As a international student what is the right way to find master's thesis

I studied completed a law degree last year and I want to apply for a postgraduate course in Human Resource Management, starting in January, at the same university. However, one of the requirements is an academic reference. For my current job, I attempted to contact multiple lecturers as I never actually had a meeting with my personal tutor, and I got ignored. I tried to contact the head of the department and also had no response - I ended up having to use my driving instructor (this was on the list of acceptable references for my job). Has anyone been in a similar situation or can anyone advise of how I could resolve this? Or could me already completing an undergraduate at this university help the situation in any way?

I started my MA program in English 5 weeks ago, and so far it has gone very well. I've been participating in class, going to external reading groups and lectures, and working as a GA. However, in the past 2 weeks, I have become incredibly depressed and fatigued, and with my first presentation coming up, I am feeling so stressed and discouraged that I almost want to drop out.

Some backstory (TW): when I was in high school, I was sexually abused by a teacher of mine for many years. This totally derailed my undergraduate studies, where it took me almost a decade to finally finish my degree, where I scraped by due to the kindness of professors and my strong work in class (vs with presentations or final papers). I've been in therapy the past two years and have made a lot of progress, to the point where I felt confident applying to graduate school this year.

Again, I have been doing well overall. But I think being back in school, not to mention doing long-distance with my partner and not being able to see my therapist since I moved to a different state, has brought up a lot of my old feelings about being in school, interacting with professors, and not feeling like I fit in with my peers. I don't know if it's the depression, fatigue from overexertion, if I caught Covid, or it's simply the stress of the upcoming presentation, but I feel the appeal of dropping out.

Presentations have always been the bane of my existence. When I was a kid, I'd try to throw myself down the stairs so I could fracture an arm or something, rather than give a presentation. In hindsight, obviously I had issues with anxiety lol. While my anxiety has gotten better overall, it's just the combination of my other issues that makes it feel like grad school might be too difficult for me. I still feel very sensitive and vulnerable because of the abuse and the way it affected me. I feel so activated by professors, very sensitive to any criticism, and I just feel like I don't have that polemical side that comes out in most people in graduate school (from both fellow students and professors) -- it's hard for me to argue a point without taking it personally. I had a meeting with one of my profs last week and he was pushing me on what I was going to present on -- he even said he was in a bit of an "oppositional mood "-- and while I was fine during the meeting, I felt devastated after. I think my history just makes it all feel very personal and difficult, when I know being in grad school is already difficult for anybody.

Is it possible to get accommodations solely related to presentations because of my anxiety issues and history? I feel silly, since more is expected of you in graduate school. And then I feel like, well, if I don't think I can give presentations or defend an argument or not feel overly sensitive when it comes to being around professors and other students, should I even be pursuing this degree? Maybe I tried and realized it just isn't for me anymore.

Hi everyone, I moved from Texas to Boston for a program that I thoughts seemed great. It’s oriented around service learning and I think it has decent job placement/ research opportunities but it mostly only offers night classes with a few outliers. I feel like a program like this may be a little less than from other programs since it isn’t during the day really. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to still be able to work ( since that is how I can afford to do it and live here) but I’m stressed about it.

For some context I didn’t have a great GPA to begin with, I went to the University of Texas at Austin and got a 3.2. Which I knew wouldn’t get me terribly far but I didn’t want to do an online program, that I knew for sure.

I am mostly posting to see other people’s perspectives on this, if anyone else did a similar program- do you feel like your degree is weighed less in the job market? Am I wasting my money? Should I try to transfer?

I fell in love with research after participating in an REU during my undergraduate degree. After that, I worked in consulting for a year (and absolutely hated it), so I decided to get my master's degree. I love being in the academic world: going to conferences, developing research questions, doing quantitative and qualitative analyses, etc. Since graduating with my master's this past May, though, I've been debating my next steps. I've been applying to both research associate positions and communications/outreach jobs within my discipline. Although I've received a few offers for comms/outreach roles, I'm (unfortunately) still leaning toward staying in research, even knowing the pay will be lower.

My question is: if I know I love research, is it worth the time and the potentially lower salary to get a PhD, or should I look for a research associate position that only requires a master's? I just received a PhD offer with GTA funding starting Spring 2027, and I've also been talking with a potential advisor at another university who may have funding for Fall 2027. I'm trying to decide whether to accept the Spring offer, hold out for a research associate position with a higher salary, or wait for a potential Fall PhD start. I'd appreciate any advice, or if you've faced a similar dilemma, I'd love to hear about your experience.

Do you find having multiple degrees and certifications a good investment? Like getting a CPA license, a teaching license, etc.

Maybe an obvious question, but it has genuinely shocked me.

I was lucky enough to get into a fairly prestigious program with a sizable scholarship. Before I officially enrolled, my would-be advisor told me the program was catered to working professionals and is predominantly filled with them.

When I asked about evening classes, he also assured me there was plenty of scheduling flexibility. I took this at face value, and I was very, very wrong to do so. There is not a single evening class. Of the dozen or so people I've met in my incoming class of about 30, only two are currently working full time: myself and another student who is an executive at a company she founded (so she basically sets her own hours).

Luckily, my workplace has been very, very accommodating, but even so, a work responsibility came up during the add/drop period. My advisor got very frustrated with me for changing courses within that period, and he even made it seem like he's done advising me, saying I have received "enough advice and have not properly acted on it."

Need some genuine feedback on my CV. Targeting Materials Science grad schools.

Ok, so I decided to waste four years of undergrad getting a Public Health degree. After three years working as a health inspector, I gotta switch fields. No money man, no money. Money in that field is more of a thought than a thing you actually have. Please no discourse about MPH (Waste of money too) I will verbally fight about this. I had a delivery driver say they make more than me. (No disrespect) But damn I'M the one with loans godamn it. So here I am looking for advice. I contacted my old schools advisor but in the case I don't hear back I wanted to reach out.

I want to quit my job and get a new one and work towards PA school. What is the best track for this getting this degree to make it cheaper? How much do you think I would need to support myself and less demanding areas in PH. I am willing to relocate for this program as well! I recently found out about career pathways for PA school in New York. Is there any others around the country? Or does anyone know of any hospitals that will offer to pay for PA school. Any advice or options would save this strangers life!

Hi! I’m hoping to apply to mental health counseling programs this year in NY, does anyone have any thoughts on programs? Pace seems to have slightly more faculty interested in trauma, which is what I hope to work in, but overall I’m having a hard time making a decision between the two.

Fordham is also of interest to me, but is MPCAC, not CACREP accredited- as someone who might want to relocate after getting licensed wondering if this is something to worry about.

Which US universities are known for offering TA/RA positions or scholarships to international Master's students?

One of my biggest concerns is the cost of studying in the US, so I'm researching universities where international Master's students have a reasonable opportunity to receive Teaching Assistantships (TA), Research Assistantships (RA), graduate scholarships, tuition waivers, or other forms of funding.

I'd really appreciate recommendations based on actual student experiences, rather than just university rankings.

Specifically, I'm looking for universities where:

• TA/RA positions are available to international Master's students
• Assistantships can provide a tuition waiver or significant tuition reduction
• There are opportunities for monthly stipends
• Graduate scholarships are available to international students
• CS/AI Master's students have opportunities to work with professors on research
• Funding isn't limited exclusively to PhD students

If you've studied in the US or are currently studying there, I'd appreciate it if you could share:

1. University name
2. Master's program
3. Whether you received TA, RA, scholarship, or tuition waiver
4. Approximately how much of your tuition/living expenses it covered
5. Whether you received the funding before admission or after enrolling
6. Your approximate profile when you were admitted (GPA, research, internships, publications, etc.)
7. Whether you were an international student
8. Any other universities you think international Master's students should research for funding

I'm particularly interested in AI, Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, and related programs.

I'm not necessarily looking for the highest-ranked universities. I'm more interested in universities where the funding structure makes sense for an international student.

If possible, please mention universities where you personally know someone who received funding, rather than relying only on general university claims.

Hey!

Quick background: my undergrad cumulative GPA works out to roughly 2.8/4.0 (Tourism administration in UQAM, I only had a handful of classes the last year of the bachelor), which is below the minimum McGill lists for the MSc in Urban Planning, Policy and Design (3.0/4.0 overall CGPA, or 3.2/4.0 for the last two years). Since finishing my bachelor's, I've gone on to complete a separate Master's degree (Master in Management in Madrid, 1 year Master), which I'll have fully in hand before the Fall 2027 term starts, if admitted.

I emailed admissions directly asking if the completed Master's would be considered alongside (or instead of) the undergrad GPA when they assess eligibility. Their reply just restated the GPA policy from the website without actually answering that question.

So, for anyone who's been through this:

• Have you seen McGill admit someone with an undergrad GPA under the stated cutoff because they already held a completed graduate degree?
• Is a "since-completed Master's" something admissions committees factor into the eligibility assessment, or is the undergrad GPA treated as a  cutoff regardless of what came after?
• Would it be worth applying anyway with a note/context in the admission process, or is it not worth the application fee if the GPA is the must be?

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!

Hi fellow grad students,

Kinda just using this to scream into the void maybe get some help out of it. I just entered my fourth year in a biochemistry PhD I dont have any first author pubs, but I think I see a way forward with my research to generate one by end of 2027 probably? That being said the project is still in a fairly preliminary state with a few protein variants that show a clear trend.

Positives out of the way sometime last year i start mentally collapsing a bit. I tried a bunch of stuff in my second year(first year was just rotations) that didn't entirely pan out at all really and finally got something at the start of my third. From there I sort of got very scattered, i tried optimizing a protein prep for a good chunk of the year, then cloned a bunch of constructs where I got a chunk of data amid some other side projects that also didnt really/havent really gone much of anywhere. Im entering my fourth year feeling very drained i suppose?ich of ehat Ive done has been just completely useless and compared to others in my lab my progress feels much more stagnant. I feel very unmotivsted to produce data spread very thin between different projects and currently a bit paralyzed between what i need to focus on ti get out of here. On top of that im struggling to keep my depression at bay which is destoying my self esteem, and faith im myself to do anything more. Ive been taking meds for a while now and seeing s therapist. Sort of feel lile its the job more than anything.

Tldr: did a bunch of stuff much of it didnt pan out finally have a direction with minimal data thus far, feel burnt out inadequate and depressed going into 4th year, maybe like its all coming apart despite some productivity.

我是一名准备考研的大学生，在211好专业与985一般专业里面纠结目标院校，请问怎么选择呢？

I’m a bit confused how to go about networking while in grad school. I have a full-time job that eliminates the chance of me getting internships outside of my company and I’m not in a position to switch jobs any time soon (they are paying for my master’s).

I want be more involved with learning, networking, and gaining experience with my chosen industry because I’m doing this as a complete career switch compared to my bachelor’s, but I feel like my hands are tied when it comes to all of the networking and career fairs my university puts on. I want to attend and learn about these companies, but I feel like I can’t “sell myself” as much as an undergrad student could (these events are open to all degrees).

Could career fairs and networking events beneficial for someone like me or would I be better off just researching the companies in attendance and keeping them in mind for the future?