‘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

It's now an integrated MMath for continuing students (and an MASt for transferring students). A few years ago they awarded retrospective MMath degrees to those who had done Part III previously.

I know people with two or even three Masters but they are all older.

Their first Masters was because they were aiming to go into academia. They managed to get funding, normally from some European fund, but these Masters were done when fees were about £3K per year.

Their second Masters were done when they realised they had no intention of staying in academia for a variety of reasons. Some were self-funded but others managed to get funded by their then government employer in bodies that no longer exist. (Again tuition fees were cheap.)

Then those with a third one did them because they were doing more specialist stuff but found they couldn't find a suitable professional qualification. These are all self-funded, done when working and tution fee costs had exploded. (One of my friends worked out the cost of him doing a vendor specific course where he learnt less was more than tuition fees for a Masters.)

Yes some of these people work in technology but others work in other STEM areas.

He can take the Masters if there's money.

You can't get a Blue unless you're good enough.

Yeah, my examples were for technology but other people do this too - in finance etc. Those are friends of friends though.
The benefits of education have to be weighed against finances - but equally, 'education' isn't solely a Master's. Lots of things these days are available for free on the internet.

Some countries are very hot on qualifications for certain things that the UK isn't, so doing a Master's is a long-term investment, Some aren't.

Personally I think unless one wants to go into academia they shouldn't do a Master's straightaway. Work for a few years then go back at least. It makes you certain as to whether it's a good use of your money. A Master's (any) used to make you more competitive but these days it doesn't. Again, fair enough if you're doing it for the love of your subject and learning but as the OP said her DS' motivation has nothing to do with education anyway, just 'enjoying life'.

Which i can't really condemn either... young people these days will probably work until they drop dead so why not enjoy first. They shouldn't be forcing parents to finance it though.

Why do you have to fund it?

What's stopping him getting a postgraduate loan and a job to top it up? I funded my own Masters with no parental help - many people do.

HeadacheEarthquake presumably the parent has to fund it because no research body or uni funding is likely to be available and the postgrad loan won't touch the sides for one of these Cambridge MPhils. And I'm not sure how many third year undergrads have a spare £26k sitting in their bank account. Also, some parents are perfectly able and willing to fund this sort of thing, so if they don't want to get puritanical about it why should anyone else?

@Reugny Then those with a third one did them because they were doing more specialist stuff but found they couldn't find a suitable professional qualification.

This confuses me. If there were no suitable professional qualifications for a role then presumably none were required. If they were required there would have been specific qualifications. Why would they have gone off doing a masters rather than just do the job?

HeadacheEarthquake I don't think a job is doable alongside a Cambridge MPhil other than maybe an occasional hospitality job. Certainly nothing which would generate enough to cover any shortfall after the postgrad loan is taken into account. Working for a year or two after undergrad might work but then you'd be talking a huge high income job to cover living costs in London for the year (the most likely place to earn big money) and leave enough over after tax for the MPhil. It's not a wildly likely scenario: once grads are in London earning a lot in a competitive career the moment for a masters tends to pass and this DS wants to stay on with friends and play hockey for the uni; the MPhil is merely a means to that end, it's not a sufficient end in itself to go away, earn and return.

The thing to balance is whether he'd be so committed to hockey and all of the strength and conditioning that he wouldn't actually have enough time to study for his Masters. My DoS was very against doing them for sports reasons after having had someone do it as they hoped to get into the Blue boat only to get de-selected a few weeks before the race. Her summary of the situation was that they'd done nothing but train for the Michaelmas & most of the Lent terms, spent the rest of the Lent term inconsolable and then had only had the first few weeks of the final term to try & do the entire course. It didn't go very well for them!

Er...who cares?

OP,

Yes, this huge desire for a Master’s based in various personal reasons is quite common. What us unusual is bluntly informing your parents that they must fund it.

The Master’s loan from HMG next year will be about £12,500. Unfortunately there is not currently a maintenance loan, but DS can surely manage some type of employment between now and the start of his course. Also, many

Posted too soon

Many of the Colleges are filthy rich abs have bursaries for students in need.

Finally, what are his realistic chances in hockey? Because to the extent that this is about staying near his GF, both the university and the city of C offer ample employment opportunities, to say nothing of all th remote working jobs available

poetryandwine bursaries for those in need once they've started a course is not a substitute for postgrad funding. To do a postgrad course you have to certify that you have the stated minimum funds available. No college is going to step in because you've lied.

Wait, what? When and where was an upfront financial guarantee introduced? Willing to believe that I'm just behind the times here.

This. Theres very little time during the academic year to do paid for work that allows for saving. Realistically, if you are going to get a degree that's good enough to allow you to do a masters at Cambridge, the only chance to earn enough money is during the summer vacation.

Fair enough - mine was a little more recent but still not entirely current :)
I remember having discussions with my tutors about Masters & PhD funding and if it impacted how my degree would be seen. The answer was emphatically no in the UK due to the scarcity of funding but I should think twice about privately funding in the States if I chose that route.

I had to prove my funds 15 years ago as part of accepting the course. Bank statements and letter from parents.

Fair enough! I'm just old.

My son's Cambridge course is a 4 year integrated masters (engineering). It's both a broad and intensive course and they woulldn't be able to cover enough in only 3 years. He loves Cambridge so I think the 4 year course will suit him, but honestly, I'm not sure I would be prepared to fund a masters in a humanities subject unless it seriously added to his employment prospects.

Hanging on for a blue is silly because you don’t know who else is going to come in as first years. Could be a case of four members of the team graduating but then another six players of the same calibre or higher arrive as first years, putting him in the second team again. I kind of think if you haven’t got your blue in three years you probably won’t get it in four.

To add, I have sympathy as I remember feeling much the same and sitting there at graduation almost sick with disbelief that my time there had ended, but in retrospect I’m glad I left on a high. I had friends on 4 year courses and they said it did feel v different once most of the year had graduated even though they still had friends from other years.

I wouldn't be funding any grown man to whack a hockey ball. Tell him you hope his training sessions tie in with his Starbucks shifts.

Op do you realise other universities do masters courses that students enrol on.In fact some student even have the foresight to apply for integrated masters degrees so their mummies dont need to fund them

Suitable means it didn't cover the stuff they wanted to learn and give them the boost to go into the career direction they wanted.

The friend I know most about all the courses were vendor specific there as he was looking for a more neutral course where the knowledge he learnt could be used for any role. (Plus as I said the Masters worked out cheaper. )

Also Masters like undergraduate degrees can be done part-time while you are working. So all those I know who were employer sponsored, or doing their third Masters were working and studying.

Op do you realise other universities do masters courses that students enrol on.In fact some student even have the foresight to apply for integrated masters degrees so their mummies dont need to fund them

I don't understand why you posted this curaçao. For one, the DS wants to stay at Cambridge specifically for social and sporting reasons and for two, there is no integrated masters at either Oxford or Cambridge for English or History - it's stand alone or nothing.