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What is the social life like of an MA student

3

Basically, I wanted to ask what is everyone's experience of their social life whist doing postgraduate study. I am looking to do a taught MA and know that it will require a large amount of work, but do you lose your social life completely, speaking as someone who does enjoy going out clubbing and playing sports etc.....

Reply 1

jelly1000

21

Original post

by QcI JAMES IcQ

Basically, I wanted to ask what is everyone's experience of their social life whist doing postgraduate study. I am looking to do a taught MA and know that it will require a large amount of work, but do you lose your social life completely, speaking as someone who does enjoy going out clubbing and playing sports etc.....

It depends on the uni/course but in my experience no- I have very little contact time so I can get most of my work done during the day unless a deadline is imminent and that gives me evenings to do what I want.

Reply 2

QHF

11

Original post

by QcI JAMES IcQ

Basically, I wanted to ask what is everyone's experience of their social life whist doing postgraduate study. I am looking to do a taught MA and know that it will require a large amount of work, but do you lose your social life completely, speaking as someone who does enjoy going out clubbing and playing sports etc.....

It really depends on the course but from my own experience & my observation of others, it doesn't completely kill your social life. I found on my masters that I had to cut down on going out, or at least be more organised about planning it efficiently. But I still saw people most of the time. There were a few points where I had to really focus on the work, but then the course isn't exactly long and the qualification will be with you for the rest of your life.

Reply 3

Eugenie Grandet

10

I wouldn't say completely non-existent as I went for coffees and dinners with my coursemates frequently. However I think I went clubbing once in the whole time I was doing my MA- which is nothing compared to 1st year undergrad haha. Oh and I had to work a few hours on Christmas day as we were given so many essays 1st semester. It pretty intensive and I was determined to get a distinction so I didn't really party much until I'd graduated and got my job, etc.

Reply 4

GenialGermanGent

20

No. My social life was great during my taught MA.

Reply 5

arguendo

14

I fit in coffees and dinners with friends, but it's definitely limited. Much less scope for social life than undergrad.

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Reply 6

Klix88

17

Didn't have much of a social life during my MA. Unusually for an MA it involved a lot of independent lab work, so folks on my course worked in the same room and often went to lunch together or took coffee/cake breaks during the day. Didn't go out together in the evenings/weekends though.

I even fell out of touch with my non-uni friends during my Masters year. I was either busy with Masters work evenings/weekends, or I was absolutely knackered and just wanted an early night.

Very much depends on your course and subject; how it's structured, coursework load (deadlines on mine clumped together in the second semester), what type of independent work you're doing, how the teaching is delivered etc.

Reply 7

QcI JAMES IcQ

OP

3

Original post

by TitanicTeutonicPhil

No. My social life was great during my taught MA.

Good to hear, why was it so great if you don't mind me asking (was there much difference between undergraduate social life)

Reply 8

Zefiros

10

I am tempted to say that there is "no social life whatsoever" during masters, but I would be lying. There is not so much pointless drinking as in undergrad, I suppose, but still plenty of socialising and I am sure you could still get drunk for no reason if you wanted to.

Reply 9

randomgeeza

14

Original post

by QcI JAMES IcQ

Basically, I wanted to ask what is everyone's experience of their social life whist doing postgraduate study. I am looking to do a taught MA and know that it will require a large amount of work, but do you lose your social life completely, speaking as someone who does enjoy going out clubbing and playing sports etc.....

Lol no. You can have a perfectly fine social life if you are organised. I did well on my MSc and it didn't affect my social life much, the only time it did was exam time and when I had a number of assignments which had deadlines very close together. Usually my deadlines were pretty spread out.

Reply 10

GenialGermanGent

20

Original post

by QcI JAMES IcQ

Good to hear, why was it so great if you don't mind me asking (was there much difference between undergraduate social life)

It's more mature and informed. You have more 'been there, done that, no thanks' moments and have a better time because of it. You don't feel the urge anymore to party crazily, you don't do stupid stuff anymore, social gatherings are more meaningful and less booze-fueled.

Reply 11

JamesManc

15

That an MA takes lots of work is a total myth, you have almost the same, if not the same, amount of free time/social life as an undergraduate, unless you new commitments e.g. a new job or something

Reply 12

Klix88

17

Original post

by JamesManc

That an MA takes lots of work is a total myth, you have almost the same, if not the same, amount of free time/social life as an undergraduate, unless you new commitments e.g. a new job or something

Definitely not my experience. I turned out the same volume of coursework in each term of Masters teaching, as I turned out in my entire third undergrad year.

Reply 13

JamesManc

15

Original post

by Klix88

Definitely not my experience. I turned out the same volume of coursework in each term of Masters teaching, as I turned out in my entire third undergrad year.

I turned out about the same as my third year, pretty easy as f**k, but psychology's not exactly taxing

Reply 14

Klix88

17

Original post

by JamesManc

I turned out about the same as my third year, pretty easy as f**k, but psychology's not exactly taxing

Demonstrates the potential differences in Masters courses. Always best to assume the worst, then you'll either be prepared to cope, or pleasantly surprised.

Reply 15

QcI JAMES IcQ

OP

3

Original post

by Zefiros

I am tempted to say that there is "no social life whatsoever" during masters, but I would be lying. There is not so much pointless drinking as in undergrad, I suppose, but still plenty of socialising and I am sure you could still get drunk for no reason if you wanted to.

This is what i like to hear :wink:

I presume that the contact hours on my preferred course is pretty low, and I'm pretty organised so I don't see why I wouldn't have any spare time to socialise. I was just a bit worried as I heard that a masters is more like working bourse from 9am-5pm is that true???

Reply 16

Zefiros

10

Original post

by QcI JAMES IcQ

This is what i like to hear :wink:

I presume that the contact hours on my preferred course is pretty low, and I'm pretty organised so I don't see why I wouldn't have any spare time to socialise. I was just a bit worried as I heard that a masters is more like working bourse from 9am-5pm is that true???

Not for me, haha. I only have 9 contact hours per week, so am I completely free to schedule my work whenever it suits me. The course load is probably a bit higher than in undergrad (I traded up universities, so it's hard to say exactly). Last term was crazy, this one is doable.

Reply 17

arguendo

14

Original post

by Klix88

Definitely not my experience. I turned out the same volume of coursework in each term of Masters teaching, as I turned out in my entire third undergrad year.

Similar situation here - I am doing 3x as much coursework for my masters as I did for my entire undergrad.

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Reply 18

k3ro

16

I'm doing my Master's year atm (though it's a 4 yr undergraduate integrated master's, so it might be a little different? apparently they're classed as equal though) and, as some previous posters have said, I have very few contact hours (3 hrs class/tut on weds, 3 hrs class/tut on thurs, 4 hrs lab on fri) which means I have a lot of free time. However, I'm supposed to be using most of my free time to do my research project. My project is going smoothly so far and I'm ahead of schedule so I have a lot of free time atm, but some of my friends are having issues and spend a lot of time in the lab. I'm actually finding this year much more chill than my other 3 yrs of undergrad study, probably because i have so few contact hours and i get to do everything in my own time. also, since this year is heavily weighted on the research project, i only have 2 exams per semester which is great.

note: i'm studying physics so there isn't really any 'coursework', just lab work. i imagine the humanities might have a much higher workload in this respect.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 19

arguendo

14

Original post

by QcI JAMES IcQ

This is what i like to hear :wink:

I presume that the contact hours on my preferred course is pretty low, and I'm pretty organised so I don't see why I wouldn't have any spare time to socialise. I was just a bit worried as I heard that a masters is more like working bourse from 9am-5pm is that true???

Depends on the course, but for the humanities you will largely work when you want around minimal contact hours.

It just depends how demanding your course is for independent study; I have two classes assessed by coursework during the year, which takes up a chunk of time, and the exam based classes I take have extensive reading. Others in my classes feel similarly; others on my masters but doing different classes find it relatively easy.

Comparing my UG reading to PG - UG uni said they expected 8 hours per class per week of independent study. That wouldn't make any noticeable dent in my PG set reading.

I do things alongside my degree though, which has an impact - I have various extracurricular responsibilities, some of which require intense periods of activity (e.g my entire next week is out because of one).

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What is the social life like of an MA student

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