Masters degree and summer holidays

[BerryTwister]

Hoping someone can help.

DS1 is about to start a Masters degree. We’re hoping to get one last family holiday in, while the kids are still happy to go away with their boring old mum!

DS2 will be doing A levels next summer.

DS1 summer term ends at the end of June. DS2 A levels will be finished by then too. So I was thinking of an early July holiday.

However, the information on the masters degree website was a bit confusing, so I emailed, and was basically told that although teaching finishes at the end of June, the Masters degree is seen as a 12 month process, so students are expected to be around until September doing their dissertation and having meetings about it!! Apparently international students are actually expected to formally apply for leave to go abroad (DS isn’t international, but they told me that info anyway).

Surely this can’t be true? Surely masters students are allowed summer holidays?!!

A masters is a 12 month course but with some planning you can still have a holiday. He will have to find out his submission dates and work around that.

Why did you email though OP? This is the responsibility of the student!

In my School summer is for the MSc dissertation, which contributes significantly to the degree classification. It is, or should be, the busiest season.

Also, the MSc supervisor is usually expected to act as a referee. You want them to think well of you. They may have travel plans (though these are often largely professional; academics have similar AL to other professionals), and the wise student will mostly be in residence when their supervisor is.

A short holiday is fine. A good student won’t be able to afford more.

@MickyMoonshine because it’s me who’s booking the holiday. I have to tell work my summer 2027 annual leave dates next week.

@poetryandwine it would literally be one week. Are they seriously expecting students to have no holidays?

Your DS signed up for a Masters without checking how long the course is?

I supervise MSc dissertations in a social science subject. Supervision officially ends 1st August and they have to submit in early September. I could not care less if anyone goes on holiday in August as long as they submit on time and don't expect me to respond to emails about how to format it. It's their grade so if they choose to go on holiday for 4 weeks and panic write it a night before then it's on them.

However in practice many students go away after their may exams for a week and then come back to do the dissertation. Some also submit early and then go travelling for a few weeks and then start work.

I don’t think he needs to worry about one weeks holiday. He can bring his laptop and do a couple of hours research each morning if he needs to. Meetings with tutor can be online.

Well, Masters students are free to take a holiday outside of teaching terms, but it is a 12 month degree, and the period of June to September is when they should be writing their dissertations. They’ll likely have supervision up to early to mid-July, then they’re set to do the independent work on Thor dissertations. It’s not school any more!

I would happily take questions in August if they are about Thor.

@TheAnnoyingSatsuma I’m not sure what you mean. It’s a year course, he knows that, I know that. But there are term times. So, for example, there is a Christmas break, and we would assume that students are not expected to be in residence at the university on Christmas Day. Same for Easter. I’m aware that he’ll have a dissertation to submit late August, but I’m shocked to hear that he’s seemingly expected to have no summer holiday at all. Even paid jobs allow a summer holiday. I believe it’s a legal entitlement in this country. So why would masters students expect to never have a break?

Still. He should be finding this information out. He’s an adult ffs.

I wouldn’t be impressed if one my masters students’ parents got in touch.

It’s unlikely he’ll know by next week if I’m honest. He’ll get submission dates during induction and will have to liaise with his supervisor as to when is a good time to have a break from the dissertation and supervision. I’m usually quite flexible but I’d struggle to give you that information right now. I’m still dealing with this years students.

That is not what any academic on this thread has said.

Although I rarely took holidays during my Masters and PhD. It’s probably why I’m top of my game now.

He can have a break. But it’s on him to organise his workload around that and make sure he hits any deadlines.

I warn all my postgrad students that I am highly 7nlikely to be available in August. I book most of it off on annual leave so I can do research, and legitimately tell anyone bothering me to fuck off. My students know this & we plan for it.

@Wadsworthy people have implied that students are expected to be in residence for the duration of their masters course , specifically the summer when they’re writing their dissertation.

Oops my typo! Don’t know why my phone autocorrected there to Thor. I don’t work on Scandinavia!

My DD did a masters last year and didn’t have to be “in residence”, whatever that means. She worked from her flat.

@Morethanadecade thank you, that makes sense, and is what I assumed would be the case. I assumed that out of term time, students would be expected to meet deadlines and ensure the work was done, but not necessarily be on site. DS isn’t going to be living in the uni town anyway, he’s commuting from home, about an hour away on the train.

It doesn’t mean they have to be physically on campus!

Hardly “in residence”. We’re just saying the period from the end of the teaching term in July, to the start of the new academic year in September is the time students are expected to finish up the research and writing of their dissertation. If your son wants to take a week out of that time, it’s up to him to manage his work and plan appropriately. He’s a grown up (although you are tending to give the impression that you don’t see him that way).

@MickyMoonshine where I work, it’s not unusual for spouses to ring to check when annual leave might be possible. The person who takes responsibility for booking a holiday is usually going to want to sort the dates out. Also, DS is currently working full time long hours, and I’ve got a few days off, so it made sense for me to do it. Even when people reach adulthood, sometimes it’s nice to delegate!

@Wadsworthy why so snippy?

My dd moved back home in the June before her dissertation was due and completed it at home, commuting to meetings with her supervisor as required. She didn’t go on holiday but certainly could have fitted it in. Her friend is at a London uni doing her masters and has been on holiday this summer (dissertation submitted yesterday) so it’s certainly possible.

During my Masters the summer was time to write my dissertation. I did part of it by the pool in Nice. I also accidentally missed my meetings about it because I wrote the date down wrong and then my advisor got hit by a car. It was fine he can go on holiday.

But they get Christmas and Easter, that's probably more weeks holiday than many workers get.

Not all jobs allow summer holidays. I grew up on a farm. Summer is harvest. A lot of other jobs in the area were involved in tourism.

If your son can manage his time to take a break, he probably won't cope with a masters anyway. IME, it was far more intense than an undergraduate degree.