UK student - Masters abroad?

Hi TSR,

I'm a second year student at the Uni of Manchester and recently I've been very curious about the idea of doing my Masters abroad. However I'm struggling to find one central hub of information regarding the Masters course.

I have a few questions:-

Does studying for a Masters outside the UK mean it's a 2 year course as opposed to just the 1 in the UK ?

How exactly do I go about looking into studying abroad? I mean I'm absolutely clueless. Google is my friend but I think we're going through a bad patch.

Any guidance is welcomed and thanks for reading!

Reply 1

oxymoronic

Abroad is fairly general!

I guess you can do it two ways: have a look within the UK for courses which interest you, and then try to find comparable courses elsewhere. Or (the way I'd do it/am doing) is to pick a country/area you'd realistically like to live in for a year or two at least, and then look at the different university options within that country, decide if the university system is for you, then look at different courses. Moving somewhere abroad for a prolonged period of time is very different to choosing a holiday destination, so somewhere which is great to go as a tourist might be horrible to live in perminantly, whereas somewhere you'd never dream of going on holiday might make the perfect university location. You have to filter in things such as ease of getting back to the UK and the cost, the cost of living, residency and immigration (not so much of an issue in the EU), banking and funding, language etc.

For me, funding, language of instruction and international reputation are the most important factors to consider. For example, if you study within the EU you will only pay the same amount as students from country X pay, meaning if you go to a country where university tuition (including masters) is free, then you will get your education for free. This is the case in Finland, for example. Then you need to consider language, as are you comfortable in being taught in a language other than English? if not, then consider countries where language is used - in Scandinavia you can generally do an entire degree in English, but you will probably have to take a minimum amount of credits in language classes to learn your host countrys language(s). If you're not up for language learning in an academic context, then you'd need to look at native English speaking countries. Finally, reputation is a factor I am considering too, but you may not be bothered about this.

I don't think studying outside of the UK instantly means it is a 2 year course as it depends on the university. I'm currently an erasmus student in Finland, and thus have knowledge of the Finnish education system as well as most European ones as I have friends from all over the EU. One thing I have realised is that in many EU countries EVERYBODY studies for a Masters, there isn't really such a concept of graduating with a bachelors and then deciding whether or not to do a masters, as there is in the UK. In most countries you start university to do a 5 year course and get a masters at the end of it, and after 3 years you'd get very little recognition for your time in education unlike the UK. This means your masters course may not be as 'dedicated' as it might be in the UK, because everyone is still there and it is basically still undergrad and part of the whole university experience. Thus, you don't just have the people who are willing to pay £6000 because they are really really interested in the subject, as you tend to in the UK. Even though I am only in my 3rd year of a 4 year undergrad degree I have been taking masters level courses in Finland because they were the most interesting, and to be honest, I haven't found the standard of work challenging at all. It certainly isn't any harder than the work I did in first and second year at Edinburgh, and this is supposed to be something students undertake after at least 4 years at university, not two, which is something you might want to consider in terms of academic work/value of doing the masters.

I hope some of that can be of use to you, I have only started exploring my options this year because I feel the world (well, Europe) has opened up to me since being an erasmus student because I can find out very detailed stuff about the education system anywhere in Europe. I don't know anything about outwith the EU though, so someone else might be able to help you, but at least this is a starting point.

Reply 2

Burce Forsyth

Hi mate,

Cheers for the response and a brilliant one at that.

I'm quite naive when it comes to Masters. I mean if it's the case that in the UK it's seen as a little folly and is hardly any worth then I'd seriously question doing it, because I'm not doing it because I'm really really interested in the subject.

If I were to do it though my preferred destination would be central Europe, more specifically the Germanic speaking countries. In terms of language I know basic German but in a year and a half I could definitely improve upon that.

So, do you suggest looking at individual universities in the area I'm after and do research on their courses?

Researching the education system in these areas is on my to do list, and your post has given me lots of things to think about - much appreciation for that.

Reply 3

oxymoronic

Burce Forsyth

I'm quite naive when it comes to Masters. I mean if it's the case that in the UK it's seen as a little folly and is hardly any worth then I'd seriously question doing it, because I'm not doing it because I'm really really interested in the subject.

From the comparisions I can make between my friends doing masters courses in the UK, and my fellow students in Finland/the other Europeans who are doing masters, it seems that in the UK people are willing to spend the money because they're interested in the subject. Its not something people enter into lightly because a year can cost you over 10 grand if you include tutition and accommodation. Within Europe, it might be free to study and it seems more of a case of 'well I don't have anything better to do so why not go to university' and certainly in Finland, the system isn't as regimented (it seems this way in Germany/Austria too from what my friends here have said, and what my friend who is currently on erasmus in Austria has said) and you get up to 15 years to complete your degree, and it isn't a case of 'I have a year to do my masters' like in the UK. Most people take a prolonged period of time and take a module or two at a time, and don't really have any clear idea of when they will graduate - it'll just happen when they're ready!

If I were to do it though my preferred destination would be central Europe, more specifically the Germanic speaking countries. In terms of language I know basic German but in a year and a half I could definitely improve upon that.

Is your German good enough to take all of your classes in German, and write all of your essays and read all of your texts in German? If you made friends with native German speakers it might not be so much of a problem because if they're nice (like I am) they'll help you out with proof reading your work, explaining texts, helping out with the language etc. The native English speakers (we're taught in English) on my erasmus year have become a key teaching source and we spend a lot of time helping out/tutoring our friends. If you've got people who will do this then its ok, but you might not get that. Having said that some people arrived with no knowledge of English and couldn't communicate, and they're doing okay now so you can improve dramatically.

So, do you suggest looking at individual universities in the area I'm after and do research on their courses?

Thats what I'd do - most universities have pages in English detailing information for foreign students - ensure you check out the 'foreign degree students' section rather than the 'foreign exchange student' section as there is a difference. There are tonnes of universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, so I'd probably start off with places which share exchange/erasmus links with your university, then other key ones who link to other UK universities. As these ones will be more used to dealing with foreign students - Helsinki has cerca 600 foreign students each academic year - meaning they can help you out more, whereas the smaller/less erasmus-y ones won't be as used to foreigners and may not have designated people to deal with enquiries, whereas the more international ones will and will be happy to help you out. Then you can branch out from there if you want to do so.

Reply 4

Rainbow_1985

if you want it to be cheap study in sweden. Education is free in this country.

Reply 5

xpa

Burce Forsyth

Hi mate,

If I were to do it though my preferred destination would be central Europe, more specifically the Germanic speaking countries. In terms of language I know basic German but in a year and a half I could definitely improve upon that.

As far as I know, all Master courses in Germany, Switzerland and Austria are 2 year. I live in Switzerland, study in Germany and have friends who study in Austria by the way. A lot of German students go to Holland for their Masters because the language is quite similar and they have 1 year courses.

As oxymoronic has already said, most students take more time to complete their course, in my experience mostly because we are still in the process of changing the old 5 year degrees to Bachelor and Master degrees and the syllabuses just aren't adjusted properly yet. However, there is also an advantage to this, as you can easily have a job and just take as long as you need for your degree.

Compared to the UK, the tuition will be much less expensive but you pay per semester, so the longer you need for your degree, the more expensive it will become.

Feel free to ask me any further questions if you think my reply has been helpful.