Do I stand a chance?

[lpchill]

I have been trying for a while to find a particular degree course for the niche area that I work in. There is nothing for this area nearby or within a 100 mile radius. The places I could go won't do distance learning, even though half of it is placement which my job would provide. I have found one place that does do a degree but it's a PG dip/Masters I don't currently have a degree just A levels and a level 3 in my area of work related to the degree. I do however have lots of experience 5 years directly working and 10 year volunteering in the sector. I have emailed the university as they said experience would count if I do not hold a degree but must be able to show I could work to that level. But as they have taken so long to respond I'm losing faith. I will end up calling them next week to find out but do I stand a chance of getting onto a masters course with no degree?

Honestly OP, I wouldn’t.

I’m in my second year of Undergrad, and each year gets harder. I have no idea how anyone would do a Masters without the grounding an Undergrad gives them.

Only that university can tell you what they would want - but more generally I’d say it depends on the nature of the subject you want to study.

It’s often relatively easy to start an MA years or decades after an unrelated undergraduate degree, even in a completely new subject, as long as one can show evidence of active engagement in the proposed subject.

You obviously have the active engagement covered; are you able to say whether this has been at a relatively high level - involving interaction with university research level practitioners? Have you attended conferences, presented papers, led workshops? Or alternatively have you entered industry competitions, been shortlisted or won awards? Have you worked with people who are important in your area? Have you been responsible for any beneficial innovations or new thinking in the subject?

I imagine you’ve built up quite a bit of expertise over ten years. It would simply be easier if you had a paper qualification as evidence. Can you really not find any course higher than Level 3 that you could take, simply to support a Master’s application?

You will need to do a degree before a Masters I’m afraid though it doesn’t necessarily have to be in exactly the same subject

You don’t always need a first degree before doing a masters. But it is rare. And it depends on the course and your experience.

I know someone who went straight to a masters (MSc). They didn't even have A levels. Like you, about 10 years of work experience related to the topic and a couple of professional certificates, probably around Level 3 standard.

Initially they sought help from friends and uni with structuring work and reading over assignments, but went on to do very well and completed successfully. I think their practical experience was seen as an asset.

If the uni offers you a place, maybe you could investigate what study support is available. I've seen posters offering free courses on managing workload and academic referencing in my local university library.

(And - I very much doubt that your subject is more niche than mine! Perhaps you’re looking at exactly the same thing. )

I’m afraid what BitcherOfBlakiven says is likely to be true in practice. It’s one thing to be able to work / volunteer effectively, day to day, in a context and environment you’re used to. It’s quite another to find oneself required to deconstruct and re-learn that work, in a completely new, high level, competitive environment, where you’re having to produce written evidence of successful re-thinking and intellectual creativity in every seminar and workshop and essay. (Although perhaps other people’s MAs weren’t like mine.)

In short - if you haven’t already, I’d suggest taking some short online or in person courses in preparation for the Master’s. Just to see how you get on with being taught, meeting study deadlines, and the rough and tumble of competitive academic debate. (If all those things are already part of your life the university will welcome you with open arms.)

You’d need to check but I’m not sure you can get a Government Postgraduate Loan unless you already have an undergraduate degree. Don’t know if that matters to you?

They would look at APEL’ing you. That’s Accredication of Prior Experiential Learning.

I would worry that you’d struggle with the writing and research skills to be honest. It’s a big jump. If I was you I’d see if you could grab a couple of OU course that are in the area and try them and see how you get on with the skills they teach first.

What’s a big jump? I don’t think there was a big jump from my BA to my MA. It was just more specialised. And for all we know, the OP might have lots of writing and research skills.

It’s a big jump from a levels to masters.

She might have loads of relevant experience which is why I said try a few OU courses in the area first to see how she goes with them.

I worded that poorly.

Loads of relevant experience in research and writing.

First, universities have been very busy as they are dealing with applications. Call them!

I too think it is a big jump. What about taking some HE courses with the OU first to prime yourself?

What is the subject?

By the way, have you checked to see if there is an apprenticeship pathway for it? The go up to post-grad now

There is a module you can do with Staffs uni called "step up to masters" which introduces you to postgrad study. You have to write a 3500 word essay to pass it.

Thanks everyone for your input it's really helpful and appreciated. The course is youth work. The issue is that there are very few that hold the badge JNC recognised which is what I need to be officially called a youth worker. There is absolutely nothing on the south coast of England.

They have just started with the level 6 apprenticeship but at present it will only be for universities that currently do the course. As well as charities are having to guarantee full time employment for the duration of the course which the charity I work for and many many others will find impossible due to yearly funding of youth provision.

I don't think it's completely unlikely for you to be offered a place on the course so long as you have strong A level and GCSE results.

If you don't get an offer this year, it may be worth checking your career network to see if any of them have links to that uni / reach out to the course director / attend conferences they're likely to be at. By having a connection, you may be able to set up and informal interview and gain admission that way.

I went through something similar - although I had a degree it was completely unrelated to the Masters I applied for and my work experience was only 2 years in something not directly related to the degree. I managed to talk to the course director and sent in my CV and got accepted onto the course.

Forgot to add I'm about the finish the level 3 course which has included learning how to reference and essay writing. The work has been easy and I understand there will be a huge jump to Masters but it will be a two year course part time and I will be working my hardest before and during to make sure I achieve as there is really no other option to get qualified within potentially next 6-10 years.

The level of written expectation would worry me. I had done my degree and post grad 17 years earlier when I did my Masters-and even then, the Level 7 written work nearly finished me off! I can’t imagine doing that without at least the undergraduate experience of writing essays/dissertation etc

People are correct, op. It's still a huge jump to Masters. Even though I did fairly well in my undergrad and have completed a lot of learning since I was surprised at the intensity of a Masters. Those who did my course part time and still worked really struggled as the course went on. It's one of those times I'm sorry to say experience really does count. Don't give up though.

I did my degree 20 years ago and have just done a masters as a grown up and it was really really hard My degree didn’t help me in anyway at all but I did do it. If the university are saying experience counts then that may be far more relevant to an ancient unrelated degree.

Update- I spoke to the admissions at the uni. They are more than happy with the level of experience I currently hold and urged me to apply. The level of qualification they where not worried about either as they do an essay to test the skills on analysis, referencing, reasoned arguments etc and then put you on prerequisite courses that cover those areas. They explained 99% of the time that yes they urge to do a degree before hand but this is one of the only courses due to the nature of work which relies very heavily on experience and working/placement over the academic side.

So once im home today I will be doing an application. Thank you everyone for your input. It gave me a lot more questions to ask admissions and it's helped me feel a lot more resolve in doing this

Brilliant. That’s great news.

That is absolutely wonderful! I’m so pleased for you.

Would you be starting next September, or earlier? Either way, once you’ve completed your Level 3 course do take advantage of any guidance the university can offer before you begin.

It’s fantastic when your potential tutors make it clear they’re keen to have you. (It was exactly this experience that compelled me to apply for a niche course for which I had no real qualifications. My postgrad graduation happened thirty years after my undergrad one.)

Really hope you’ll keep us updated on your progress!

Well done I was going to say that my FIL went straight onto his Masters without even A levels-and he’s now the university’s external examiner and has written textbooks for the subject. For practical subjects experience counts for so much; academic writing can be picked up along the way. Good luck!

Another update- the uni got back to me offering an interview at the end of the month! Also going to the open evening next week! Fingers crossed