Query about applying for niche Cambridge masters (repost from AIBU)

[Falalala3]

I’m seriously considering studying for a Masters at Cambridge.

My reasons for wanting to apply are:

• There is a topic I really want to explore for it that I’ve had in mind for a long time and which I find really interesting (although I never thought about studying for a Masters in it until a few days ago). Quite a niche area that’s potentially under-researched, and links with my degree subjects (languages)
• I also have a particular supervisor in mind who might be able to supervise my Masters (if I successfully applied, of course!) This supervisor supervised me for my final year dissertation during my languages degree at Cambridge, and throughout the dissertation, I felt very supported and got lots of confidence.

There are some things though that make me think I’d be silly to apply for a Masters:

• I don’t think my degree grade is high enough (I did a French and Spanish degree at Cambridge and graduated 10 years ago, with an average grade of 65 - but the admissions criteria for the Cambridge course I’m interested in is a high 2.1. They will see a copy of my transcript, and the closest comparable module I did to this Masters was a final year dissertation in a vaguely similar topic (which I mentioned above), in which I got 67.
• I’m in my mid-thirties, work full-time and want to progress with that and also want to have a family soon; I feel like I’d be crazy to spend a year just doing a Masters
• I don’t live in Cambridge - and wonder if I’d have to move there for the Masters? Or if I could live in London (where I live currently) whilst doing the Masters?
• I would most likely have to fund myself for the Masters if successful, as I don’t think my grades are good enough to get funding
• i know it’ll be a pressured environment (although perhaps less pressured in some ways than undergrad?)
• Unsure if it makes more sense to apply for a part-time or full time Masters? I’m thinking I could support myself on a PT Masters by tutoring (which I already do) and perhaps by getting funding and a loan. My work may allow me to take 9 months’ sabbatical but unsure - it’s the Civil Service and they allow people to take sabbaticals of a few months but unsure if they’d grant this.

My current tentative plan is to spend the next couple of months working out my research proposal and what I would need to do in order to apply and perhaps emailing the supervisor I had in mind to see if they would consider supervising my thesis (but not sure if it’s too early to do that?)

And perhaps to canvas a few opinions from people who’ve done a Masters in that area at Cambridge to ask if it’s worth me applying (although I don’t know anyone in that position yet haha).

If all goes well, I’m considering applying this time next year (autumn 2026).

The whole thing of doing a Masters for no reason other than enjoyment feels quite self-indulgent to me, but it also really enthuses me. I could technically wait until I’m much older/retired, but a big draw is seeing if my dissertation supervisor could supervise me (potentially), and I doubt they’ll still be working in a few years’ time. The worst thing that can happen is I get rejected, and then I’ll know for sure that a Masters is not to be for me, but I’m so tempted to just have a go and give the application my best shot, just to see what happens.

Is it worth a punt??

Hi OP,
I don't have experience of Cambridge so my advice is more generic. If being supervised by that particular supervisor is fundamental to your decision, I would absolutely e-mail them first to make sure this is an option. Your potential supervisor might be able to tell you about periods of time in the near future when they will not be available, due to institutional research leave, parental leave, retirement, etc. - but bear in mind that of course they might become unavailable at short notice due to sick leave, moving to another uni, getting a grant and going on non-institutional research leave, etc. There are students who start a masters, sometimes even moving internationally, wanting to study with a specific person and then they are disappointed when they discover that said person is not available. So think whether you would still consider the masters a good investment if one of the scenarios above materialized.

With respect to residency - I considered doing an Oxbridge PhD back in the day, and when reading your post I did remember that they had more stringent residency requirements than other unis. I've found this: https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/new-students/manage-your-student-information/graduate-students/terms-study which suggests that you will be expected to live in Cambridge. How strictly these norms are enforced, I don't know.

My main state of mind right now is: I’m unsure whether it’s realistic for me to do a Masters but, if I don’t apply, I’ll always regret it (without wanting to sound too melodramatic lol).

I think my aim now is to work on a plan/framework to help know what I’m getting into.

This is both to give myself the best chance of application success and then, if I’m successful, the best chance of success on the course itself (because it’s an expensive course and I’m not entirely sure atm how much of it I’d need to fund myself, and because I’m genuinely interested in it).

Would anyone here be able to help with plotting out some ideas/next steps I should consider to give myself a decent chance? The Cambridge website has helpful info, but I’m aware I’m going into it fairly blind, as I’ve never previously considered doing a Masters.

I’m also worried that my research subject (an in-depth analysis of themes in the songs of Jacques Brel, a 20th-century Belgian singer - who sang in French) isn’t academically rigorous enough, as it’s not related to literature but music.

Having said that though, his songs are very literary and quite complex, so there is a lot to unpick in them. Also, it seems to be quite an under-researched area, so there is potential for academic originality. I would also of course read the research of lots of different theorists to give my research depth and weight (for want of a better word…)

Thanks so much all.

I have some experience of masters recruitment, though not at Cambridge. It sounds like this is a masters by research rather than a taught programme, and you'd like to develop a research project with a specific supervisor. The first thing you need to do in that case is get in touch with the supervisor and ask them whether they would be available in the academic year you have in mind and interested in supervising the project. If they are, they'll probably help you write the proposal.

Exactly as DrMalinki says. Yes, the threshold for entry for masters at Cam is technically 68 at UG but I would advise you to just ask your potential supervisor whether there is any wiggle room, i.e. if they personally are OK with 65 - or is it non-negotiable (sometimes it's non-negotiable). If you are enthusiastic and a good fit it is worth asking. The support of your potential supervisor, in advance is crucial. So this is definitely your first action point.

There is no hope of funding unless your supervisor has a research pot with some to spare for this which is extremely unlikely. Masters funding is even more competitive than PhD funding. It is eye-wateringly expensive and some Cam schools have just put the fees up. You also need to show ALL the maintenance money in your bank up front.

Technically PGs should live within 10 miles (usually taken as from St Mary's). (For UGs it's 3 miles.) As far as I know this is applied but negotiable if there are school children that can't be moved. Again ask and see how flexible they are these days.

Echoing others saying the first step is to contact the potential supervisor, as it all seems to ride on them.

But also be wary of going somewhere to study with a single person. What would happen if the supervisor got ill during your Masters? Is there anyone else who could supervise? I had a student move from China to do a PhD with me and then I left under voluntary redundancy 12 months later... And there's no one else in my old dept who has my specialism (think the only art historian in a history department).

Also, I don't know why you think analysing songs/ music isn't 'academically rigorous enough'? Popular music studies is a whole field unto itself... Maybe read a bit more in this area/ outside of languages/ linguistics as you think about your project as this is almost certainly literature you'll be reviewing as part of the project.

Thanks so much all. in terms of my intentions with the MPhil, I’ve been considering doing it as a way of showing evidence of academic rigour in a clear specialism. I’m hoping to apply next autumn for 2027 entry (if accepted, of course!)

My overall aspiration is to build on the research experience I gain from my MPhil to eventually write books on French cultural history and perhaps also, more specifically, on the work I aim to examine in the MPhil.

I prefer the idea of doing a research MPhil (MPhil by thesis), as it’s assessed by a 30,000-word thesis, followed by an oral exam. However, I don’t yet have a substantial background in my research area (one of the suggestions of suitability on the Cambridge website for this course) - although I think my research idea is fairly clear (for now) and I enjoy independent, self-directed work.

I also have a C1 qualification in French (the language of most of the primary sources for my research), and I’m going to do a C2 French qualification (which is the highest level of language proficiency qualification available for non-native French speakers) in the coming year.

I’m hoping to email my final year dissertation supervisor to gauge his initial thoughts on this. If he’s unable to support my thesis, I’m planning to email a couple of other supervisors I was taught by.

Hi all, hope you’re well, and thanks for your advice so far! I’m just checking in with an update.

I emailed the supervisor I had in mind, and they’ve very kindly said they’d be happy to supervise me for the MPhil dissertation. Also, following further research I’ve since done, I’m now planning to do the taught MPhil full-time, rather than the research MPhil. The taught MPhil involves writing one essay in the first term, two essays in the second term and the dissertation in the final term.

In terms of next steps, I’ll need to submit a few things as part of the MPhil application: 2 references, a sample of written work, research proposal, my degree transcript and a CV (I think this might need to be an academic CV, but there’s not really any clear info about this on the course website). They also invite applicants to submit relevant language attainment certificates, so I’ll submit my ones for French.

My main queries at this stage are:

• I’m unsure if my grades are good enough to apply? Although I have no control over this, I know - and what’s done is done! I got two 2.2s and a third in second year (one 2.2 was for a French literature paper in second year, and the other 2.2 and third were for Spanish - the other language I was studying alongside French). I got 2.1s overall every year though, with an average of 65.8 in my final year, just below their entry requirements of a high 2.1/67. However, I got fairly consistently high 2.1s and one first in my French language modules throughout the degree, and 2.1s in all my papers apart from the three modules mentioned above

I’m fairly unsure about how to approach my references for the application. It asks for 2 referees, and says if I’ve left uni more than 6 years ago (which I did), I can use 2 professional referees - but the ideal seems to be getting 2 academic referees, which I completely understand, as it looks like the referees are asked about my academic potential, intellectual characteristics, motivation, task and time management and effectiveness as a student. I’m considering first asking my personal tutor at Cambridge and my final year dissertation supervisor if they could provide the references if possible, but I worry they won’t remember me much as I graduated in 2015, and as I mention above, my transcript isn’t amazing, so I’m not one of those students that would have really stood out for them. If they are unable to write a reference for me, I’ll ask my line manager at work and perhaps my previous line manager too.

• I’m a bit unsure about how to draft a solid research proposal. I suppose I included an early version of it in my email to my supervisor asking if they could supervise me, and I’ve since found guidance on drafting it on the Cambridge website. I’m wondering though if it’s usual to run a more final version past my prospective supervisor before I send off my application? Or is the expectation that I should draft the proposal with no support to the best of my ability?
• In terms of my CV, I’m assuming Cambridge want an ‘academic CV’. I can definitely find examples of this online to use as guidance. I’d be very grateful though if anyone has any tips on how to write a good one please.
• Finally, I’m planning to submit a section of my final year dissertation as a sample of written work (as it needs to be approximately 3k words, and my whole dissertation is 10k words). Luckily, the section I'm planning to submit is understandable as a standalone section, and whilst I need to reduce the word count (and there are of course many changes I'd make if I could redo it), I'm still quite pleased with it as an overall piece work.

Thanks so much everyone.

I'm unsure why you think Jacques Brel's music is niche...it might be your age, but the way you described him indicates you think he's unheard of. That's not meant to sound as snipey as is does, but he was a big name when i was young and I'd be surprised if there wasn't alot of writing about him out there.

Sorry for suggesting his music is niche! You’re absolutely right that there is quite a lot already written about his music - both in English and French.

I meant more that doing a Masters about a musician’s work in a foreign language (such as Jacques Brel) seems fairly niche in my experience, as I’ve only come across people doing modern languages Masters in literature or film rather than in music. So I think, as an overall topic, this is quite niche.

I’ve also often found that people in anglophone countries - particularly in my generation - are much more likely to know about Edith Piaf than Jacques Brel. I do find that strange, as he was a major influence on quite a few anglophone musicians (e.g. for David Bowie, Nina Simone, Marianne Faithful..) and of course influenced loads of francophone musicians too.

I think Brel’s work is fantastic, and I’m really excited that I might have the opportunity to research it further with a supervisor I’d enjoyed working with previously.

I have to run - just parking this here to remind me to pm you about this later.

Done -