what would I need for a masters degree

all I know is that you need a first or 2:1 when graduating from your undergraduate degree but surely there must be other things you need to do for a psychology masters that make your application more appealing. I’m saying this because I really want to go to a russel group near london or actually in london and the competition there would be insane. I’m told that A levels don’t matter as soon as you get your undergraduate degree so i’m not sure if I should resit them or not

Reply 1

Cranfield University

Official Rep

Original post by eatmya55

Hi @eatmya55

This is a great thing to be considering, so many things completely outside of your grades can strengthen your applications! I have been at student at Cranfield University for three years now, and as it’s postgraduate only I have got to know a LOT of masters students in this time. There are definitely trends you can see in what makes applications successful, and also what makes people more likely to get things like scholarships.

1) Experience

Experience in the field is typically thought of as work, which is one way to get it. I know lots of people who chose to work for 1-2 years in their field of interest before their applications for MScs were successful, or they just chose to take time to experience the work environment in that area before making the investment.

However, lots of people can’t find work in their field of interest without a graduate degree, or simply don’t wait to wait a year (or more) to continue their education. But there are still plenty of ways to get experience without full-time employment.
Try asking professionals in your area if you could shadow them for a short period of time. Then in your application/interview, you can demonstrate that you have a working knowledge of what the day-to-day is like in that profession, and have identified the skills you might need, and which activities your strengths lie in. In some places this can be difficult (particularly in healthcare related fields, where patient/client confidentiality needs to be maintained), but it’s possible! If you find this is the case for your area of study, try asking academics researching that area instead.
You can also ask about internships, which are unfortunately typically unpaid, but do strengthen your application a huge amount! While shadowing someone will just show you what the day to day is like, an internship will also allow you to build skills related to that area, and gain a lot more experience.

2) Demonstrating passion

Everyone says how passionate they are about their subject. It’s very easy to say. You’d also think that having done an undergraduate degree in the topic might support that, but if everyone applying has done that, it doesn’t separate you from the crowd. Try and show some things you have spend your free time doing that are relevant. In your interview, you may have the opportunity to talk about books you have read, museums/events/galleries you visited that are relevant to the field (top tip – look for books written by academics in the department you are applying to). If you have done any short courses online, include those!

3) Know your strengths, but also your weaknesses

Everyone wants to make themselves sound as good as possible in an interview, but be careful not to sound cocky. Each strength you mention should have an anecdote you can attach to it, to have some ‘proof’. For example, if you say you work well in a team, you might want to add that you discovered that teamwork really suited your personality in your group project in second year, where you received a high mark. It doesn’t have to be within academia, you could also demonstrate that you can work well in a team through part time jobs you have held, or team sports you played.
Nobody is perfect, and we all have shortfalls. The classic interview question “what is your biggest weakness” may even be asked. Identifying the areas you have struggled with in the past shows that you have self-awareness, and are willing to self-reflect and admit your mistakes/shortcomings. Note that I am using plural here, because I learned the hard way they might ask for more than one!!!

4) Show that you are regularly improving

With each mistake/shortfall/weakness, you should be able to mention something you are currently doing (or have recently done) to work on this. For example, if you are not good at public speaking, you might join a poetry group to practice reading aloud in front of an audience. If you are not great at coding, you could say that you have done some intro courses online (you can usually find free ones!) and are working towards more advanced problems.
This also shows that you have drive and work ethic!

5) Know WHY you want to do this masters

And don’t let the reason be money. For some people, they found they had a particular skill/interest in a subsection of their undergrad, and want to further explore that. Others have a specific career path they want to follow that requires a masters. For others, they want to refocus their careers to be more fulfilling, to help people, or a variety of other reasons. It doesn’t have to be very specific (a lot of people start their masters without knowing exactly what they will do after) and often interviewers value having an open mind to all the areas a course offers. However, you should be able to somewhat describe your motivation to assure them that you will have the drive to put in the work required.

I’m sure other people in this thread will also have some great suggestions, but these are the ones that came to mind from my experience 😊

Best of luck!
Ciara
3rd year Agrifood PhD student
Cranfield Student Ambassador