Competition for masters courses?

Shambodie

Hi All,

Just a general question about anybody's experience (of late) with applying for masters courses. With the current climate many people may decide to continue on and do a masters after their degree... if they can afford it. do you feel this will increase or decrease competition for places on courses?

I'm specifically interested in DCU Finance & Capital Markets, or the Smurfit equivalent, so experience there would be preferable.

loctite

I'd say that there may be more competition alright but in saying that...

DCU have increased the number of classes in some of their masters programmes. I just finished my undergrad in Accounting & Finance there and there was talk of nearly 3 Masters classes this year vs. one last year.

I've also seen advertised that deadlines for Masters at Smurfit have been extended. I can only assume that either places have not been taken up or that they have more to fill? (or that they are way more expensive)

It is also possible that with the possibility of free fees being abolished at undergrad level that the Uni's may need to replace their income streams with more masters courses, or perhaps I have too much time on my hands to be thinking of stuff like this....

Shambodie

The DCU website says they are still taking applications for the course starting September 2009... which seems VERY late and would suggest that they still have places to fill... or are very picky with who they want doing the course. The former would seem more likely as surely, at this stage, they would be lowering their standards to ensure that all places are filled? Maybe they will over the next month or so.

I called DCU yesterday to find out if the information on the website was current and they told me it was published the day before, so was current. I asked about places available and they refused to give me an indication of how many places were still available... I asked the question in a different way hoping to get even a small bit of info however the lady on the phone responded with "Sir, you're asking the same question in a different way and i've already told you we don't give out that information"... Seems a bit suspect!

Either way things are probably going to get worse and I reckon next year I'll have a good shot at getting in with my (less than adequate) 2.2 Honours Business degree. I do quite a good interview I'm told.

gollem_1975

there is back to education assistance available for people who have been out of work for over 6 months.
there are a lot of NDP funded masters courses - the lower fees make it attractive for people to get their masters.

so not only will you have students graduating without jobs you will also have lots of people that have lost their jobs coming into the postgrad system.

Shambodie

gollem_1975 wrote: »

there is back to education assistance available for people who have been out of work for over 6 months.
there are a lot of NDP funded masters courses - the lower fees make it attractive for people to get their masters.

so not only will you have students graduating without jobs you will also have lots of people that have lost their jobs coming into the postgrad system.

I just checked the Student finance website, the course I'm interested is a level 9 Masters, the Back to education grant does not cover these courses (it covers H Dips, level 8) so I don't think that'll be an issue. also in the current climate people out of work for a prolonged length of time who decide to do a level 8 course, will probably not be able to afford a level 9 at €8,800 + living expenses.

gollem_1975

Shambodie wrote: »

I just checked the Student finance website, the course I'm interested is a level 9 Masters, the Back to education grant does not cover these courses (it covers H Dips, level 8) so I don't think that'll be an issue. also in the current climate people out of work for a prolonged length of time who decide to do a level 8 course, will probably not be able to afford a level 9 at €8,800 + living expenses.

interesting : i assumed that BTEA would have applied to level 9 masters course. thanks for the info.

re: doing a masters in finance in the current climate - this could be one of the areas that might see less applicants , a bit like the fall off in applications for IT undergrads in the aftermath of the dot com bust.

8,800 is a fair whack for someone with mortgage , kids etc. but younger people losing their jobs, with severance if they are lucky, may consider doing one of the NDP funded masters courses.

gazzles

i have just got accepted into dcu ith a 2.2 so any fo yee thinking of applying go for it is my advice!

tempodublin

Hey, I just got accepted into the marketing masters in DCU on Friday and I only applied for it about a week before hand. I have a 2.2 honours degree that I just received in June. It seems like the best option with the current economic climate to go ahead and invest in your education because it will stand to you when we are out of this doom and gloom period. Also, alot of companies are looking to hire their graduates directly from masters courses and DCU are known for having fantastic contacts with the business world. This is my opinion and the main reason why im doing it but each to their own like. Defo not too late to apply though!!

gollem_1975

was the person who told you companies are hiring directly from masters courses the course co-ordinator or was it a current or past student ?

eoinS

the BTEA does not cover a full time masters as far as i know

also, my first 3 choices for masters in dcu this year were cancelled for
"budgetary reasons" - they were all covered by the NDP programme aswell
- very fustrating ....

gollem_1975

eoinS wrote: »

the BTEA does not cover a full time masters as far as i know

also, my first 3 choices for masters in dcu this year were cancelled for
"budgetary reasons" - they were all covered by the NDP programme aswell
- very fustrating ....

the BTEA doesn't cover level 9 qualifications - that point was already mentioned earlier in the thread.

just out of interest what courses were cancelled ?

laura360

I applied for the finance and capital markets programme. Today i got an update on pac saying my application is being considered, is this a standard message or am i in with a good chance? I applied to NUIM also and my pac application said today that i haven't been accepted. Im just wondering has anyone got this message before they were accepted or declined.

Thanks guys!

Quatre Mains

laura360 wrote: »

I applied for the finance and capital markets programme. Today i got an update on pac saying my application is being considered, is this a standard message or am i in with a good chance? I applied to NUIM also and my pac application said today that i haven't been accepted. Im just wondering has anyone got this message before they were accepted or declined.

Thanks guys!

i was offered that course about 10 days ago, but was 'being considered' for 3-4 weeks prior to that. So don't give up hope yet. If you havent heard back by the end of next week I'd email them if I were you, time is of the essence.
(As an aside, if you dont get accepted you might consider a UK course, I had much greater success applying there than for Irish courses).
I accepted - it ain't cheap tho! I see its not on the list for the government back to education scheme (the night-time treasury MSc is, as is the new NUIM risk analysis one), which at least doesn't make me feel like a complete tool for working through to September to save for fees.