Masters - possibilities and whether to move to ANO Uni to do it

[Underfloorheatingconvert]

DS is reading a traditional humanity at Cambridge - think English/History etc. So no vocational element - although lots of transferable skills. He mentioned on phone this evening that he is thinking of doing a more vocational Masters but hasn’t (yet) gone into details with us.

Are there vocational Masters open to humanities grads though? I thought you needed STEM degrees to pursue them (DS has Maths and Evonomics A-level but no sciences). Also, is it best to move uni to do your Masters or should he try to continue at Cambridge?

Sorry if these are basic questions but zero familiarity with post-grad and a bit taken aback!

DH thinks DS just loves being a student and wants to postpone job hunting! Bit unfair in my view

Law conversion? www.topuniversities.com/courses/law-legal-studies/everything-you-need-know-about-law-conversion-courses-uk

As with choosing an undergraduate degree, the subject matter and suitability of the course are really the most important factors. Your son will have Cambridge on his cv, so it doesn't matter much if he decides to go somewhere else for his Masters. In many ways, going somewhere else might broaden his experience and allow him to make some more useful connections. Doing a masters to acquire some new skills or subject matter is a fairly common route into some careers. Without knowing what your son is thinking of specifically, its hard to say any more!

@Couchpotato3 just texted him and he’s replied to say MSc in Digital Humanities (at UCL) would be a way of him acquiring valuable CS skills. But he also fancies Criminology (is that vocational though)?

Best for him to stay at Cambridge or another prestigious uni I should think. King’s London also offer Digital Humanities MSc - better than UCL? Can he/you afford Masters (not least in London). What does your DS want to do for a career? If police, yes to Criminology. What does Digital Humanities lead to? I appreciate you don’t know answer to latter but hopefully some on MN will give advice in the morning

Data Science for Humanities or Social Research Methods? Offered at lots of good unis. Agree with other about researching carefully (modules, costs, outcomes).

This is DDs plan C (plan A is civil service policy research job, plan B is funded PhD)

PinaColadaBaby · Today 00:33
Best for him to stay at Cambridge or another prestigious uni I should think. King’s London also offer Digital Humanities MSc - better than UCL?

I would rate UCL higher than King's.

A more vocational MSc can broaden opportunities. Can he afford to do an MSc in UCL and has he solid reasons for choosing Digital Humanities?

My friends daughter at Cambridge was looking at their Management Studies Tripos - only available for current students. Looks very general but practical, might be worth a look.

The finance for masters can be tricky. The govt loan is ~£11k and has to cover any fees as well as living expenses. It is also paid back at 6% of any earnings over £21k in parallel to the undergrad loan. This may not be an issue for you/him but worth knowing.

@Underfloorheatingconvert
Criminology isn’t really a good idea. It’s limiting. It’s basically saying you are not good enough for Law. Cambridge has outstanding MLaw courses and non law grads take them. DD has several friends that have. Obviously you convert to law first but they are a passport to a very good career.

If he’s hunting for a masters with no career plan, I would not be keen on criminology. Digital makes more sense at UCL. Civil service research is so hard to get. They often completely cut our recruitment and when they do recruit, thousands apply for the positions. I know people with a masters in public policy and that doesn’t get you anywhere either. Everyone has them! So get him to go to Cambridge careers and start looking for a career and plan. Everyone else will be.

How much can you afford? Some of these options seem very expensive.

Like @JocelynBurnell I am an academic and I would, coming from a, STEM perspective, tend to rate UCL above Kings. But it may vary by programme and DS can ascertain easily enough.

I also think this programme sounds very interesting, but I can’t tell whether it is truly vocational or just really cool. If DS is thinking about employment he needs more information about that.

With one Cambridge degree under his belt, he can afford to find the sweet spot combining his interests with good employment prospects in a solid, well regarded programme. It doesn’t much matter where.

There are so many vocational Masters out there that he would easily get into. It's really up to him to decide what vocation he is aiming at - for example, he could do nursing/teaching/social work/police studies/divinity ...

Archives? Although he’ll need to get some practical experience in before applying.

Despite having “King” in its name, no King’s is not ranked above UCL.

What happened to just bumming around for a year or too after university?

Do a little bar or shop work, smoke a lot of week, take some class As, tell nostalgic stories about uni days, hanker for that boyfriend/girlfriend who has now moved a away, not persue a plan to form a band, go travelling etc.