Postgraduate advice.

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As you may or may not know or care, I'm seriously considering doing an MA while working at Exeter University, the question is should I do it in English & Film (I work in the audio/visual dept. of the library and know most of the staff well, and they're confident I could do it well), or do I see if I can do it in Sociology/Philosophy, specialising in cultural philosophy/sociology of music?

Pop music and philosophy are my two favourite things, but English/Film may be more useful/recognised...

My BA is in Media & Popular Culture w/ Philosophy...

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 10:27 (twenty-two years ago)

(New "yes yes YES do philosophy and pop music!" answers re-affirming my belief that I should do a Masters in my hobby please!)

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 10:29 (twenty-two years ago)

YES do philosophy and pop music! if it's what you're more passionate about your work will be better and you will enjoy it more, of course.

also, the more that intelligent and passionate people study things like this, the more 'recognised' and respected they will become in relation to the more traditional courses. so you'll be on a mission to INCREASE THE RESPECT. which is great! do it!

― pete b. (pete b.), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 10:33 (twenty-two years ago)

I was reading a book by Andrew Blake last night (The Land Without Music) and I definitely got that sense of missionary righteous ire in my chest - "pop music is hideously important and needs to be recognised as such and studied outside of the restrictive circles of musicology and technology".

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 10:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes Yes Yes do philosophy and pop music! I don't think that English and Film would be more 'useful' necessarily, it's not like either of the areas are particularly vocational. It kind of depends on your reasons for wanting to do it. Do you want to be 'qualified' for something, or just study something you love? If it's the latter then go with your hobby, of course!

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 10:37 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm doing a masters in film at Birkbeck and actually doing quite a bit of it on pop music (and the musical natch) - so it kind of depenbds what side of the cultural/media studies stuff you want to do. (And the FIlm dept in Exeter is very highly regarded). I don't think you would have any trouble qualifying for either, my first degree was in Maths & Philsophy after all. But agreed with Archel, neither would be particularly useful. Try to work out what you want to do your dissertation on and see which one it fits in better. A lot of the theory in film on reception snuggles up nicely with the sociology/anthropology side of cultural studies (and is often woefully undersone or wooly).

Nick, do a masters in yr hobby = grebt.

― Pete (Pete), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 10:42 (twenty-two years ago)

I love you all.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 10:47 (twenty-two years ago)

If only my hobby were the Dewey system, I might be persuaded that the masters I'm applying for will benefit my soul as well as my career...

Oh well. Working in a university = FREE postgrad courses = maybe I'll just do another one afterwards :)

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 11:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Do the Masters in whatever you want to learn about UNLESS you have some career aspiration which you want the Masters for, in which case do something tedious and vocational. Perfect solution = fabulous and interesting and vocational. This is not necessarily achievable (and not even necessarily desirable: sometimes it's good for job and passion to be separate.)

― Tim (Tim), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 11:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Use the Force. Reach out with your feelings. Your thoughts betray you. You want to do Soc/Pop/Phil, so that is what you must do.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 11:18 (twenty-two years ago)

jel OTM is.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 11:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Argh, today I'm testing out a potential new barcode scanner which looks like a lightsabre = conclusive proof that I should do soc/phil/pop!

Pleased I am.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 11:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I've spent the day talking to various people, and I'm slowly being pointed in the direction of an MPhil... Which is scary, but potentially ace. I'd like to be Dr Pop.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 16:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm going to do an MA in creative writing--go me for useless degrees! I'm really excited about it, though.

― Mandee, Tuesday, 25 March 2003 17:42 (twenty-two years ago)

its easier to do what you enjoy most, i think, you'll do better cos you are passionate about it. go with pop music and philosophy.

― di smith (lucylurex), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 22:14 (twenty-two years ago)

not film - too many film grads w/out any creative outlets who are going mad (1/2 my group of friends sit in this unhappy camp). do pop music and philosophy! the phil will give yr studies a spine and the pop will make it fun - perfect combo - you'll fly and have fun and people will trust yr brain.

― Clare (not entirely unhappy), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 19:50 (twenty-two years ago)

ten months pass...

what can people tell me about LSE? I'm seriously considering doing an LLM (taught) or MPhil (research) there. whereabouts in london is it? how much are rents? anything tell me everything, I'll appreciate it. I'll drop in with more questions as I think them up.

― cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 21 February 2004 15:28 (twenty-two years ago)

oh I'd be doing it on some branch of the criminal law (which is why I've chosen LSE: Nicola Lacey, Robert Reiner) (I would stay at Glasgow as it probably has the best criminal law professor in the country but I'm sick of it, remember?) probably to do with or relating to evil (EVIL!) in the criminal law.

― cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 21 February 2004 15:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Don't do an MA. It's a waste of time. No one I know who did one (myself included) improved their employment chances. It's waste of money and time and you'll thank me for this.

― C-Man (C-Man), Saturday, 21 February 2004 15:37 (twenty-two years ago)

LSE seems pretty good. I have a friend lecturing there at the moment, but not in yr. discipline.

― suzy (suzy), Saturday, 21 February 2004 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Argh. Don't revive this. Reminds me that almost a year later I've not done anything about it, despite having various members of English staff badger me about doing an MPhil/PhD.

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Saturday, 21 February 2004 16:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Are you sure that Rob Reiner is a top law teacher? I mean, I guess he's more entertaining than most such, but is he really an expert?

I'm not sure that MAs are much use myself, but I don't know your profession so I might be off target there. In general I don't see employers ask for them, and if you want a more academic career I'd have thought a PhD would be a better route.

LSE is pretty central, so rents are very high - I've no idea what sort of student residences they can offer, but I don't think master's students are generally high on their priority list. You'd probably have to get used to a journey to college.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 21 February 2004 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

thanks martin. I'm not really thinking about the masters in terms of utility or prospects more in terms of I love the criminal law and would like a chance at taking a run at it. plus I'd love to move to london, if only for a year. is LSE near bloomsbury? I'm sure someone told me that. I'm still looking into this myself, obv., and am working pretty quickly since the deadlines are pretty soon but I appreciate ilxers' help.

― cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 21 February 2004 16:37 (twenty-two years ago)

yes. you could finish 'ulysses' on the train.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 21 February 2004 16:38 (twenty-two years ago)

it's that far?!

― cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 21 February 2004 16:38 (twenty-two years ago)

It's Aldwych really, maybe half a mile from the British Museum, sort of south east towards the Thames. I guess you wouldn't have to go terribly far south of the river, in a SE direction, to find affordable accommodation.

I still don't see why you don't fancy a PhD instead, or do you want a taught course rather than research?

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 21 February 2004 17:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm still just looking into it martin, my tutor only suggested it at the beginning of the week. if I were to do a PhD it would be on the disappearance of evil from the scots criminal law (of murder?). which would be k-interesting.

― cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 21 February 2004 17:26 (twenty-two years ago)

''SE direction''

come and join the sarf london posse cozen!!!

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 21 February 2004 17:28 (twenty-two years ago)

My friend did a criminology MA at LSE. It's a bit full of rich foreign students so it can be hard (though potentially profitable, I guess) to make friends, and the halls are v.expensive.

― N. (nickdastoor), Saturday, 21 February 2004 17:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Colette also did an MA there - ask during the week when she's likely to be online.

― suzy (suzy), Saturday, 21 February 2004 18:45 (twenty-two years ago)

will do.

― cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 21 February 2004 19:06 (twenty-two years ago)

bump, to ask if colette (or anyone else!) could kindly help me with my request for information.

― cozen (Cozen), Monday, 23 February 2004 14:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I did a Msc at the LSE and thoroughly enjoyed it (although I'm probably one of those foreigners mentionned upthread). Socially, the cosmolitan vibe made it a very cool place. It's situated behind Holborn station. I don't think getting a room in one of their halls is that difficult.

― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Monday, 23 February 2004 15:08 (twenty-two years ago)

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