I began this blog by talking about differences between postgraduate and undergraduate study in fairly general terms. If I recall correctly there was an ungainly Christmas dinner metaphor forced in there somewhere. I’d like to return to the subject, though I’m lacking a culinary angle this time. Some would call that a blessing…
Anyway, because of the weight of content taught most Masters programmes are taught across a full year (as opposed to the Sept-June academic year) and this leaves me and my colleagues on the brink of unchartered territory – the mysterious 3rd semester. The key difference in semester 3 is a complete lack of contact hours, aside from meetings with dissertation supervisors. Rather, the next 3 ½ months are entirely bound up in the research process and ultimate submission of the 15000-word dissertation on August 29th. In this sense the last semester plays out very similarly to a PhD student’s work schedule, something I can only see as a positive given that the research MA aims primarily to prepare students for that level of study.
That, in a nutshell, is the bare bones of the third semester, but what does this mean on a more personal level? Speaking for myself, it entails a summer where I actually have to pay attention to something other than the fortunes of Yorkshire County Cricket Club (come on you tykes), though I suspect this won’t be a concern for the majority of prospective MA student. More relevant are the adjustments in approach this semester requires. While I can’t speak for everyone I work best with a string of targets laid out in front of me. Ever since first year (2010 – I’m old.) I’ve lived with a table of deadlines on my bedroom wall, quietly enjoying the satisfaction of periodically scribbling one out and heading to the pub. With over 3 months on a single task however progress is not quite as measurable, so dividing the work into chunks and making sure you have targets and ways to measure progress is a must for me. This could equally be said of an undergraduate dissertation, though those do sit alongside other commitments and lend themselves to timetabling a little more easily. There’s also a role for the aforementioned social aspect of the MA here (see earlier posts). Without contact hours it’s easy to lose context on what you’re doing – while I usually don’t tend to measure my progress against other people it is reassuring to talk about the deadlines you share and generally keep things in perspective, rather than driving yourself up the same four walls day in and day out.
I’m trying to come up with a more appropriate message than “never underestimate the value of a trip to the pub” but I’m struggling a little….