The Masters Degree: A Timeline for Postgraduate Students

September – October: And so it begins…

So, you’re packed and ready to set off for the start of your first term. You may not be all that enthusiastic to relive your undergraduate freshers experience, but your first week is still a great opportunity to meet fellow students! Many universities offer postgraduate-specific welcome events, fairs, and societies, so make sure you take the opportunity to scout these out.

October – November: Ok, now it really begins

With fresher’s week behind you, it’s time to begin your postgraduate journey in earnest. During your first term, you’ll usually take a combination of core and optional modules that will give you a thorough grounding in your discipline. It’s also never too soon to start thinking about your dissertation topic – you won’t have long before it’s time to submit a proposal! Speaking of which…

November – December: Proposals, supervisors, and all the Christmas cheer you can muster

One-year Masters courses are intense, and crunch time will likely roll around sooner than you think. You’ll usually need to submit your proposal close to the end of your first term, before being allocated a supervisor right before you depart for a (hopefully still merry) Christmas break.

January – June: Research, plan and research some more

In your second term, you’ll continue to study taught modules alongside researching and writing your dissertation. You’ll also have regular supervisory meetings to check up on your progress.

Masters students will generally have the summer to finish writing their dissertation, with deadlines in mid to late August (or even early September), a few months later than you probably submitted your undergraduate dissertation. But this is no reason to rest on your laurels!

Writing 15,000 to 20,000 words is no small undertaking, so it’s a good idea to get the bulk of your research and planning done during this second term (and preferably some of the writing too…).

July – August: The home stretch

The bad news is that you’ll be writing your Masters dissertation over the summer, long after undergraduate students have departed for their holidays. The good news is that you’ll be far more likely to get the best seat in the library while you do it!

Assuming you wrapped up your research during term time, it should now just be a question of putting pen to paper and crafting your final product. To help you through, we have plenty of advice on writing and researching a Masters dissertation and making the step up to completing a dissertation at the postgraduate level.

By the time autumn roles around, you’ll have handed in your dissertation – and that’s a wrap on your Masters degree!