The GRADSearch Formula for Your Masters Degree Search
Figuring out the right step forward when looking into your postgraduate options overseas can be overwhelming. The task of narrowing your masters degree search down to your requirements could involve hours of research. Thankfully, with a comprehensive search tool like GRADSearch, half the work wraps up with a simple keyword search. And for the other half, including making sure you’re meeting the IELTS English requirements, you have the Gradstar Student Success Consultants to support you every step of the way!
Let’s explore your master’s degree opportunities in detail to get you going!
Why Commit to a Master’s Degree?
If you are reading this piece, you are likely strongly considering a master’s program already. As you start your masters degree search via GRADSearch, it is important to have a clear understanding of your goals. You are about to commit time, money, and effort into a program abroad. Therefore, it has to align with what you are hoping to achieve with the degree.
In other words, the ideal master’s program overseas will help accelerate you towards your future career and life goals. Understanding your goals clearly helps you critically compare your program options to find the one that best lines up with your objectives.
Here are some of the goals you may want to consider while exploring your list of university courses via GRADSearch:
Upskill or Re-skill
Are you planning to build your career competencies in your current field? Or are you planning to branch out into a different field? This can determine the right course option for you. Master’s programs focus on building specialist knowledge and skills, usually with professionals in mind. They provide a more intensive academic approach in a particular niche or specialization than bachelor’s programs do.
Some of these programs target applicants with prior experience in the field who want to develop their competencies further. For example, you might find that MBA degrees accept applications only from students who hold business degrees and have prior work experience in specific roles. These are good programs to consider if your goal is to upskill – that is, to build upon your existing knowledge, skills, and experience.
Upskilling is a great way of boosting your career opportunities in your field. With a master’s degree, you indicate to employers the specialist qualifications you hold. This can help accelerate your job prospects higher up the corporate ladder. In turn, you enjoy perks like higher paygrades and greater role flexibility!
Other programs will accept applicants from any field, as long as they meet CGPA requirements and hold a recognized bachelor’s degree. Include these programs in your masters degree search if you are considering transitioning into a different career path or branching into a different field. Reskilling through programs like this helps you quickly develop career-relevant knowledge and competencies at the level employers are looking for.
Work Experience
Is developing practical experience as part of your training an important objective for you? Employers prefer candidates with practical work experience in their qualifications. The great news is that you can discover a list of postgraduate courses with built-in work experience options! Keep an eye out for these in your masters degree search if work experience is a key reason you are pursuing postgraduate education.
In the UK, for example, work placements and internships can comprise up to 50% of your program. Australian universities also offer these opportunities to build up your hands-on professional experience side-by-side with classroom learning. In Canada, co-op programs are very popular – these alternate semesters of classroom study with practical work experience in relevant industries.
There are plenty of perks to master’s degree programs with mandatory or optional work experience. Firstly, there is no better teacher than hands-on learning. You will pick up skills, knowledge, and expertise in practical and applicable ways when working in your field better than from textbooks. Look out for universities with rich industrial partner networks and career support services. These universities will support you in finding relevant work opportunities!
Post-Study Opportunities
Is getting plenty of subject-relevant work experience at your study abroad destination a goal for you? To follow up on our previous point, work experience as part of your overseas degree isn’t just great for building job-relevant skills and networks. You also get the chance to develop the skills and qualifications relevant and in-demand at your destination.
By developing work experience in the context of the industry and economy you are studying in, you can unlock post-study opportunities in these countries too. For example, STEM students in particular programs can access a 24-month extension for the post-completion Optional Training Program (OPT) in the USA. In Australia, recent changes to visa requirements intend to encourage students with in-demand qualifications to pursue longer-term immigration routes. Meanwhile, in Canada, starting in 2024, Master’s degree graduates are eligible for Post Graduate Work Permit extensions of up to three years!
If you wish to work and live at your study destination after graduation, consider the programs that will create these pathways for you. Speaking of which -
Growth Sectors
Career opportunities are one of the primary reasons prospective postgraduate students start a masters degree search. To accomplish your goal, it’s important to have a future focus and consider whether your field aligns with growth sectors.
In Australia, for example, the government projects massive growth in fields like computer science and information technology. Fields like healthcare and medicine have consistently high demand, in Australia and globally. This creates a spillover effect whereby universities work closely with industry professionals to match program offerings to industry needs. Governments and employers, in turn, are eager to hire candidates with these job-relevant credentials.
As a result, finetuning your program search to keep growth sectors and career opportunities in mind sets you up for success. If you want to study in Australia, for example, consider the skilled occupation categories the country is most keen to hire in. Explore the job outlook of fields you’re considering with resources like the Canadian government’s official job bank.
Committing to a one-year or longer master’s degree is an investment in many ways. You want to be sure of the return on investment in the long-run before making your choice.
How GRADSearch Simplifies Your Program Search
GRADSearch is a comprehensive tool with a continuously updating database of over 130,000 programs from almost 30 countries. You can explore the list of university courses matching your needs from over 3,000 universities through a single platform with GRADSearch! This saves you plenty of time and toggling back and forth across a hundred tabs, since all the information you need is available to you in bite-size, in one place.
The tool prioritizes simplifying your program research and speeding you along the process to applications in an intuitive way. First, you start a keyword search by typing out the subject area you want to explore. Next, you narrow your results down by applying filters, specifying:
• Degree type: full-time or online
• Degree level: master’s or MBA
• Destination
With these quick steps, you will view a list of all the programs that match your requirements in a matter of seconds. These include programs from the best universities at key destinations for studying abroad, like the UK, Australia, Canada, the USA, and Ireland.
For each program, you can preview key information like tuition fees and available intakes. If the program is something you want to explore further, you can jump into an enquiry right away with one of our Student Success Consultants!
Personalized Program Recommendations
You can take your masters degree search a step beyond by starting an enquiry with a Gradstar Student Success Consultant. These experts are destination specialists with years of experience and certifications equipping them to support students throughout their application process.
Alongside your program search shortlist, you can also seek a consultant’s support to personalize program recommendations to you. A consultant gets a clear idea of not only your program requirements but also your student profile through these discussions. Using the same GRADSearch database and the consultant’s experience working with specific destinations, they can match you to programs that:
• Meet your program requirements
• Have entry requirements that you meet and exceed
From here, you can jumpstart the rest of the Co-Design Process®. As the name suggests, Gradstar’s Student Success Consultants collaborate closely with you to help you access your target study abroad opportunities. This includes complete hand-holding throughout the application stages, visa support, accommodation booking, health cover selection support, and beyond.
Rounding Up
With a clear understanding of your goals for postgraduate education and the right tools and experts to help, your masters degree search can be simple and stress-free. You can condense hours of research to a matter of minutes with GRADSearch, and jump right into the Co-Design Process® to tailor your journey to your needs! Discover the right master’s program for you from the world’s best universities, all through a single platform.