Starting on Master’s

Master’s: Real science

Master’s degree: the titbits I’ve picked up thus far.

At age 21, I am taking on another challenge: A Master’s degree. I am currently doing my MSc in Agricultural Economics focusing on Bio-economic optimisation of surface water and shallow groundwater in irrigation agriculture.

Yes, that might sound like a mouthful, but that’s what a Masters is really about. Immersing yourself in subject knowledge so that after the degree, you could be a ‘Master’. That is the end goal.

The journey however is a double edged sword. What do I mean by that? There is both happy and hectic times. Note: I use the word hectic because I am not necessarily implying bad times but referring to the time where you feel tested and it seems like you are colliding head on with a brick wall.

The good thing is that unlike undergraduate studies, I don’t have to attend classes and write tests. For the purpose of this article, I will refer to the undergraduate activities above as ‘studying’.

Studying does not allow you the freedom to critique and challenge what you are being taught. You are taught and you have to absorb the content. However, in very small instances, this can be a disadvantage.

Master’s: Real science

were taught in school? In addition, for the sake of the exam and test, you had to take it from that perspective you did not agree with because you were not given the opportunity to ‘seek’ evidence to support your perspective? That’s how I describe studying.

With a Master’s degree however, I am given the opportunity to read on all the available content and find reasons to argue the content in the subject matter. If I disagree with an aspect, I can work on it and investigate further.

Thus the key words for Master’s degree activities are: argue, investigate and read. The collective term for the activities I referred to in a Masters will be ‘research’. This is the best part about a Master’s degree.

In addition, the Master’s degree allows you to apply and build on what you learnt in undergraduate studies. Expanding on concepts, verify and validate methods and conclusions made on certain studies to even introducing new ways to solve the same or new problems. I would thus recommend pursuing a master’s degree.

Of course, to successfully pursue a master’s degree, you need to meet all the internal and external requirements in the institution of choice and must have secured funding to undertake the research.