Advantages of Completing an Integrated Master’s Degree

If you’ve been researching university courses, you may have stumbled upon an Integrated Masters (IM) degree and wondered what one is and if it is worth the extra year of studying to gain the qualification. An IM degree is usually a four-year course and like the title suggests, your Masters is combined with undergraduate study. Once you have completed the course, you will graduate with a Masters as your first degree, rather than a Bachelor’s. These courses tend to be one year longer than an undergraduate degree (generally four years rather than the three). IM’s are often offered for Science and Engineering degrees. I completed an IM in Biomedical Science at Cardiff University and it was the right decision for me. Keep on reading to see the benefits of an IM and decide if it’s the right decision for you.

#1 You get a Masters as your first degree

Having a Masters degree can open many different career pathways for you. Furthermore, many universities accept an IM when applying for a PhD if you’re interested in pursuing education further.

#2 You don’t have to submit any additional applications

Applying for a Masters alongside finishing off your undergraduate degree can be challenging. By doing an IM, you do not have to re-apply for a Masters and can carry on your studies into your fourth year without any issues. You also won’t have to pay additional fees associated with a standalone Masters as postgraduate courses can be more expensive than an undergraduate degree. If you’re a UK resident, you should receive the total four years of support from Student Finance to complete your IM.

#3 During the final year of your IM you will develop a plethora of skills

During my final year I had a 6-month lab placement as a part of my degree. It was during this time I really flourished as a scientist and decided that a career in research was the one for me. You get a true taste of research which will allow you to decide if you like conducting your own experiments or not.

Completing an IM is often seen as a steppingstone between undergraduate and PhD study. The skills you develop in your penultimate year put you in a prime position to apply for a PhD. Furthermore, you develop an awareness of what the research environment is like and if you would like to pursue further study. Alternatively, if you decide that lab work is not for you this is also fine and a valuable revelation as you now know to focus your career search on jobs outside of the laboratory such as a medical writer or life science consulting. Having an IM would put you in a good position to apply for jobs both within and out of the lab.

#4 You will stay at the same university

Completing an IM means you do not have to move to a different university for your studies. You can stay in the same city which you have become familiar with which is great if you love where you are and have a network of friends nearby. Also, this can help if you find change difficult. I completed my IM at Cardiff and I am glad I did this as it allowed me to have an extra year to become familiar with research and decide on what my next career steps would be.

#5 They are often flexible

At my previous University we could change to the Integrated Masters degree in our second or third year (provided that our results were a 2:1 or higher). Please ask the Universities you are interested in if the course is flexible and if there is an opportunity to move on or off the Integrated Masters if you want to. Things change, I initially applied for a four-year undergraduate degree with a professional training year – however, I did not find a placement (thanks Covid!) and decided that I wanted to gain more laboratory experience (and knew that I wanted to apply for a PhD). Therefore, I decided to swap onto a 4 year Integrated Masters degree. Moving onto the IM was the best thing I could have done for myself wanting to pursue a career in research. Have a think and see if an IM will help with your career goals.

#6 You can get another Masters if you desire

You may decide to complete another Masters degree after finishing your IM to further specialise in a particular area or even to change disciplines completely via a conversion degree. A few people from my course decided to change direction or complete an alternative Master’s degree such as a Bioinformatics second Masters or carried out a Psychology conversion degree as they changed fields.

#7 You can see how much you have developed from your first year

One of the best feelings is looking back on your completed IM dissertation and realising that you have produced this research from scratch. You also realise that you develop both academically as well as personally throughout the duration of your IM and hopefully by the end you will have a better idea whether research is something you want to pursue or not.

An IM is an exciting option for individuals who are considering a research career or who want to further explore their field. There are many benefits to completing an IM which are personal, career related and financial. However, only you can decide if an Integrated Masters will best help you with your future career plans. Good luck and don’t be afraid to enquire at university open days about their Integrated Masters courses, how they differ to an undergraduate degree and what opportunities they can offer you!