この記事は海外の学生に向けて英語で書きました。
(I noticed that there are some people visiting this website from abroad.
Supposedly, they might be interested in online master programme, and this time I am writing an article in English which might perhaps be of some use to international students who wish to pursue their academic goal…)
I am now a postgraduate student at a UK university majoring in fields related to education and psychology.
I have not made use of any study-abroad agents, but gathered all information by myself and made application.
I am writing tips to choose courses and also share some benefits to study online.
One year ago, I had no idea at all which courses I might be enrolling in.
I was interested in postgraduate courses but the study was unrealistic to me; I was lack of any relevant information or unfamiliar with any stories based on other students’ experience.
Then, where did I start and what did I do?
First of all, I made most of the Internet search, and ordered several magazines and books about how to enter overseas universities.
Especially in my first language (i.e. Japanese), I sought every information relevant to studying abroad.
(Meanwhie, I ordered several magazines and books about how to enter overseas universities.)
By doing so, I was able to grasp vague ideas about fees and years requisite for master’s programmes across countries.
However, the severest problem for me at the time was what courses there were available.
The stories uploaded on Google and individual webpages only reveal the writhers’ experience, but they are not systematic.
Magazines and books show some universities but again not comprehensively, and often they recommend universities the companies may be affiliated with (, which is the case for study-abroad agents as well).
What I did was conjure up every keyword which matches my interest, and put them onto course finders on websites of each wellknown university.
Even sometimes I did not put any keywords but read through every master’s programme the university provides.
It took me a huge effort and great amount of time, but I believe it is the most certain way.
I searched almost 50 universities around the world; UK, US, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and other European countries.
After that, all you need to do is to prepare all documents required for application, such as certificates for English ability (e.g. IELTS and TOEFL), recommendation letters (or sometimes called “references”), CV, and a personal statement.
Due to the pandemic, I finally chose to study entirely online.
Whilst it depends on students whether to think it is a benefit or drawback, I personally believe that there are some advantages.
The biggest benefit is that you can save some money. Living in UK, for instance, would cost you more than 7000 pounds (1 million yen), but by staying in your country you can use that fee for your future plans after the study.
Compared with a less well-known university in a different country with low cost, in my opinion you should seek opportunities to study at a more prestigious university studying online saving living expenses.
This article discusses how to apply for postgraduate programmes and benefits of studying online, which I hope is informative. See you soon!