Do I want to go to college to study arts for a PhD or another postgraduate? For more stable employment within the system, mobility is the hard threshold for doctoral qualifications, and many art graduates are in trouble. Recently, we have received many questions from students: should we choose to study for a second postgraduate or doctoral degree?

In today's rapidly developing society, the first step to enter the workplace is to look at the degree. The level of education has become the primary condition to determine the position and salary, so countless students will choose to continue their studies after graduation.

Nowadays, the undergraduate degree of graduates is normal, and the enrollment of domestic graduate students is also expanding. Graduate degrees are no longer rare.

For more stable employment within the system, mobility is the hard threshold for doctoral qualifications, and many art graduates are in trouble. Recently, we have received many questions from students: Should I choose to study for a second postgraduate degree or a doctoral degree?

　　 1. Master's degree vs. doctor's degree of art study abroad

The application of art graduate students has always been a hot topic. In terms of graduate degree courses, almost all art colleges recruit students from all over the world. As long as you meet the professional application requirements, you will have the opportunity to become a member of the graduate students of the university.

Overseas colleges and universities apply for doctorate degrees differently from domestic applications. In terms of degree offering, most art colleges and universities in the United States do not have doctorate courses. Doctoral degree majors in Europe and Japan are more general and more academic, and the length of study is 5+

　　 Therefore, many art majors focus on some of the top British art colleges , such as architecture, communication, art and humanities of RCA. Some more Comprehensive universities also offer doctoral courses in art For example, art history at Columbia University and Yale, design at Harvard, and film studies at the University of Chicago.

RCA offers some specialties of PhD

　　 The biggest difference between doctoral degrees and graduate degrees lies in the depth of research. In different degree courses, there will be different emphasis on teaching content. Undergraduate studies are skills and knowledge; The master's stage is based on the contents of the undergraduate course to stimulate your interest in one of them, and then conduct in-depth research; The doctor is to further ask questions and study what you have studied during your master's degree.

During the master's degree period, people often knew their own research direction, but they did not fully have the ability to dig out and ask questions from the research content. Studying for a doctor's degree is to meet this, and strive to find answers in finding problems.

Introduction to the Doctoral Degree of RCA Architecture

For example, Huang Yi's doctoral program in architecture is Focusing on practical guidance and interdisciplinary research, it has a practical impact on the public and society. It is hoped that students can further study and apply professional content, and Royal College of Art Still very Students are encouraged to carry out interdisciplinary thematic research and adopt new cooperation models between academic and non academic institutions or partners.

Works of RCA architecture doctoral students

In addition, the research at the doctoral stage will emphasize the preciseness and accuracy of written expression more than that at the master's stage. Postgraduate degrees emphasize the independence of learning and the improvement of specialization, while doctoral degrees need to produce a large number of original research and make contributions to research in this field.

Everyone is thinking Art study abroad When applying for postgraduate or doctoral degree, the biggest concern is the difficulty of application. The difference is that more process details and application materials focus on requirements. It is generally divided into three aspects and explained one by one.

　　 2. Similarities and differences in the application of Master of Arts vs. Doctor

　　 Collections vs Research Proposition

In the application for master's degree, the most important is the portfolio project. However, the biggest difficulty in applying for a doctorate lies in: Are you ready for your doctoral research proposition?

RCA Communication Doctoral Application Requirements

Preparing your research topic is the first step to apply for a doctor's degree. If you do not find a clear direction, or the project is not flexible enough, and the future application is not strong, you will be considered not ready, leading to application failure. A clear direction is very important for doctoral research, The first year of doctoral studies is not a direct hands-on operation, but full practice and research to find the proposition that you want to explore in depth.

　　 Research projects vs research "people"

As we all know, a large number of research and practice processes are required in the collection of works of art graduate students, and colleges and universities will also pay more attention to this part when reviewing. To apply for a doctor, you need a large number of doctoral supervisors from research institutions and majors to understand their educational background and research fields, find the direction you are most interested in and the research topic that best meets your own intentions, and customize a document for it.

This is similar to applying for a Japanese college. So To apply for a master's degree, the university should like your work, while for a doctor's application, the tutor should like you and match your research direction.

RCA Design doctoral supervisor

The official website of the school will generally provide the research direction and contact information of the tutor. Before communicating with the tutor, you can prepare the documents and research topics, and draw up an outline of the doctoral research project So that the tutor can know your research direction and personal situation simply and intuitively in advance.

　　 After confirming with the tutor whether there is a PhD quota, the final research proposal can be further adjusted according to the tutor's research direction And then submit the application according to the submission channel given on the official website.

　　 A few hundred words in a document vs. ten thousand words in a document

To apply for art graduate students, in addition to the collection of works, they also need to provide standardized scores and documents. In the document, you need to submit your resume, explain your personal development and future learning plans, and explore the fields you want to study.

Some application requirements for graduate students majoring in architecture in RCA

The difference between applying for a doctor's degree and a master's degree lies in the research plan, which is no longer an arbitrary idea, but a need Analyze and interpret my research direction in depth.

Doctoral degree applicants need to Highlight your independent research ability, put forward your own shortcomings and problems to be solved in your research field, point out the development direction of your research field, and list your creativity and solutions to the research plan.

Professional content required for RCA doctor's degree

In addition to the content, the most obvious difference is that the master's application documents are generally controlled within 500 words, while the doctoral documents need more than 1000 words, and even more content, up to dozens of pages of document support.

From the above analysis, we can clearly see that It is much more difficult to apply for a doctor's degree than for a master's degree . Both early application and later entry into the course require a lot of knowledge reserves and practical experience.

　　 3. How to choose Master of Arts vs. Doctor?

Many students hesitate between continuing to study for a master's degree and upgrading to apply for a doctor's degree. In fact, more depends on Personal professional foundation and future development plan 。

　　 Application phase

　　 In fact, applying for a doctor does not necessarily require a master's degree If the academic achievements during the undergraduate period are very excellent, it is also possible to directly take a bachelor's degree to study for a doctor.

If you have already obtained a postgraduate degree in a major and are interested in other professional degrees, or want to engage in other professional work in the future, you can apply for a master's degree.

However, for applicants who already have master's degrees, colleges and universities will be more strict in application review Depth of research and breadth of thinking Higher requirements.

Relatively speaking, the process of doctor application is difficult and professional. The teaching resources of many educational institutions cannot support the complete and guaranteed services, but Natural light has long been closely connected with overseas colleges and universities, has high-quality international education resources, and the exclusive services of professional admissions officers, so it has rich experience in applying for a doctor's degree.

Doctor Nature Light applies for coaching ace tutor:

Head of UAL Department and doctoral supervisor

Dr.Daniel Rubinstein

Graduated from Oxford University and Princeton University

Dr.Joe Tangea

The senior doctoral supervisors of Natural Light have coached many students to apply for doctoral degrees from prestigious institutions such as the Royal College of the Arts and the London University of the Arts. Their research involves many aspects such as art design and video, and has won international recognition, which has great advantages and help for students to apply.

　　 Future development

For the future development of the two degrees, each has its advantages and disadvantages. Students with doctoral degrees can practice at the stage of study, and can get a one-year work visa after graduation. If they perform well in a year, they can directly get a Tier 2 work visa. After five years of work, they can get a permanent resident in the United Kingdom.

However, the doctoral courses in the art field are more focused on theoretical research, while Master graduates pay more attention to practice and can quickly enter the business model of the workplace in terms of employment , so the job market will be better.

Many students who want to go abroad to study for a doctoral degree want to become teachers in universities after graduation, but in fact, many universities recruit, Dual master's degree and the background of international top universities also have advantages In addition, in recent years, the UK's points immigration policy has provided great benefits for doctoral and graduate students, which is a special treatment for highly skilled talents in the UK, and encourages more talents to stay and work in the UK.

The latest point immigration system issued by the British government

So from this point of view, the degree level does not completely determine the future development. Whether to take another research degree or choose to study for a doctor depends on your future planning. The best one for you is the one that suits you.

Interactive UK Graduate School: British Graduate University of Interactive Design

Architecture Study Abroad Cost of Architecture Study Abroad

　　 Art students studying abroad for postgraduate or doctoral studies

From the above analysis, whether choosing a postgraduate degree or applying for a doctoral degree, it is a process that requires hard work. Although the focus is different, they all need guidance and teaching from professional tutors, as well as information support from overseas colleges and professors.

For many years, Natural Light has been deeply engaged in creating application services for students who love art to study abroad. Whether they are interdisciplinary graduate students or doctoral applicants, they have professional teaching resources and rich successful experience, which will escort every student's application.

Success is not a matter of one day and one night, it requires a lot of knowledge reserves and practice. Define your own development plan, establish the most suitable development goal, and realize your own life value.

This article belongs to the original article of Natural Light International Art Education Team. Without permission, it cannot be reproduced commercially in any form. If it is found, it must be investigated for legal responsibility.