A master’s degree is not about getting research results

Students would be far better advised to focus on demonstrating their mastery of research skills, says Gordon Message

Published on
June 2, 2021
Last updated
June 23, 2021
Gordon M. Message
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Reader's comments (3)

#1 Submitted by msl_csp on June 2, 2021 - 8:57am
This article does not represent the projects and dissertations that I have supervised or examined. I acknowledge that there are supervisors who are obsessed with using every student project to generate research results but they are not the majority in my experience. In a healthy department with a sizeable body of PhD students and postdocs, there are plenty of opportunities for generating research output. Occasionally, an outstanding MSc student or undergraduate will deliver exceptional results but these should not be taken as typical.
#2 Submitted by inuk on June 2, 2021 - 12:48pm
I've seen some of this happening, but I agree that in the majority of cases, MSc or undergaduates are not exploited for research results. The fact that exploitation does happen is concerning though. But then again, many academics themselves would tell you they feel drained by a system that aims at exploiting their passion for a subject. What I find sad is that there are academics that perpetuate this vicious cycle of exploitation and transfer it onto their students.
#3 Submitted by margasilvestre on June 13, 2021 - 5:37pm
Totalmente de acuerdo, esperamos que adquiera habilidades de investigación, y comprenda, porque lo vive, el proceso de trabajo científico, añadiría, como parte de un colegiado de investigadores

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