A postgraduate student is someone who has already graduated with an undergraduate degree and wishes to pursue higher study. Some students find that being a post graduate is very different because they have to work much more on their own and be even more responsible than in their first degree for organising their own time and motivating themselves. It is for these reasons that you must make sure you enroll in a post graduate course in which you are very interested.

It is likely that as a postgraduate, your needs will be different from when you were an undergraduate. Ask yourself what your expectations are about study at this level and then talk about this with your supervisor very early in your studies. Your supervisor will advise you as to what is expected, and in this sense, he/ she is one of your greatest resources. 

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What postgraduate courses are available?

There are various types of PG courses available such as Graduate Diplomas, Graduate Certificates, Masters, PhDs and Professional Doctorates. These can be coursework and/ or research based. If it is coursework based, then students attend classes and submit assignments in a similar way to undergraduates but the work is at a higher level.Research Masters and PhDs differ from coursework degrees because there is no coursework and often no classes.

The individual student is supervised by a lecturer (their supervisor) who is an expert in the field of study they wish to pursue. The student has to conduct research and write up this research with occasional input from their supervisor.  The highest level of postgraduate study is a PhD. A person who graduates with a PhD is referred to as a Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor for short (an academic doctor as opposed to a medical doctor). For more information about postgraduate research at VU contact the relevant faculty. Check the VU Library Research Resources, or browse the library’s Online Guides page 

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Post graduate writing 

One issue that can confront post graduates for the first time is writing at a much longer length than they have in the past (usually over 3000 words). Writing in a formal academic style is also sometimes an issue.

If you are studying via coursework, your assignments will be longer and more detailed. If you are a Masters or PhD student, you will have to design and conduct a piece of research, analyse the findings and discuss the findings. Have a look at some online resources which deal with Research-based Writing. For research and documenting sources, see Resources for Documenting Electronic Sources from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University.  

Some time is available during semesters for postgraduate students to receive advice and feedback on their writing. For more information, contact the SLU via the contact details on the “about us” section on the SLU Homepage. If you are thinking about employment, VU’s Student Career Development Site is excellent. See also a site by the Graduate Careers Council of Victoria.

If you have any queries about postgraduate studies or writing, or on how this resource could be improved, feel free to leave a reply below!