Overview of lupinpooter on PostgraduateForum.com

Overview of lupinpooter

Signup date: 07 Aug 2009 at 9:35am

Last login: 01 Dec 2010 at 11:26am

Post count: 40

Recent Posts

choosing a uni for a masters in sociology

lupinpooter 40 posts
14 years ago

Hi there,

I agree with Nastassia's advice: I'm in the same boat (graduating with a first in sociology from a less prestigious university - the OU in my case - and looking for Masters courses) and I've been researching courses by trawling through various university websites, looking at staff research interests and checking what sorts of option modules are offered.

As has already been said, league tables are of limited value, but the Guardian's postgrad table might be of interest: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2009/feb/17/postgraduate-sociology-courses-table

You can also look at the sociology RAE results for 2008 here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2008/dec/18/rae-2008-sociology

Is funding an issue for you?

funding for social science masters

lupinpooter 40 posts
14 years ago

Hi,

The AHRC do offer funding for Masters study: like all research council funding, this isn't at all easy to get, but - if your interests lie more in the 'arty' end of sociology/cultural studies and you're a strong candidate - you might find a Masters which is eligible for AHRC funding. As the others have said, the ESRC don't fund Masters study, only 1+3, and you don't sound all that certain about going on to a PhD yet. Another option which may or may not be of interest: the OU do social science Masters courses. This could fit around paid employment and spreads the cost (although the overall cost is no lower than doing it at a brick university - I think it works out at around £4500).

Remebering what you've read

lupinpooter 40 posts
14 years ago

Quote From superman:

Can you write and cite like in Endnote?

Yes, there's a Word plugin for Zotero :-)

What should I do? (PhD advice)

lupinpooter 40 posts
15 years ago

Quote From dwd3885:

We've talked about it and she said if we do decide for the PhD, we should wait a little bit, I guess my thinking was I would rather take my baby and move than take our kid out of elementary school to switch schools.

Your reasoning is sound, but that still gives you several years (I'm guessing you're not in the UK, but here children don't start school full-time until they are 4/5). The first year of parenthood is pretty exhausting and, well, life-changing, so I think your wife is right to suggest you wait for a bit to allow yourselves time to adjust to (and enjoy!) your new circumstances before making any other major decisions. Congratulations and good luck, by the way :-)

What should I do? (PhD advice)

lupinpooter 40 posts
15 years ago

Hi there,

I'd be very wary of making this decision just before a major life change (i.e. the birth of your first child). In your shoes I'd give myself a couple of years to adjust to new circumstances before deciding whether to go for the PhD option. What are your wife's thoughts about it?