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Postpone postgraduate study?

How many others are considering postponing postgraduate study? I am employed now and don't want to give up a job to have a bad experience at uni. I have a place with NTU but they have provided minimal information about how they are going to make it work this coming academic year.

Reply 1

Keele University

Original post by smaule20

I can understand your concern - giving up a job to return to study is nerve-wracking at the best of times so that must be a particularly difficult decision to make in the current climate.

I can't speak for NTU but, at Keele, we are intending to begin the academic year as normal however courses may initially begin online, with some small-group lab and practical teaching taking place on campus and with social distancing measures implemented. We hope to return to normal operations later in the academic year but obviously that will depend on the situation with Coronavirus - like most institutions, we're going to have to be flexible. We've got an information page on our website for applicants to let them know what they can expect: https://www.keele.ac.uk/coronavirus/applicants/.

I imagine a lot of universities will have to start the academic year with teaching taking place primarily online - so whether you choose to defer may well depend on how you feel about that being part of your university experience.

As a current PhD student, I've been impressed with the quality of online supervision and support I have received - my tutors have been fantastic and I don't feel that the quality of the supervision and teaching I receive has dropped as a result of having remote meetings. However, I'm lucky enough to have decent computer equipment and an office space at home (and a stable internet connection), which I recognise is not something everyone has access too. And I will admit that it's harder to make connections with other students when working from home - at Keele, our postgraduate union have been fantastic in offering online coffee mornings and social events but it's still not quite the same as being together on campus.

Amy :smile: