Postgrauate: Exploiting another level on the ladder of learning

AFTER A decade and more of lessons and homework, lectures and essays, over 350,000 university graduates will take the plunge into the world of postgraduate education in September. While many would consider the desire to stay in education for another two or three years sheer madness, after the exam stress and financial nightmares of undergraduate life, the choice of institutions and the variety of courses on offer make postgraduate education very tempting.

Jeremy Hoad, general secretary of the National Postgraduate Committee (NPC), says: "Students are tending to take up postgraduate degrees to overcome the perceived deficiencies that undergraduate degrees have since the expansion of higher education. With so many graduates chasing the same jobs, many feel that they have a greater chance of getting the job they want if they `arm' themselves with a postgraduate degree."

The term "postgraduate" is a very generic one. You can be doing an MSc in the Technology of Crop Rotation at Reading, or a PhD in Social Psychology at Aberdeen. Not only are the two completely different in content, but so is the structure of learning.

A research-based degree, such as a PhD for example, involves the student researching a specific topic, with their work leading to the production of a 100,000-word thesis which "must push forward significantly the frontiers of knowledge in the particular topic". Simply put, this means that to gain a PhD a student has to discover and prove knowledge that nobody else has come up with.

Taught courses involve just what they imply: students have to turn up to tutorials and are expected to produce regular "bite-sized" chunks of work, such as writing essays and sitting exams. These taught courses are by far the most popular. Figures from the Higher Education Statistical Agency show that in 1996 (the latest figures available) there were roughly 260,700 students on taught postgraduate courses, while there were 89,900 on research-based courses.

After a decade and a half of lessons and lectures I began working towards an MPhil at the University of Liverpool, researching the subject of the delivery of humanitarian aid to refugees. This required 12 months of very hard graft, culminating in the production of a 60,000-word thesis. Doing a research degree can feel like a very "grown-up" thing to do. The onus is squarely on you to motivate yourself to work as there are no classes or essays or exams.

With the freedom that this type of course brings though, there are downsides. The lack of structure can become a handicap in itself as it is almost impossible to tell when you will have finished the long process of research, writing, and then to top it all off, the editing of over 200 pages of text. Not a pretty job! Which means planning for your life after education can be a pretty hit-and-miss affair.

While a taught course does not offer the same degree of freedom, it does offer the student a much clearer idea of the expectations and requirements of a postgraduate degree. Jo Goatman, 23, completed her part-time MA at Goldsmith's College, part of the University of London, late last year. Her Communication, Culture and Society course had a typical taught-course structure. Over the two years of her course, she had two to four hours of lectures a week, and had to produce a 5,000-word essay for each of the six units of the course. She also had to research and write a 12-15,000- word dissertation on a subject of her choice, and sat exams for each of the units of the course during the summer.

"I didn't really think too much about the details of the courses that were offered when I was looking for a postgrad course," she says. "I knew basically what I wanted to do, and it was a case of finding a college that provided the course I was looking for. Goldsmith's was famous for its study of contemporary culture and it seemed to be a pretty cool place to go and learn stuff."

Choosing the right course sounds obvious, but it is vital if being a postgraduate student is to be worthwhile. Jeremy Hoad says that students must work out their intentions for when they finally leave university and their requirements for that.

"The first thing any institution must ask a prospective postgrad student is why the student wants to do the degree, and then to outline exactly what the course will entail," he says. "If there are no clear expectations of what a postgrad degree will involve, then students can quickly become disillusioned with what they are doing."

This disillusionment is not rare and is fuelled by the perceived isolation that some postgraduate students feel when embarking on years of further study. The transition between being an undergraduate and a postgraduate can be very difficult for some who may well have moved to a new city, are far away from old friends, and are having to deal with a far more advanced academic course.

The essentially lonely life of a research-based student means that it is important to remember that there may be times when you feel like there is nobody around to turn to; there are sometimes no classmates who are in the same boat as you to help you out. So if you aren't fully committed to the course, then you can be in danger of giving it all up. This is not to say that doing a taught course completely protects you from this, but the NPC accepts that research-based students are more susceptible.

There are many good reasons for doing postgraduate education. At no point in your academic career can you spend so much time studying a subject that you really enjoy and are totally fascinated by, which can make those years of school and college work all seem worthwhile. Before signing your name on the application form though, make sure you are doing exactly the right course for you. And remember a research degree can be personally very fulfilling. A taught course, however, offers a far greater degree of structure to your study and your life. The choice is simply yours.