Postgraduate Study
Why postgraduate study makes sense
In times of job uncertainty and financial strife, postgraduate study can offer a ray of hope, says Heather Skinner, principal lecturer in marketing and leader of postgraduate programmes at Glamorgan Business School
While the credit crunch is biting hard, many people are faced with a difficult choice – whether to persist in attempting to gain their dream job when unemployment levels are rising, or whether to pursue masters level education. The choice is not always as complicated as it may seem.
A masters degree, often combined with a higher level professional qualification and membership of a professional body is increasingly becoming an essential criteria for either appointment or promotion in certain industry sectors. It is therefore worth exploring postgraduate courses from universities that offer masters degrees which are accredited by relevant professional bodies.
For example, the University of Glamorgan is in the top six UK universities in the field of purchasing and supply chain management. The Division of Supply Network Management is also a CIPS Centre of Excellence and a CIPS Level 7 Executive Diploma accredited Centre. Glamorgan Business School has accreditation from CIPS (The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply) and CILT (The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport), the leading professional bodies of the sector.
Full time students will be registered as student members of CIPS and CILT upon enrolment allowing access to the resources of the professional bodies. Successful completion of logistics, transport, purchasing and supply chain courses at postgraduate level grant the graduate full professional body membership.
Similarly, the University’s MSc Human Resource Management programme has been accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the leading professional body in the sector, and successful students gain Graduate Membership of CIPD.
Decisions between earning and learning are also made easier when considering that many universities offer their postgraduate programmes on a part-time basis or online. Some part-time courses are delivered in intensive blocks taking place on weekends, so there is little impact on a person’s current employment while studying for a masters degree.
In the current economic climate, many employers are less keen to fund an employee’s continuing professional development, and so it is also worth an applicant seeking out those universities offering scholarships and bursaries that support postgraduate study.
As more and more students are encouraged to enter higher education, an undergraduate degree offers less of a chance for an applicant to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive job market. A masters degree can often make an applicant’s CV stand out from the crowd. Certainly, in today’s economic climate, anyone who has recently graduated from an undergraduate programme should seriously consider undertaking a masters degree if they are yet to find employment. Many full-time programmes can be undertaken in one year, and there are a number of universities, including the University of Glamorgan, who have postgraduate courses running twice a year.