Hey everyone! I'm an undergrad English Literature major in my final year looking to apply to grad school but unsure where exactly to go, my chances, and what to look for.

I want to get into academia and the most popular decision would be a master's degree... what I'm concerned about is the fundraiser master's degrees a lot of universities have. Also, what I would do after.

I have been told to look for MA-PhD programs that are combined and/or fully funded/partially funded. This would put me in a good place for my career aspirations and give me the kind of rigorous education/research opportunity I've been looking for.

I have Irish citizenship so have been looking into Ireland, the UK, and Canada. I am open to American programs, particularly because my university is American (not in the US).

I guess my questions are these: does anyone know of any grad schools that may offer something like this? Do I realistically have a chance of getting into the the PhD programs? If so, what else would I go for?

Alternatively, I have a professor who told me that even if it does not include a PhD program, having a university that offers career support and scholarships to its students is worth looking for and applying to.

I'm willing to answer any follow-up questions as I recognize that this is quite general. Thanks!

Hi all I am thinking of doing bachelors in any of these courses. Can you guys please share your experience? What’s better? Merits/Demerits ? I am based in melbourne

I’ve been working in higher ed for almost 10 years, with a masters in higher education leadership, and hoping to complete an EdD to boost my career opportunities and move up the ladder a bit. I’m considering Walden and American International College (AIC) programs so far because I’m looking for something flexible and manageable while being a caretaker and full time employee. Does anyone have advice or insight on good program options? Experience with Walden University or AIC? I’m leaning towards AIC for the flexibility but open to suggestion…would these programs “looked down on”?I appreciate any insight!

Hii r/GraduateSchool ,

I am an international student planning to apply for Fall 2027 graduate programs, specifically targeting Duke Pratt (MEM), University of Washington Seattle (MSIM), Northeastern University (MEM), and Purdue University (MEM).

Coming from a non-traditional degree background, these programs are high on my priority list because they accept my academic credentials. However, coming from a humble financial background, paying standard graduate application fees across multiple US programs poses a major financial burden for me.

Question & Advice Needed:

1. Duke Pratt (MEM): Pratt's website states that attending a live Pratt event (online or in person) qualifies applicants for an application fee waiver. However, when checking their calendar, I don't see any live webinars listed yet. Around what time of year do waiver-eligible virtual info sessions usually open up for future intake cycles like Fall 2027?
2. UW Seattle (MSIM): I noticed UW's Graduate School provides fee waivers, but their policy seems tailored primarily to domestic/US-based applicants with financial need. Are there departmental fee waivers or event-based waivers specifically for international applicants applying to the iSchool MSIM program?
3. Northeastern (MEM) & Purdue (MEM): Purdue mentions on their MEM FAQ that fee waivers are primarily managed through central university diversity/recruitment programs (which mostly cover domestic applicants), and Northeastern's policy varies by college. Has any international applicant successfully received a fee waiver for Purdue MEM or Northeastern MEM through virtual open houses, direct outreach, or attendance at specific fairs?
4. Direct Requests & General Tips: Is it generally acceptable to email graduate admissions offices directly to request a need-based application fee waiver as an international applicant, or do these schools strictly enforce pre-set eligibility criteria? Any advice or past experiences from international applicants who navigated fee waivers for these specific schools would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much for your help!

Trying to get a sense of if I could make a masters degree work with my current situation & options, and what schools are around in my corner of Virginia that have a good reputation and offer a program that I'm looking for.

I graduated from Virginia Tech in 2024 with my bachelor's in environmental resource management focused in forestry. Currently working as a park ranger and loving it, and recently reconnected with one of my favorite professors who happens to be the grad program director & is being extremely kind in helping me navigate finding and starting a thesis MS.

Living in Norfolk VA with my boyfriend who's in the military, he's been deployed the last year so I want to be at a school within \~1 hour drive of there so I can live with him.

Need to gather a list of schools nearby who offer a masters program in environmental science / forestry / horticulture etc. They seem to be kind of few and far between.. CNU looks like it has a broad environmental science masters. William & Mary looks like it doesn't have anything. What else is nearby that I'm missing? Or am I screwed here? Of course in a perfect world I'd go back to virginia tech in a heartbeat as the forestry program was incredible but I really want to be close to my boyfriend.

TLDR what are some good reputable colleges in southeast virginia (\~1hr commute from Norfolk) that offer a masters program in environmental science / natural resources / forestry / horticulture?

Hi all,

It’s been a while since I got my bachelors degree and wanted to see if audiobooks is the same as reading an ebook/ textbook. I’m getting my masters in accounting and trying to balance working full time, family, son in travel and going to the gym 2-3 times a week. Needless to say, I can listen to audiobooks at work. What are your thoughts between audiobooks or ebooks/textbooks?

This is strictly speaking for the US.

I got my bachelors in bio where I concentrated on wildlife and aquatic conservation. All of my professors told me that a fully funded masters was not only attainable, but that it was commonplace for the field. I am looking into getting my masters in marine biology, I know the fields differ in competition a bit, but it was still very common to have fully funded masters available until about a year ago (we all know why that is). Now whenever I reach out to professors, they are always interested in me, but have no funding and don’t expect to anytime soon. I have not been able to find funding sources to apply to myself as all of the grants that used to be very popular seem to no longer be receiving funding.

My question of discussion: is this the new normal? Even after this administration, will research funding be anywhere near top priority that funded masters will become the standard again? I’m just trying to decide if I should bite the bullet and take out loans or if I should just wait another year or so.

I know masters are less commonly funded in places like Europe, but they’re also MUCH cheaper there. That is an option I am considering.

Hi all,

I have a MA in Dev Studies from India. Applying to another MA program abroad to have a better subject specific depth and methodological training. I was initially inclined towards the latter option, but ever since I went through the South Asian Studies program, I find the course very interesting. However, I see a few disadvantages with this choice:

1. ⁠Unsure rigour of methods training
   
2. ⁠Worried if SAS instead of helping me build on subject specific theory and methods, again leaves my theoretical and technical training to be very broad.

If I see this Masters as a stepping stone to a PhD soon after, which course would be better? Expert opinion would be so helpful right now.

Hey everyone,

I need International Law: Cases and Commentary by Janis, Noyes, and Sadat for my upcoming class. My syllabus allows either edition:

• 7th Edition (2025) – ISBN: 9781685617172
• 6th Edition (2020) – ISBN: 9781642425864 (West Publishing)

Buying it brand new is pretty steep. Does anyone have recommendations on the best sites/subreddits to find affordable used copies, cheap rentals, or digital versions? Alternatively, if anyone here has taken the class recently and is looking to sell or pass down their copy, please feel free to DM me!

Thanks in advance for any tips.

I (42F) am really interested in getting my PhD. I am a 100% disabled veteran and work part time in adult education. I have a bachelor’s in library science and a master’s in education.

I love school and learning and especially love research and writing. I’ve worked in all types of educational settings and believe I have a lot more to contribute to the educational field.

The problem is…I work in education. I’m a single parent and while I do okay with income, I certainly don’t have several thousands of extra dollars for school and books.

I’ve tried to find an adjunct position at a university on the side in hopes I can use benefits for further schooling but I haven’t had much luck. Any scholarships or grants out there? Benefits I’m not aware of? Everything I come across is for undergrad.

Hey! I'm wondering if anyone has studied MSc Sustainable management or something similar?

I am debating going to do this masters, but would like to know how big of a difference a masters degree is compared to undergrad? My undergrad degree was in a different field so I don't have much background knowledge. I have also been out of studying for a few years now and conscious that it may be difficult to get back into.

Any advice would be appreciated!

I graduated with my BS in psychology (and a minor in Cognitive science) back in December 25 with UCF. I'm thinking about going back to school for my masters because it seems that's the only way I can secure a decent job (Ana the only option unless there's something else I can do to grow my career). I'm really interested in the NASA pathways internship program but it seems all so intimidating. Specifically the part where I apply for a masters. I'm not the best test taker especially with my learning disability it makes it incredibly difficult to do any entry exams like the GRE one so I wanna avoid that when looking at which path for a masters. I'm not sure exactly what to do but I know I don't wanna do clinical, doctoral, or a PhD. I'm just kinda unsure what to do next is a masters even worth getting especially in today's society? I wish there was a path laid out and I could see the outcome but that's not how life works. Any advice is appreciated. I just want a career that uses my degree so I feel like I didn't waste my time studying psychology.

Edit: it doesn't even have to be a psychology Masters it can be any masters related I suppose

Hello,

I am currently enrolled to start my master’s at my university i attended for undergrad. After applying to full time positions all summer, i think I finally landed one, but won’t receive the offer details until after the tuition deadline. I wasn’t sure how to navigate leaving my master’s program. Just in case I do not get the job, I want to start master classes because I can drop them until 3 weeks from now for a full refund. I wanted to ask for advice on what to do. I was either considering deferring my enrollment, but I do not realistically plan on going back.

I want to know on what basis do graduate students receive admission at Texas am as in gpa and experience?

I want to know on what basis do graduate students receive admission at Texas am as in gpa and experience?

Could anyone tell me how big of a thesis it is for 12 ECT worth?? How many words and pages?? Tbh I don't really feel enthusiastic about thesis in general, if I could I would choose non-thesis majors but idk, let me know your opinion

I am a current student at Kent State University. I am applying for a graduate program there. I have completed the entire application, but now it wants me to verify my identity through a third party called Stripe.

Stripe needs to take a photo of me with my ID and perform "biometric verification" to confirm my identity. I think this is super weird, especially considering I'm already a student at Kent. I also have concerns giving a third party that type of sensitive information, especially considering they were recently hacked.

Is this the new norm? Are all graduate schools requiring the use of biometric data to verify your identity just to submit an application?

Hi everyone, hoping to get some advice here. I'm 27 years old and I've been in the marketing field for over 6 years now. I graduated with a business degree but I guess I gravitated towards marketing because I just saw it as being more financially beneficial.

That being said, a cousin of mine migrated to Australia and got this thing called an RPL certificate. Saw a few companies that seem legit that can help but I wanted to ask if anyone has had success? Any advice? Any tips? Any suggestions.

Help a girly out please, thanks x

Hello all!

I'm looking at Stony Brook for my MA in Art History, focusing on Latin American Art. Usually, I would just reach out to the faculty I'm interested in and set up a meeting to ask questions, but I did not see anyone who shared an interest in my field. There is the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program, which I'm pretty sure is undergrad. I would also be coming from out of state and with no official background in Art History, other than a year of experience working as an exhibition designer for an art museum in Florida, a BFA in Graphic Design, and undergrad research papers for Art History + Latin American History classes.

So... here is my ample list of questions:

1. Realistically, what is the funding situation for their Art History + Criticism MA? I read their website, so I know there's some funding, but is there a possibility of a full ride?
2. Since my background isn't ideal, is there even a chance of me getting accepted if I apply? Grad applications will add up, it'd be good to know not to waste my time.
3. Does anyone have experience with cross-department collaboration? I.e, I would like to collaborate with some of the faculty in their History dept., possibly have them as advisors. I've heard this is fairly uncommon in MA programs, so I don't have many hopes.
4. From the existing faculty in Art History + Criticism, is there anyone I should be reaching out to? I believe there's at least one individual whose area is Contemporary + Modern art, so there could be some overlap there.

I’m going into food science as I didn’t get enough for any other course and

I am thinking of doing food science then going the gamsat for graduate medicine.

Does anyone know people who did food science and is now in medicine?

Is food science good?

I am applying to math PhD programs this cycle. I have a 3.8 Math GPA with Bs only in Calculus 2 and Intro to Proofs, other than that I have straight As all other upper level classes. I have research experience, and 3 of my professors have told me to specifically ask them for letters of recommendation. I am assuming the will right me strong letters because of this. I also plan on taking the Math GRE to boost my application as much as possible because of the following.

I was not a math major at first and was a terrible student. My grades were bad with my previous major, and also with my general education classes, so my cumulative GPA is 2.5. I have Ds and Cs in things like English 1 and 2, History, etc. This is from 2+ years ago. How much will this hurt me in admissions? What level of program should I be aiming for?

I just started a two-year MSW program that’s six trimesters total. Right now, I work full-time and make decent money, but I’m already realizing that working full-time for the entire program probably isn’t going to be realistic, especially once practicum starts my 2nd year.

My rent is currently $1,650/month, and with my other expenses it is roughly $2500 total. My concern is that a part-time income probably wouldn’t be enough to cover everything, particularly rent. I’ve been considering taking out something like 10-20k in private loans specifically to help cover rent/living expenses while I’m in school for the 2 years. Just so I can afford life while working part time and being in school.

For context:
-I have no current debt or student loans
-I received an HCAI scholarship, so my graduate education will ultimately be covered in exchange for a four-year service commitment after graduation
-Note that my 2nd year I will have practicum which would be 24 hours a week unpaid.

Would taking out $10k in private loans for living expenses be a terrible financial decision? Or is this one of those situations where taking on a relatively small amount of debt to make it through grad school can be reasonable? I’d especially love to hear from anyone who has taken out loans for rent/living expenses during grad school—did you regret it, or did it make school significantly more manageable?

I will be a senior environmental science major in the fall. I’ve taken basic “hard science” classes like chem, bio, physics. I’m not sure what I want to do for a career so I want to work and figure out what I like before going to graduate school. However, as a science person (I already know I don’t want to do scientific research) I’m afraid I might want to apply to graduate program in the future that requires I took organic chemistry or something in undergrad. Would it be possible for me to take any requirements like that at a community college and then apply to the grad program? I am currently getting a bachelor’s degree. I know I could still try to take classes like that in my final 2 semesters, but frankly there are other classes that I’d rather be taking and there’s only a small possibility I will end up wanting to a program that is more science based (rn I’m looking into communication and policy). Just wondering if getting the cc credit is possible or not.

I'm interested in applying for an MPhil in Biological Sciences (or a similar biosciences master's) in the UK, but my main interest is radioecology/radiobiology not medical. I'm in my final year of a B.S. in General Biology with a minor in Chemistry in the U.S.

Based on my current grades, I expect to graduate with around a 3.63–3.64/4.0 GPA, but my current is 3.55/4.0 GPA. Cambridge's website says the U.S. equivalent of a 2:1 is around a 3.5, while a High 2:1 is around a 3.6 (which is the stated standard for the MPhil I'm looking at). However, I've seen people online saying that the typical successful applicant may have something closer to a 3.8–3.9, so I'm trying to figure out how competitive I actually am.

My GPA isn't the only thing I have going for me. My background includes:

• 300+ hours of research/lab experience
• A 3-month summer research internship studying glycerin/glycerol-related effects on bacteria and viruses, including cultivation and freezing
• 24+ hours of volunteer tutoring
• Two research-based posters completed through coursework involving hands-on research
• ~10 hours of field research/volunteer experience in New Jersey and New York
• Several types of job-shadowing experiences
• Coursework/background in philosophy, sociology, psychology, and ethics
• Coursera certificates in data science and Excel/R programming
• FEMA radiation safety/training certificates
• I'm an NSF S-STEM Scholar, and recipient of a First-Generation Student scholarship/award which has also given me access to mentorship opportunities, including mentorship connected with NASA, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and engineers in related fields with specialized meetings
• As part of the scholarship, I give a monthly mini-research presentation on different biological topics to a private mentor
• A member of InnovATEBIO and Health Physics Society for a year
• I participated in the National Student Exchange and studied at two different universities

I know some of these things are more relevant than others, and I'm not trying to make my application sound more impressive than it is. I'm mainly trying to figure out what would actually matter to an admissions committee and what I should leave off my CV.

My biggest concern is my GPA. Interestingly, most of the grades bringing down my cumulative GPA aren't from my core biology/chemistry courses; they're mainly from things like English composition, statistics, humanities, and orientation courses. My grades in the more directly relevant biology and chemistry coursework are much stronger, with a relevant-coursework GPA around 3.6.

I still have one semester left. If I really push myself, I might be able to get my cumulative GPA closer to 3.7, but realistically I'm expecting around 3.63–3.64.

How competitive would a profile like this be for Cambridge/other top UK bioscience MPhils? Would you consider the GPA a significant weakness given the rest of the profile? And, more importantly, what would you emphasize or leave off when putting together the CV/application? And is it good enough for an offer?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who have actually applied to or been admitted to Cambridge/Oxford/top UK bioscience programs, particularly applicants coming from the U.S.