‘Emergency masters’ at Cambridge is a thing…

[Emergencymasters]

DS is now final year of humanities degree at Cambridge. Doing well - high 2.1 and possibly a 1st. He has just announced that he wants to do an ‘emergency masters’. I had no clue what this is - apparently ‘emergency masters’ is commonplace slang at Camb for students staying on for an extra year coz they don’t want to leave (not coz they love their subject!)! All very well but we will have to fund. Happy to do this - will be a financial stretch though - as DS is living his best life at Camb but just wanted thoughts from wise MNs

major factor in DS wanting to do emergency masters is that he might become a Hockey Blue if he stays on for an extra year btw

Lots of my daughters friends did masters as the economic climate at the time was poor. Not great choices of subjects but delayed the job market by a year/two.

Personally I wouldn’t be impressed if my adult child “announced” he was going to do something that would cost thousands of my pounds. I am not against funding further education but I would expect someone in his 20s to have more ambition and a concrete plan before opening the discussion. But every family is different. Some parents are so impressed by their children’s academic success that they don’t expect anything more 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Your latter sentence is utterly gratuitous and does not apply to us at all. As my OP asks, are “emergency Masters” at Camb a thing?

Last post aimed at @CrappyBarbara

I don’t think it’s exclusive to Cambridge.

DS tried this with me a few years ago, I knew it was because his GF there was a year younger. I could see no benefit in it and wasn’t prepared to indulge him financially for another year. A few of his friends did them to delay adulting a bit longer.

He got over it.

"Oh thats great darling. How are you planning to fund it?"

That should sort out his thinking sharpish.

Think it’s very common gif many 3rd year students,
At uni DD attends they refer to it as a “panic-Masters”! Just means it’s a last minute decision.
Whether it’s the right/best option is another discussion entirely. 🤷‍♀️

I did this because I didn’t fancy adulting yet. My parents paid for it - but they are both educated to postgrad level, so always have expected me to get a Masters (at the very least). And they could afford it, so it wasn’t a big deal.

It’s certainly not an ‘emergency’, though!

I did this but I actually worked to fund myself through it.

I've only heard of it when you get a 2.2. I-refuse-to-grow-up-yet phds are quite common too, but at least you get paid for them

I don’t think it’s a new thing, a lot of people seemed to do this when I was at university. It just delays adulthood and growing up and getting a job by another year doesn’t it, so I can see why.

I’m surprised he is so open about his reasoning with you though, I think I would have at least tried to pretend that I was doing it because I was passionate about my subject / thought it would improve my employment prospects. Especially if I wanted my parents to fund it!

It is not unusual for students to seek to stay on because they don't want to join the working world yet.

Why do you 'have to' support and do you actually feel it is reasonable to be asked to do so?

I knew quite a few people who did this at university. Not an option for me though, no student funding for a masters.

A BA automatically turns into an MA at Cambridge if you do absolutely nothing and wait a few years.https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/graduation-and-what-next/cambridge-ma

i did a Masters (not Cambridge!) and had to work darn hard for it and it was more vocational than my undergraduate study and for a field I am still working in today.,

It’s not “a Cambridge thing” or a new thing. People did it at my uni (not oxbridge but RG) in the 80s.

This is possibly the least stealth stealth boast I’ve ever seen!

100% this

I’d support this financially no problem at all, although I’d expect him to work a bit to pay towards his living costs.

He’s got the rest of his life for being properly employed.

Now we know your son’s at Cambridge, possibly a first and a hockey blue all disguised as asking whether he should do a masters? Nice one!

Seriously, isn’t your son the one you should be asking? How would a load of people who have no idea about your son, his ambitions and goals be able to tel, you because we’re ‘wise’?

Ds is doing his masters, sorted the finance and is working so we are not funding him at all. In his field a masters is important when looking for graduate roles.

where I qualified, not uk (and not Oz!) many degrees were four years and many of us did double degrees so were at uni for five years. I think four years of study is a good idea and to answer your question, yes, in the uk an “emergency” masters is a thing.

though as per PP he will automatically get a masters for doing nothing - no end of annoyance that my DH studied for three years and magically got a masters from Cambridge and I studied for five (with terms twice as long) and still “only” have undergraduate degrees.

I went to Uni in the late 90’s and this was common. I wish I had done it because I have tried three times to get a masters as a working adult and one and so far not finished. It’s much harder once you are working.

I do not know what a hockey blue is. Member or captain of the hockey team? I wouldn't take this as a good reason to do a masters, no. No one else will give a shit about this in future. It's not professional/international amateur level sport that is a worthwhile ambition in the longer term. It's basically so he can indulge himself for a year.

That wasn't your question though, sorry. Yes, of course students at all universities stay on to do a masters.

I think it’s hard to go back after you have started a career to do a masters as lots of balancing and in this current climate he might not get a job anyway but his chances increase with masters so if you can afford it I would let him.