To be painfully blunt, you don't really have a chance. Masters funding is even rarer than PhD funding, and is generally linked to a future PhD project. Given that you seem very unclear about your future research ideas (you switch between Middle East and Chinese studies), which is understandable at this stage, you cannot get funding for a Masters, certainly not at a top ranking institution.
You would be better off paying for a Masters, deciding on a future research idea, then applying for funding for a PhD.

Unfortunately International Politics is an extremely competitive field with absolutely minimal funding. There is the possibility of getting PhD funding with a 2i, if you get a very good Masters grade to compensate. I don't mean to disappoint at all, but there is only the tiniest of chances to get Masters funding without a first. Saying that, Aber has a very good reputation for International Politics, so you will already be competing with students from Sheffield etc. Its just that a student with a first from a middling university is perceived as better than a 2i from a red brick etc.

Hi Raniat

I used to work at the Special Education department of Manchester City Council and they have a range of schools with specialism for Autistic (including Aspergers) children. You will need to ensure that you get in touch with the SEN Casework Service who will provide your child with what is known as a "Statement", a document which clearly outlines your child's needs and the most appropriate provision (whether the child can be in an inclusive mainstream school with assistance, or whether they need a special school). This only covers the area of Manchester City Council, not the suburbs, or Salford Council, who have different (and in my opinion less successful) forms of provision. Of course this also depends on your childrens ages.

If you plan to rent, you can get a 3 bed house in a good - very good area for £600 - 700 a month, so money will be tight until your husband gets a job. The most difficult aspect of this will not be finding a garage for him to work in, but arranging the work visas.

Can I just ask which department you're planning to apply at? I know a number of Salford depts are no longer allowing non-EU citizens to apply for their teaching assistant programme, but this varies.

My gran died in March, literally 2 days before I was due to fly to the US to present at the pre-eminent conference in my field. Effectively I had no time to recover, and I had to miss the funeral. We had expected the end for quite a while (she had Alzheimer's for around 7/8 years) and I saw her a couple of days before she died. I think it depends on how close you were and what actually happened. If it was a sudden thing, I think I would have found it much harder

Um, I'm not sure if you misunderstood me, but its not important, I support the separate meets, it was some of the London supporters who seemed a little disappointed at the idea.

I didn't say I hated London, so please don't say that I did, that's simply an untruth. There are people on the forum who really want to participate but who can't make/don't want to make a London meet, and when I said that London-only would be snobbish and exclusive, this is what I meant.

I think it was Olivia who suggested a separate meet in Sheffield a while back, and comments were made that this would mean less people going to London - so it was implied that there shouldn't be a separate meet.

I am rude not about London, I just don't like it, having lived there for four years. Lots of people don't like where I am from, but I don't try to make them go there

Hi! I think Olivia's referring to when is best for the Sheffield meet; for those people who do not want to go to London (for whatever reason). Thursdays and Fridays are normally good for me (I teach Tues and Weds)... and I agree, we should have a touristy trip round the city and the Uni (so we can annoy the forum admins!!!)

Oooh, I've semi-noticed it too - all the jobs that are advertised in my area (Politics) are for senior staff, not early career. A couple of staff in my dept have mentioned that yes, its probably the RAE, that there is a backlog and that after Christmas things should get a bit more normal. My dept took on 6 new staff this summer, so I wouldn't say that there are no jobs, I just remember how slowly it takes them to advertise stuff.

ooooh, I'm with Olivia on this! I would point out, (in the great American democratic tradition!!) that actually less than half the people who voted want to go to London, whereas a *majority* of people would rather not go there! I'm in the Sheffield group (despite living in Manchester) and there's no way anyone I know who uses the forum would go to London. So when there is a London meet, I think you'll get less than half anyway.
So, Olivia, pubs. Excellent idea.

Olivia, you forgot (might not know) one other thing that Sheffield is famous for... If we meet in Sheffield with the Admins do the Full Monty???
(Possibly at Sheffield Wednesday on a Wednesday, in a flat cap (you can keep your hat on), holding a whippet and a ferret, eating a Yorkshire Pudding (with Sheffield Steel cutlery), listening to the Human League/ABC/Pulp/the Long Blondes/Arctic Monkeys/Joe Cocker/Moloko/Def Leppard/Reverend and the Makers/the Longpigs/the Clash (not from Sheffield, but played their first ever gig there), having a chat with Michael Palin/Gordon Banks/Sean Bean/Helen Sharman/Seb Coe about how great it is that Sheffield is two-thirds green space and has more trees per head of population than any other city in Europe.)

Boooooooo London.

anywhere BUT London, its a dirty ugly horrendous place... boo hiss! I live in Manc, but agree that Sheffield is fairest.

Hi everyone
I think this is another of those things that vary department to department. Officially we are meant to teach up to six hours per week, but there is no specification as to over how many modules this is (in theory you could be teaching one hour if six different modules!). But that has never happened in my school. The average is four or five hours a week over one or two courses. The main problems are marking - our school has a policy of returning essays within two weeks of handing in. We don't normally receive the essays until three days after they have been handed in to the office, so that leaves 10/11 days to mark upto 100 essays.
Also teaching confuses the link between staff and student. We are regularly reminded that we are students and are not staff-level despite the fact that we teach and often lecture too. And as someone has already mentioned, that makes us feel like we are cheap labour, especially when we are most often dumped with the modules that full-time staff don't like to teach.

Hi Laura
This is something that definitely differs institution to institution and often staff member to staff member. In mine it is made exceptionally clear at all times that we are students and to be treated as such even though most of us also teach. saying that it is also frowned upon when we become 'friendly' with undergrads! We have a shared office space with 4 computers between 20 students (all the computers are ancient, even though uni policy says that computers should not be more than 5 years old, we have been told by the IT dept that ours are 8 years old). We are meant to have a printer but it hasn't worked for 6 months - despite repeated requests for a new one.
We are not invited to staff events or informed of them, and our office is in a separate building to the staff. A number of us receive internal funding and we are reminded of this - and effectively told to be grateful - every time we have a problem/complaint. Staff who I have worked with have requested that I do their photocopying for them and expect me to come into Uni on my research days at home in order for them to give me admin stuff to do.

Its great!!!

Hi Zvezda
Is that the full and correct title as I can't seem to find it, only the "Handbook of Country Risk"