A Year in the Life of a UK Master’s Student

Studying in the UK can take a lot of planning and patience throughout the application process. But once the seemingly endless waiting game to depart for the UK is over, a new and exciting year long adventure is waiting for Master’s students! After all the anticipation, here is what you can expect as a Master’s student in the UK:

Arriving:

If you haven’t had the chance to visit the university or city you will be visiting everything will be new and unfamiliar when you arrive. Depending on the size of your university you may spend the first month or so navigating around. The first few weeks are a great time to get to meet other students as there are usually a lot of welcome events on campus to make you feel at home and services to offer the advice and support that you need!

Getting into the Swing of things:

A Master’s program in the UK is definitely an exciting adventure but it’s a lot of hard work as well! You will be expected to do your own readings as well as course work and attending lectures/ seminars.  Staying on top of things can cause you to spend a lot of time in the library, so it’s best to familiarize yourself with the study zones so you know the best places to work.

Christmas Break:

By Christmas time you will probably be an expert on the local area and laugh that you didn’t know anything only a few weeks before. Universities usually give you a few weeks break over Christmas so this is a good time to squeeze in some travelling around the UK or the rest of Europe!

Spring Semester:

By this time students are usually starting to think of their dissertations as well as staying on top of coursework so this time tends to fly by! The days start getting lighter and it even gets a bit warmer! Students can also try to sneak away on Easter break vacation (if they don’t have too much uni work!)

Summer:

This is it! The final stretch. This is where the sleepless nights and pulling all-nighters in the library is really common. Working on the final project, the dissertation! Although dissertations in the UK must be completed in a much shorter time frame than back home in Canada, with proper planning and time management skills it is definitely manageable! You may even be able to have a few exciting weekend getaways if you plan it just right!

The End:

The end of August/ beginning of September rolls around and it’s time to go home! You won’t believe how fast the year has gone so make sure to make every day count and to immerse yourself in as many new experiences as possible. Work hard but also have some fun! A year goes by so quickly so make the most of every experience and get involved as much as you can. Saying goodbye is bittersweet but you can be proud that you are leaving with a Master’s degree and highly valuable international experience.

If you would like to find out more about studying in the UK, please contact one of our Advisors