How to Choose the Right Master's Degree Program
Choosing the right master's degree program will be critical to succeeding in a field that most interests you. Understanding the rigor of obtaining a master's degree will help prepare you to do well once you've begun your program.
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Choosing the right master’s degree program entails knowledge to some extent of all aspects of the master’s degree.
What is a Master’s Degree?
The Master’s degree is an academic degree awarded for completing a graduate or postgraduate course of 1-3 years duration or equivalent of 30-36 semester hours. Most can be completed in a calendar year with full time attendance. However, those requiring a thesis or practicum may be longer.
The word master’ in the term Master’s Degree is derived from the Latin word Magister’ which means teacher. Therefore this degree conferred on a person indicates expertise in a specific professional field of study or academic discipline achieved through extensive coursework, externally based research, scholarly paper, thesis and a comprehensive examination.
Master’s degrees can be done on-campus or on-line.
Program Types
-The Course work MD program
Entails course work, project work and research
Entry; Bachelor’s degree, Bachelor’s Honors or UK’s Graduate diploma
-The Research MD program
Entails 2/3 research and thesis
Entry; Bachelor’s honors, Master’s preliminary year, research experience or research based Graduate diploma.
-The Professional MD program
Usually work based project
Entry; extensive professional experience
Reasons to Pursue a Master’s Degree
-to obtain employment in a specific field.
-licensing in many professions
-in preparation for doctoral studies.
-to enter and succeed in the international job market
-to improve poor first degree performance
-to facilitate change of career/specialization
-for personal /professional development
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Master’s Degree
- Career Plans
-How and where do you envision yourself working 5-10 years from now?
-Do you desire to be a leader in your field? - Value of degree
-How well does the course match your career, learning goals and earning potential? - Career flexibility
-Would you like to be a professor, corporate manager or both? - Geographic mobility
-Do you want to remain in your city or do you dream of working in bigger cities and companies? - Simply INTEREST in specializations
-Have you always dreamed of a particular job or have ideas to implement new
strategies in a certain field? - Financial resources/aids
-Do you require scholarships or loans?
-Can you pay for your studies over a specified time period?
-Whatever your situation, research universities or on-line programs that will
facilitate/aid you.
-Explore every avenue/organization that will assist with finances and these may be affiliated with particular programs e.g. in the US /NYC Teachers for Tomorrow program gives a refund of yearly tuition to high achieving student teachers. - Financial goals
-How much money do you hope to earn to sustain your projected
needs in the future?
-Will your current job or even a promotion fulfill this?
-Would a master’s enhance your chances of achieving this goal? - Distance Learning Opportunities /Online/Time availability
-Can you attend full/part time university classes or is it more convenient to study from home due to family responsibilities? - Admission Requirements
-Bachelor’s degree
-GPA (Grade point average) usually of 3.0-4.0
-GRE (Graduate record examination) scores
-Years of work experience
-Letters of Recommendation from employers
-Statement of Educational and Professional Objectives
-Personal interview may be required
-Foreign students to US and Canada may require TOEFL
(Test of English as Foreign language)
-Note that specific requirements differ with course and
institution
Resources to Help You Make a Decision.
- Read all materials available to you about the program.
- Review program website; this is particularly helpful since this gives information on
-goals and objectives
-curriculum
-course schedule
-application deadlines
-admission requirements and procedures - Talk to family members, students, work colleagues and alumni (previous graduates); even consider your employer/boss.
Find out about your strengths and abilities in a particular field and recommendations of programs since these persons may have experience with a master’s program.
Examples of Master Degrees are
- LLM Master of Laws
- MA Master of Arts
- MArch Master of Architecture
- MBA Master of Business Administration
- MEd Master of Education
- MEng – Master of Engineering
- MFA Master of Fine Art
- MLitt Master of Letters
- MMus Master of Music
- MPharm Master of Pharmacy
- MPhil Master of Philosophy
- MRes Master of Research
- MSc Master of Science
- MSt Master of Studies
Careful consideration and execution of the above factors will position you to make a comfortable and wise decision concerning the right online Masters Degree Program.
By Launa Freeman, a writer at Helium.com
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