How to find a Master’s with a scholarship?

In this article, I am going to describe how you can find a Master’s program with a scholarship. The content of the article is grounded in my own experiences.

Step 1: Make sure you do well in your undergraduate degree.

Generally, a scholarship is offered based on your academic achievements. Therefore, the very first thing you should do is “get that A or A+”. Maintain a GPA (Grade point average) at least above 3.5/4.0. This is very crucial in securing a scholarship due to the competitive nature of the program.

Step 2: Identify what type of Master’s program you want to do.

This is a very important step. There are two types of Master’s,

Master’s by research: involves both course work and research

Master’s by course work: where you only engage in course work

The length of a Master’s by research is two years whereas a Master’s by course work can be completed within 1-1.5 years. In my own experience, there are more scholarship opportunities for Master’s by research. However, it is highly competitive as well. If you have plans of progressing to a PhD, I highly recommend pursuing a Master’s by research.

Step 3: Do publications during your undergraduate (yes, it helps sometimes).

Now you may wonder why one must do publications to enroll in a Master’s program. The simple answer is you don’t necessarily have to do publications, but it helps you through the scholarship process. Remember, getting a scholarship is extremely difficult so, having some publications will smooth that process.

My pathway to Master’s in Japan

Soon after finishing my Bachelor’s degree, I started working in the university as a teaching assistant. A typical workday was packed with lab sessions but some days I didn’t have work. I utilized that time to look for postgraduate opportunities. Internet was my best friend during that time. I remember running to the computer lab with my friends and spending hours searching on the internet. Remember, at this point, I had already completed my IELTS.

Sites like Scholarship.com and Find a Masters helped me in exploring scholarship options. I soon began writing to professors all around the world. Since I wanted to do a research Master’s degree, approaching university professors with similar research interests was an essential step. I sent over 60 emails to different parts of the world (UK, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan). But the response rate was a little over 20%. Nevertheless, I didn’t give up. Some applications got rejected as well, but I didn’t lose my hopes.