<aside> 🌻 Outlining some of the reasons why I chose to do a Master’s program

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Why a Master’s?

• I enjoy school, and grad school is a great way to stay in school for a bit longer without a significant time commitment
  • For example, the graduate school programs I applied to were all 1-2 years
• Why do I enjoy school?
  • being surrounded by like-minded people with shared interests
  • extracurricular opportunities outside of your specific degree
  • ease of networking with fellow students, researchers, professors, etc. who can support your academic and professional growth
• I wanted to build on my learnings from undergrad, as I felt that with many of the courses I took (especially health entrepreneurship, health policy, health technology) gave me a good introduction to the topic, and I want to continue to build on what I’ve learned
• I am exploring career options, and I believe a Master’s program will allow me to explore career options through class content, assessments, and networking

Why a Course-Based (Taught) Master’s, as opposed to a Research/Thesis-based Master’s

• I am not sure if I have a strong interest in pursuing research as a full-time career, so doing a thesis-based Master’s was not aligned with my career goals
  • although this may be subject to change as I learn more about myself through my MSc
• I didn’t have one specific field that I was interested in and wanted to do research in (for a thesis-based Master’s)
• I wanted to take a wide variety of courses so I could explore topics in-depth (course-based master’s)

What I’m hoping to gain from my Master’s experience

• Studying this specific field of study (translational health sciences) in a classroom where my peers are equally excited about the topic as I am
• Exploring careers in the fields that I am interested in
• Develop my communication abilities and skills, especially through writing dissertation assignments and doing group presentations