Funded Masters

jantheman91

Hi,

I was just wondering if it's possible (and if so where/how) to get a fully funded master's course.

I just graduated from Trinity with an honour's degree in Microbiology (II.1) and will find it very difficult to get employment without further qualifications.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Viva La Gloria

I think the most amount of funding you can receie is around €6,200 from the state, unless it's a full scholarship from the college in which case I think most only pay for half of the fees.

tinz18

Sometimes you can get lucky, keep an eye out on websites like indeed.ie. I got a two year funded research masters in biochem from stumbling across it hile looking for another job. I get 16000 a year and its progressing to a phd but it varies majorly.

jantheman91

tinz18 wrote: »

Sometimes you can get lucky, keep an eye out on websites like indeed.ie. I got a two year funded research masters in biochem from stumbling across it hile looking for another job. I get 16000 a year and its progressing to a phd but it varies majorly.

Cheers. Really didn't think you'd get 16,000 for doing a masters. You're lucky.

tinz18

Yep tbh I didn't think so either but since I've seen a couple that high. It depends on who's funding it and how lucky you are to beat the competition to it. I as lucky that my lab had very few females and no irish and my professor had to balance it out somehow so it was two birds one stone with me :P

jantheman91

tinz18 wrote: »

Yep tbh I didn't think so either but since I've seen a couple that high. It depends on who's funding it and how lucky you are to beat the competition to it. I as lucky that my lab had very few females and no irish and my professor had to balance it out somehow so it was two birds one stone with me :P

Do you mind me asking where you're doing it?

tinz18

No not at all. Its in UCC but the funding is from the department of food and agri

Lockstep

Check out abroad. Masters funding is very thin on the ground but it does exist. I got a scholarship to do an LLM in the UK. If there's masters funding for law, there'd almost definitely be funding for a science masters.

jantheman91

Lockstep wrote: »

Check out abroad. Masters funding is very thin on the ground but it does exist. I got a scholarship to do an LLM in the UK. If there's masters funding for law, there'd almost definitely be funding for a science masters.

Have checked everywhere and can't find anything.

I don't fancy undertaking a PhD as i'd lose interest very quickly.

I don't see myself as having many options as companies won't employ without at least 12 months experience in their field.

I'm in a catch22 here.

Don't do a PhD - remain unemployed
Do a PhD - perhaps lose interest and drop out

I would do a masters but I really don't have 7,000 euro to do it.

I'll probably be left with no alternative than to do a PhD and cross my fingers i'm capable for it.

tinz18

Ick... make sure that you're very very interested in the PhD you're doing because if you go in with the attitude that you'll lose interest then you're crocked from the beginning...some PhDs allow you your masters if you don't manage the PhD, its worth checking out.

djpbarry

jantheman91 wrote: »

I was just wondering if it's possible (and if so where/how) to get a fully funded master's course.

That depends. Are we talking about a taught masters? In that case, yes, it will be difficult to get funding. However, if you’re referring to a research masters, then I would say they’re not worth doing unless they’re funded.

jantheman91 wrote: »

I just graduated from Trinity with an honour's degree in Microbiology (II.1) and will find it very difficult to get employment without further qualifications.

Really? Because the last time I looked there were quite a few microbiology lab jobs going in Ireland.

jantheman91 wrote: »

I don't see myself as having many options as companies won't employ without at least 12 months experience in their field.

Ah, 12 months is nothing. Just apply for them and see what happens. Remember, a job description is a wish-list drawn up by the employer (or recruiter) – you don’t have to tick every box to get the job.

jantheman91 wrote: »

I'll probably be left with no alternative than to do a PhD and cross my fingers i'm capable for it.

It all boils down to your reasons for wanting to do a post-grad. If it’s purely just to put on your CV as an additional qualification, then I would say don’t bother. You’re better off persisting with your job search and trying to get some real world experience, even if it’s not directly related to your degree.

If, however, there is a specific Masters that you really want to do, then explore funding options.

With regard to a research masters, they are rarely advertised as such. Pretty much every PhD student starts off as an MPhil student, until such time as they demonstrate their ability and commitment to completing the PhD, at which point they complete some sort of transfer procedure, which often includes a mini viva and/or putting together a short thesis. So, if it’s a research masters you want, it’s PhD positions you should be looking at. Even if it’s not explicitly stated as such, and things don’t work out, there’s generally the option to write up a masters and cut your losses after a couple of years. But (and this is a really big “but”), if you approach a potential supervisor with anything less than 100% enthusiasm, they’re going to be very wary.

Furthermore, as I've said on this forum numerous times, doing a PhD in an attempt to enhance your job prospects is a really, really bad idea.

jantheman91

djpbarry wrote: »

That depends. Are we talking about a taught masters? In that case, yes, it will be difficult to get funding. However, if you’re referring to a research masters, then I would say they’re not worth doing unless they’re funded.
Really? Because the last time I looked there were quite a few microbiology lab jobs going in Ireland.
Ah, 12 months is nothing. Just apply for them and see what happens. Remember, a job description is a wish-list drawn up by the employer (or recruiter) – you don’t have to tick every box to get the job.
It all boils down to your reasons for wanting to do a post-grad. If it’s purely just to put on your CV as an additional qualification, then I would say don’t bother. You’re better off persisting with your job search and trying to get some real world experience, even if it’s not directly related to your degree.

If, however, there is a specific Masters that you really want to do, then explore funding options.

With regard to a research masters, they are rarely advertised as such. Pretty much every PhD student starts off as an MPhil student, until such time as they demonstrate their ability and commitment to completing the PhD, at which point they complete some sort of transfer procedure, which often includes a mini viva and/or putting together a short thesis. So, if it’s a research masters you want, it’s PhD positions you should be looking at. Even if it’s not explicitly stated as such, and things don’t work out, there’s generally the option to write up a masters and cut your losses after a couple of years. But (and this is a really big “but”), if you approach a potential supervisor with anything less than 100% enthusiasm, they’re going to be very wary.

Furthermore, as I've said on this forum numerous times, doing a PhD in an attempt to enhance your job prospects is a really, really bad idea.

Cheers.

Most jobs are QA and I find that rather tedious.

Despised having to study it in college but nontheless I guess it's something.

I'd rather find something that involved lab technician.

Cheers nonetheless.

djpbarry

jantheman91 wrote: »

Most jobs are QA and I find that rather tedious.

Fair enough, but they may be worth exploring for the sake of getting some hands on experience in a lab environment.

jantheman91 wrote: »

I'd rather find something that involved lab technician.

Have a look at this site:

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/search/?csrf=3e1e533f31f6b935b498ab15fd7ef7c05f87be28&category=0400&keywords=&category=0405&jobtype=05&salary_from=&salary_to=&x=47&y=10

It's generally pretty UK-centric, but you'll also find vacancies in Ireland and continental Europe advertised.