Deciding you want to pursue a postgraduate degree is exciting. But it can also feel like there’s a lot to consider at once – from exploring the right university and course, to thinking about funding, accommodation and everything else that comes with it.
Once you’ve made those decisions, you can move forward with your application. Here are my top tips for pulling it together.
Research beyond the course page
When I decided to study a master’s degree in digital marketing at Teesside University, one of the first things I did was research the faculty. A quick look through the lecturer profiles led me to my professor, whose research interests aligned closely with mine. He later became my dissertation supervisor.
I mentioned him in my application to show I’d done proper research and had a clear interest in the course. This also made writing my personal statement much easier because I wasn’t speaking generally about studying a postgraduate degree, I had specific reasons for choosing the course and university.
Start your personal statement earlier than you think
A personal statement sounds scary at first – everyone thinks it has to be perfect. But most universities are just looking for genuine interest and a real sense of why you want to study the course.
When I started mine, it felt like I was rambling in a diary. I had ideas, but no structure. What helped me was allowing myself enough time to write everything down first and improve it later. I started by writing down simple points: why I wanted to study the course, what interested me in the field and what experiences pushed me towards postgraduate study. Once those ideas were on paper, shaping them into a proper statement became much easier.
If I’d left it until last minute, I probably would’ve panicked and submitted something rushed. Giving yourself time for trial and error, rewrites and even moments where you feel you’ve lost the plot is honestly part of the process.
Keep everything organised
As you write, try picturing yourself a year from now already studying the course, attending seminars or even starting to think about your dissertation topic. This makes it easier to write because you stop treating the application like just another form to complete. It helps you explain your interests more clearly and think seriously about what you want from the course.
Something that helped me was creating a folder for everything related to my application. In here I kept my personal statement drafts, screenshots of modules I liked, lecturer profiles and even possible research ideas that interested me at the time.
Whenever I felt stuck or unsure about the direction I wanted to take academically, I could look back at those early ideas and remember what interested me in the first place.
Choosing to apply for a postgraduate degree is already a step in the right direction. To find out more about postgraduate study at Teesside University, visit the postgraduate study page.
By Tracy
