globy321 Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 When you enroll in MSc program, when does a term start and end? Do you have to work/study during the summer if you enroll in MSc program? How many terms are in a year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkles3288 Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 Depends on the program. Msc is typically 2 years but can be more. Yes you typically work all year long (if your Msc is research based, i'm not sure about course based). I suppose you could work less, but then you'd take longer than 2 years and I dont think ive ever seen a grad student take the summer off. And you can start "officially" in sept, jan and may of each year but thats usually a formality. You usually can start anytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 When you enroll in MSc program, when does a term start and end? Do you have to work/study during the summer if you enroll in MSc program? How many terms are in a year? depends on the program. Standard thesis program is 6 terms in a row for two full years. You normally only take courses for the first 2-3 terms and then it is all thesis/research time. It is expected you will normally go to school for those 6 terms straight - you don't leave to get a job in the summer etc. Semesters follow the same ones UG have. Tutitions is due by the way for each term Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 And you can start "officially" in sept, jan and may of each year but thats usually a formality. You usually can start anytime. I've found this to be pretty rare while researching both MA and MSc programs. Unless a program's website specifically states that May/January start dates are available, I wouldn't count on it, although it never hurts to ask. But more often than not, I was told "no." I think it's a funding issue, so maybe if you come with your own funding, it's simpler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopeful Med Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 I was told I could start the research in May and get paid but that officially I would start the MSc in September. I decided against doing one as it is too much work for very little gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 I was told I could start the research in May and get paid but that officially I would start the MSc in September. I decided against doing one as it is too much work for very little gain. Hmmm, why not? You'd just "officially" finish your MSc in 1.5 years as opposed to 2...which would be great, you'd have an extra 6 months to finish your thesis in case something went awry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopeful Med Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 They told me I could not register until Sept 2009 and then finish at the earliest August 2011 but I could start doing research in May 2009 and get paid. From what I understand many people take an extra semester or so to finish that thesis so perhaps December 2011 is the more likely finish date. I've also heard some people taking a full 3 years to do a MSc and even more. I'd prefer nursing or teaching. At least it gets me into a career if medicine does not work out. Plus, nursing might get me a real solid GPA. So I said no the the masters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobynM Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 If all you're looking for is a quick in and out program you want to look closely at the specific program. I started my masters research in May 2006 as a summer research student and officially in the following september. I am defending my thesis in 3 weeks. So it will have taken me 3 full years to finish my completely research-based masters. You are expected to work throughout the summer, but usually get about 2 weeks off. But you just ay tuition for the fall and winer semesters. Plus, in some universities, once you finish your classes and are only doing research you can get reduced tuition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star1234 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 How long your master's takes depends mostly on the luck of your project. Some people start out with a project that ends up going nowehre after a year, and so they pick up a different project and end up finishing in 3 years. I was pretty lucky in that I had a great project and everything ended up working nicely. I started working in my lab in June 2007 but didn't "officially" start as a master's student until September 2007 and just got paid as a summer student from June-August. I already submitted and defended my thesis and will be graduating at the end of the month (May 2009). So it's definitely do-able (and I wouldn't say that uncommon) to complete a master's in 4 semesters (while working through the summers too, obviously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globy321 Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 How do you pick a good project? What should you be looking for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star1234 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 How do you pick a good project? What should you be looking for? Sometimes that can be hard to judge and you just have to go with your gut instincts. I chose my supervisor and my lab (after being interviewed by several profs) because my supervisor seemed like he was actually going to care about me and my project and not stick me in the corner of the lab and leave me to fend for myself. He also seemed pretty chill and wasn't going to be a slave-driver, which isn't a positive experience either. But most of all, pick a lab and a project that you're actually interested in! Research can sometimes be an emotional rollercoaster where you can very easily get frustrated when things aren't working.....so if you're actually interested in your project and what you're trying to accomplish, you'll be self-motivated enough to want to try harder....even when things aren't working. I knew that I wanted to work on p53 and do my master's at McGill.....so, no joke, I googled "p53 McGill" and then emailed all the labs at McGill that worked on p53. From there, I made my decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globy321 Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Did you have to take any courses while in MSc? Did you do alot of presentations while in MSc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globy321 Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Do you know what is the difference between thesis based MSc and project based MSc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star1234 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Did you have to take any courses while in MSc? Did you do alot of presentations while in MSc? haha, I feel like this is a 2-way conversation but anyway.... It depends on the department you're in. In my department, you only had to take 2 classes. Some departments require you to take 3 and I've seen some departments that require as many as 6. So look on the departmental website to figure this stuff out. So basically I took one in second semester first year, and one this semester. Really not too difficult. My department also required you to do 2 presentations (student seminars)....again, one in first year, and one in second year. They also required you to sit in on 3 semesters worth of student seminars and 3 semesters of "guest speakers"....where we basically had a guest speaker every 2 weeks or so and you had to attend at least 50% of them to "pass". So I'd say the course work/extra classes that you have to take aren't really a big deal. You just schedule your experiments around it i.e. you know that you can't do anything thursday mornings because you have student seminars and then guest speakers. But again, this was my department. Check the departmental website and if you can't find the info, email the student affairs secretary for that department that you're interested in. They should be able to send you the info. And I think you're thinking of a thesis-based MSc vs. a course-based MSc.....a thesis-based one, you actually have a project and spend time doing research in a lab (for science anyway). For a course-based one, you spend most (if not all) of your time doing course work (anyone feel free to expand on the course-based MSc since my expertise is with the thesis-based MSc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globy321 Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Thank you for your info. It really clears some stuff up. How were you graded on your MSc? Are you graded only on your thesis or also on your course work? I'm thinking in doing a MSc in Physiology at Western. Are there any disadvantages of doing MSc in Physiology if I'm planning to apply to med school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globy321 Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Did you apply to any med schools? Did you have any luck with your MSc for getting in med school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star1234 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Thank you for your info. It really clears some stuff up. How were you graded on your MSc? Are you graded only on your thesis or also on your course work? I'm thinking in doing a MSc in Physiology at Western. Are there any disadvantages of doing MSc in Physiology if I'm planning to apply to med school? The only thing that I was actually "graded" in were the 2 classes that I took, plus the 2 presentations that I had to give. The guest speakers were either pass or fail, and so was your actual thesis. If you're thinking about doing a master's, I say go for it! I did a master's before applying to med because I was actually interested in research and kind of wanted a break between undergrad and med school. I don't regret it at all, even if I don't get into med this year I wouldn't say there's really any disadvantage to doing a master's, just that it's another 2 years or so that you put off going into med. However, a master's teaches you critical thinking skills that you really can't learn anywhere else, so if anything, it'll help you out in the future. Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 I finished my undergrad in Ontario and then moved out to Alberta to work for my prof on some research projects starting May 2007. By April 2008 I had one publication (primary author), a review we published (co-author), and was done all of my grad courses (had to take 3), and half done my thesis research. My thesis research was accepted for publication by January 2009 and I'm defending in 6 days (could have been done by March this year but wanted to stay a student longer for multiple reason). So, starting early allowed me to learn all of the lab skills and get on other projects sooner. Subsequently I have GREAT funding with 2 of the top scholarships in Canada and just had another paper accepted a month ago that I'm second author on as I did a lot of the earlier work for this project. HIGHLY recommend starting and working for the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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