Winter break is officially over. Even though weather-wise the winter fun is just starting, the only snowy slopes that most of us will see the next four months are those of College Hill. The end of one period also means the beginning of another: the second semester. For some students, it's also the final semester. As seniors and graduate students complete the final requirements for matriculation, there is one burning question that is posed again and again: what's next?
This question is particularly pertinent for master's students, a group that in the past has voiced concern about being somewhat of the odd one out at the University. With very little funding and largely without their own clubs — the programs are often too short to sustain such organizations — they navigate a twilight zone that is somewhere between that of undergraduate and PhD students. Master's programs are lucrative for universities but not always valued by professionals. Employers more often than not gear their recruitment liaisons towards one of the two groups, leaving the master's student only two options: to apply to internships and entry level jobs open to those who completed undergraduate degrees or to go for more graduate schooling.
So far, it is mostly individual departments that guide these students — for example, the American studies department, which is my home here, has appointed an advisor for its master's students who gives guidance on matters including course selection to future career plans. It is logical that the departments have a large role, as they are by far the most direct contact the students have, and as such they are the best suited to determine the specific needs of the individual master's students.
While some students still voice concern about the University's standing towards master's students, significant improvements have been made over the past years. Besides funding, which will require a substantial overhaul of the financing system and thus seems far off, master's students face a difficult job market. Particularly for students in the humanities, an M.A. degree does not always lead clearly to a next stage. For some it is a stepping stone to a PhD, while for others it is a conscious choice as the final terminal before entering the job market.
For the latter group, it is particularly vexing that the Brown Student Job and Internship Board often focuses on either undergraduates or PhD students. This is no coincidence, as it mirrors the hiring structures of companies and organizations. Recruitment officers attending campus fairs rarely have vacancies specific for master's students, and sometimes they can only provide an email address to which to direct inquiries. The investment of time in attending fairs then nets only minimal results.
These problems are already increasingly on the radar of the University itself, and the Center for Careers and Life after Brown has founded an advisory council to ensure that its activities better correspond to the specific needs of master's students. It is currently circulating a questionnaire about its performance with regard to master's students to catalog any particular issues they run into. Such initiatives are invaluable.
On an organizational level, the Graduate Student Council at Brown is one of the only Ivy programs that has created a Master's Student Advocate — though other schools are now also moving in this direction. Alissa Haddaji GS, current advocate and fellow American studies student, is one of the first to hold this position. The council's new vice president, Jaclyn Murphy GS, is a public policy student. They are integral in making the voices of master's students heard and should be fully utilized by the different departmental representatives who now do not always directly reach out to the correct council officer. Most goals of master's students overlap with those of other graduate students, which makes cooperation easy. In the end, all graduate students share the objective of high quality education, research and conditions to facilitate these.
Success also requires attention from students themselves. Even if we are only here for a year or two years — for now — and changes initiated now might not be implemented until later, it is only through feedback that the University can fine-tune its policies and smooth over any glitches in the master's system. Sometimes change is only a few mouse clicks away through Morning Mail — CareerLAB's survey for instance. With so many announcements in one's inbox every day, it can be a little overwhelming to locate the applicable one. Navigating the sea of announcements to discover the single one specifically addressed to us is just one part of the art of being a master.
Suzanne Enzerink GS is a master's student in American studies. The CareerLAB survey will be mailed out again. You can also email careerlab_graduatestudent@brown.edu for the link.
