosing between Durham and UCL slightly easier (provided both give me offers)!

Good luck with Cambridge, incidentally!

Well I'm originally from Bristol but - since graduating - have moved back home which is too not far from Cheltenham (i.e. near Stroud).

I considered choosing University College but from researching it it seems absolutely everyone who applies to Durham chooses it as their preference. So I thought I'd be in with a better chance if I chose another i.e. St Chad's. Plus, St Chad's seems a closer-knit type college and has kept a lot of its old-fashioned traditions. Oh and it's on the Bailey which looks great

Thanks, the deadline for the LL.M Cambridge applications is today. So from today onwards I could hear back. Although it's said that hear-back period lasts from now until March 15th 2013 and that it's most likely I'll hear from them in February/March time It's a long time to wait!
I considered applying for UCL and LSE but I don't really want to do a Masters in London - mainly because of the price of their courses as well as living costs there.

Good luck with your application!

No, I haven't been to visit Durham - it's quite a trek to get there from Gloucestershire but, more importantly, I don't have the money to go and visit it at the moment! I hope this situation changes in the near future or else I may have to defer taking up my offer and start a year later - in Sept 2014!

Quite! I'm hoping the course doesn't run interviews. The train from Cheltenham, even with advance booking, is eyewateringly expensive! I should hopeful have a decision tomorrow, however!

How are you planning on funding, if you don't mind my asking?

Well I'm hoping to get a well-paid, full-time job soon. Although I've been trying hard lately but to no avail. It seems there aren't many - if any - well-paid, full-time jobs for graduates (that match my work experience etc) in my part of Glos!
I'm also planning on getting the Professional and Career Development Loan which is up to £10k. But obviously the less of this I need, the better.
So yeah, savings from a job and the PCDL is how I plan to pay for it. However, like I said, if it doesn't work out I'll have to defer entry for a year. Hopefully it won't come to that!!

How about you? How are you planning to fund it?

Good luck for tomorrow - for hearing back!

Thank you! Jobs wise, it may be worth checking on the John Lewis/Waitrose website. I work in the Waitrose Cheltenham and have heard that both they and the Cirencester store will be on an employment drive within a matter of days/weeks! Loans sound most unwelcome, although if all goes to plan I'm sure a job with an LLM from a top 5 university will pay nicely.

I'm funding it entirely myself! I have pretty solidly saved for 5 years and staying at home for undergraduate has helped immensely. (As has the delightful John Lewis Bonus!)