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Original poster

‘Emergency masters’ at Cambridge is a thing…

225 replies

Emergencymasters · 30/09/2023 02:30

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

OP posts:
geoger · 30/09/2023 07:10

I did a masters (humanities subjects) because I loved my subject knew it would help me in my chosen career. It was a lot of hard and I had to fund it myself.
Is your ds prepared to write a 20,000 word dissertation? If not then maybe an MA isn’t for him

BettyPhuckzer · 30/09/2023 07:13

My daughter took a year out. Worked. Saved up and paid for her Masters herself as she didn't want another student loan.

Is that an option for your son? Maybe a job at the uni?

CopperLion · 30/09/2023 07:15

I don’t read this as a stealth boast. I think OP has given Cambridge and grades as context and the mention of hockey is about her DS true motivation to stay.

OP, the biggest risk to him is not learning to be responsible for himself. I would suggest asking him whether/how he plans to fund it. If he is hoping that you will do so, I would be insisting that the Master’s is either vocational study or a tangible step towards a career path (i.e., specialism in a subject that applies to his intended field). Otherwise it’s just an indulgence that he hasn’t thought through.

MirandaWest · 30/09/2023 07:15

PettsWoodParadise · 30/09/2023 06:15

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.,

That’s what I was thinking (other members of my family have MAs from Cambridge)

Piggywaspushed · 30/09/2023 07:15

My DS just completed what I guess would be called an 'emergency master's' by Cambridge types (not at Cambridge). This was largely because he had no goals or aspirations and wanted to strengthen his hand. We made it clear to him that he would be self funding a further year of uni life with his loan and a job.

It seems quite Oxbridge to laugh about master's that some people would cut off their right arm to be able to do.

RampantIvy · 30/09/2023 07:21

BettyPhuckzer · 30/09/2023 07:13

My daughter took a year out. Worked. Saved up and paid for her Masters herself as she didn't want another student loan.

Is that an option for your son? Maybe a job at the uni?

That is what DD is doing right now. Her masters will be full time and won't be compatible with working (she has CFS).

KvotheTheBloodless · 30/09/2023 07:26

It's very common for Blues rowers to study something random at Masters (usually Land Economy or SPS) to enable them to stay for the year and compete in the Boat Race.

What are your DS's genuine chances of getting into the Blues hockey team? Is he already on the reserve team?

I'd do it, but only if he was actually in with a strong chance of a Blue, AND going to study something related to his chosen career.

Passepartoute · 30/09/2023 07:28

sunlightinthetrees · 30/09/2023 06:03

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's not necessarily just a matter of delaying adulthood. DSis has a degree from Oxford, and went on to do an MA at St Andrew's despite the fact that she will automatically get an MA from Oxford because the MA is more directly to do with the field she wants to go into. It's improved her employment chances quite a lot. She funded it herself.

reluctantlogin · 30/09/2023 07:29

This is not new or restricted to Cambridge. Many people did a masters in my day (I was at Cambridge and did one but so did a lot of my friends at other universities). I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do next so another year with a slightly different slant to my subject was both enjoyable and helpful to me when I did enter the job market. The same has been true for some of my own sons and daughters and their friends. Especially with a humanities degree it can seem as if there isn’t an obvious career path.
Having a sporting blue might be fun but shouldn’t really be a determining factor. I’m f he is really hot academically ( and a 2:1 won’t do it) he might get sone college funding. I wish him well.

As an aside to the pp who mentioned her husband getting a free MA from Cambridge after three years : I do a lot of recruitment and it’s well known that at Cambridge or Oxford MA is not a masters as such - just a courtesy. So you are quite safe !

mondaytosunday · 30/09/2023 07:33

Getting a job over the summer may go a long way to fund it.
But yes I think it is a thing, and not just at Cambridge.

Ohthatsabitshit · 30/09/2023 07:34

But you get a masters anyway for free, so what’s the point?

tealandteal · 30/09/2023 07:37

I assume it’s a 4th year undergraduate masters? Or does he mean deciding to do a normal masters but at late notice? I did a 4th year to get an undergraduate masters, which was still covered by student finance. Excellent decision but if the masters needs funding it’s a massive decision.

feralunderclass · 30/09/2023 07:37

If he's only a 2.1 so far then I wouldn't consider funding it. He would need to prove to me that he is serious about his studies and has academic rigour. Oh, and all of the humanities students stay on to do masters, they aren't going to get a job with an English lit degree!

VisaWoes · 30/09/2023 07:37

I don’t understand the issue. Cambridge do offer Masters programmes. Your son can apply the same as anyone else with a 1st or a high 2:1. Lots of people do this following their degree whether at Cambridge or any other university.

GodessOfThunder · 30/09/2023 07:41

Also referred to as a “panic masters”

listsandbudgets · 30/09/2023 07:42

I know a couple of people who suddenly decided to stay on and do a Masters at Cambridge - one because as you say he didn't want to leave and the other because it was suggested to him by his tutor but very late in his course.

Over twenty years later they both work for the university - they really really didn't want to leave Grin

GodessOfThunder · 30/09/2023 07:42

feralunderclass · 30/09/2023 07:37

If he's only a 2.1 so far then I wouldn't consider funding it. He would need to prove to me that he is serious about his studies and has academic rigour. Oh, and all of the humanities students stay on to do masters, they aren't going to get a job with an English lit degree!

Loads of people do a masters with a 2:1

PhotoDad · 30/09/2023 07:42

Ohthatsabitshit · 30/09/2023 07:34

But you get a masters anyway for free, so what’s the point?

I would hope that recruiters would know the difference between a freebie master's, and an earned one! Academics certainly do. (Some "master's" degrees at Oxbridge have confusing names, like the B.Phil.)

IvySquirrel · 30/09/2023 07:43

My son did what he referred to as an 'emergency masters' at Cambridge. It was an MPhil so clearly not the automatic free MA!
Main reason was that he'd realised during his BA what field of work he wanted to go into and this Masters would give him the specific skills he needed. Due to this he was able to get on an excellent grad scheme that only recruits from a small number of courses (not just Cam).
Secondly he wanted to do an extra year as he felt covid had taken away some of the undergraduate experience.
So it's definitely a 'thing' and not just at Cambridge but for him was a great move!

NoNeedToHurry · 30/09/2023 07:45

People do this at shit unis too, OP. It's not a Cambridge thing...

When I was at uni back in the dark ages we all wanted to do masters courses so we didn't have to leave uni. But none of our parents were prepared to fund us so we all figured if we had to get jobs as well, we might as well just do that and not bother with the studying 😁

GodessOfThunder · 30/09/2023 07:47

PhotoDad · 30/09/2023 07:42

I would hope that recruiters would know the difference between a freebie master's, and an earned one! Academics certainly do. (Some "master's" degrees at Oxbridge have confusing names, like the B.Phil.)

Show quote history

Quite a few do in my experience.

It’s because Oxbridge grads have supposedly been undertaking independent study after graduating and have therefore become “masters” of their subject lol.

LostMySocks · 30/09/2023 07:49

The science and engineering courses at Cambridge are 4 years. Language students return in the 4th year after a year abroad. I suspect one of the reasons to stay is that his friends are still there.

KeepNameChanging81 · 30/09/2023 07:49

Yeah loads of my mates did it RG, kind of getting more specialist in our degree area. They picked areas they enjoyed the most.

It’s not a Cambridge thing, it’s just a thing! Think they also wanted another year together!

Berninaa · 30/09/2023 07:50

GodessOfThunder · 30/09/2023 07:42

Loads of people do a masters with a 2:1

Show quote history

Quite - and lots of English literature students get decent jobs.

VivaLaVolvo · 30/09/2023 07:53

I thought that you automatically got a masters 12 months after graduating at Cambridge-after you submit and additional thesis- is that just some courses?

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