When to apply for Masters

The Bobster

I am in final year of a computing degree and I am pretty sure I want to go on and do a taught masters program. I am not sure of the exact area or where I want to do it but I was wondering when would be the deadline for sorting one out for next year. I know it might vary from university to university but I will probably do it within Ireland.

You have months and months to make the decision. I applied in March for the Masters I am studying now, but I know of people who did not apply until June and had no problem.

Concentrate on your assignments/assessments for the moment, have a read up and do some research on the winter break on which courses interest you, and then send a few applications out when you have time.

There is no rush

claire h

Go look at specific masters and check out their deadlines. Don't assume you have until the summer - some programmes will still be taking applications in July/August, yes, but others won't. Remember if you're applying through PAC you can only do one application per college, as well, so you'll be going by the earliest deadline if you're applying to a couple of different masters in that institution. If there's anything that you think might be a serious contender and has an early deadline, apply and then decide later rather than not giving yourself the option.

breadmonkey

While it's true that most of the deadlines won't be for a long time to come, I would advise that you apply as soon as possible (Jan/Feb). Depending on the selection process used by the college, you may have a slight advantage by applying early. It's also not something you want to be thinking about around your finals because applications are quite time-consuming.

The main thing is to find the right course in the right college so even if you're not applying straight away, you should definitely start researching as soon as possible.

Toes

As the above posters have said, start researching which courses you'd like to do now. Find out what demand for places is like in each course. The best thing you can do is apply early.

I applied for my second choice course in June just as a backup, I got a call from postgrad admissions to let me know that the course had been completely filled by then.

All the best, hope you get the programme you want

MonkeyBalls

Generally, you'd be advised not to leave it any later than March.

Annasopra

It not only varies between university to university but between course to course so I would recommend over the Christmas break doing some research