What postgraduate degree should I do? The psychologist gives tips

Hello friends!

Continuing our series of texts on Professional Guidance, today we are going to talk about postgraduate studies. During graduation or after graduation, a common question for professionals and students from all areas is which postgraduate course is best to do. Given my experience – I have a master’s degree, I’m doing a doctorate and I’ve already attended a specialization postgraduate course – I believe I can help anyone who is in doubt. The tips in this text are valid not only for psychology but for all branches of knowledge.

Every decision requires us to know the possibilities. So let’s first see what are the possible postgraduate courses available:

Before we talk about the types of postgraduate courses, it is important to emphasize that postgraduate courses are for those who have already graduated in Higher Education. That’s why they have this name. post-graduation, that is, they are courses to be taken after the graduation. As a result, for any selection process, colleges and universities ask that the candidate has an undergraduate degree.

However, here things start to get complicated, or rather, they start to get more interesting. See the question:

Is it possible to have an undergraduate degree in one area and graduate in another?

Yup. However, everything will depend on what the college or university will require. For example, it is possible to do a postgraduate degree in law with a degree in engineering – as long as the course allows someone trained in the exact sciences – engineering – to enroll. Whether an engineer will be able to work, after the course, in the area specific to lawyers is another question that must be researched before enrolling.

But before we get into the specific topic with the tips for choosing powder, let’s talk about the types that currently exist:

Postgraduate Latu Sensu

The name is a bit strange but what Latu Sensu means is simple. When we do a latu sensu graduate course, we specialize in a certain area. For example, I have a degree in psychology and am doing graduate work in clinical psychology. This part of psychology will be the object of my study, which will be general throughout clinical psychology.

Postgraduate Stricto Sensu

In opposition to the Latu Sensu Post-Graduation, stricto sensu post-graduation will be specific, with two types: the master’s and the doctorate (in addition to the post-doctoral, the Phd). So, following the above example, instead of studying clinical psychology in general – with the various authors or the general work of a single author – I will specifically study a single book, a single topic, a single problem within that vast area more general.

Most of the time, master’s and doctoral degrees are taken by people who intend to teach, to be a university professor.

Master’s degree

The master’s degree is therefore a stricto sensu postgraduate course and lasts for 2 years. Master’s students also take more general disciplines – such as latu sensu specializations – which last, on average, one year. Then, in the second year, he dedicates himself to writing his master’s thesis. A work similar to the TCC, Course Completion Work, of graduations, but more detailed, complete and bigger. To write the master’s thesis, the student has a supervisor who will help him to research the appropriate material to answer the specific question of the research project.

Doctorate degree

The doctorate scheme is similar to the master’s, varying more in time and scope of the final work. The doctorate has a duration of 4 years. In general, one year of general disciplines in the line of research and the rest for writing the doctoral thesis. Unlike the master’s degree – in which originality is not required – in the doctorate the research has to be original, that is, work that contributes to the development of science or the area of ​​knowledge of the graduate program.

Differences between specialization, master’s and doctorate

In addition to the basic difference between the level of depth of study – the more general specialization and the more specific master’s and doctorate – another big difference is related to the payment of monthly fees. Generally, specializations are offered by private universities and cost an average that varies from half a salary to a salary or more. That is, the student who intends to attend graduate school to specialize in an area of ​​knowledge will invest an amount to obtain the diploma.

On average, postgraduate courses last 2 years or 24 monthly fees.

Master’s and doctoral degrees, although offered by private universities, are traditionally offered by public universities. Here, instead of paying to study, students can receive a master’s scholarship (currently 1350 reais per month) and a doctoral scholarship (currently 2200 reais per month) until they complete their research. Although the scholarship may not be offered to all students or during the entire research period – sometimes the scholarship is awarded after a few months – offering scholarships can be a differential.

Do you want to receive to study? Learn more about scholarships

Many students use their master’s and doctoral degrees as their first job, as their first salary after college. However, it is important to point out that the master’s and doctoral degrees aim at an academic career, becoming a university professor, rather than the specific application to the job market in general, such as postgraduate courses.

In addition, the student who takes a master’s or doctorate at a private university may not only not pay the monthly fees, but also receive a scholarship from the government. The procedure is normally carried out by the university itself or the student can obtain a scholarship directly from Capes, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel.

Which postgraduate course should I choose?

After we already know the types of postgraduate courses, we can move on to the question about which postgraduate course to choose. I will say a little about my experience and the way I chose it, because I believe we can simplify the process of choosing this way.

Between post latu sensu or stricto sensu, the question that must be asked is: “Do I want to be a professor teaching undergraduate, graduate, masters and doctoral courses?”

If the answer is positive, it is right to choose the master’s and the doctorate. There will be another 6 years of detailed and specific studies to obtain the Doctor’s degree. After the doctorate, it is still possible to do the Post-Doctorate – which lasts between a few months and 2 years – and be a Phd. I say that it is right to choose the master’s and doctorate because these courses are directly aimed at higher education. As we are talking about a professional decision, the objective, of course, is to obtain a degree that can be useful in the job market. And the master’s and doctor’s degree is useful precisely for teaching in colleges and universities.

However, it is possible to do a master’s and doctorate for other reasons, such as to gain more knowledge or even to receive incentive grants, which are actually not that low. The postdoctoral scholarship, for example, currently pays around 3,700 reais per month.

In the exact areas, the master’s degree can also be useful for a more in-depth specialization in a certain useful knowledge for a work specialty. I once knew an engineer who had a master’s degree in strength of materials and worked in a large aircraft factory. But this type of training is a little rarer. Generally, companies are more satisfied to have an employee with a postgraduate degree (latu sensu specialist) than an employee with a master’s or doctor’s degree.

With what I said above, the person who doesn’t want to be a teacher, who doesn’t want to teach, can choose a latu sensu postgraduate course and specialize in one of the branches of knowledge of their graduation or related graduations. Here it may seem even more difficult to choose with this idea that it is possible to do a postgraduate degree in an area that was not exactly the area of ​​graduation.

For example, I might have a degree in psychology and do a graduate degree in translation or history or philosophy or economics. Anyway, the list would be too long. What is needed, again, is to know in advance the objectives and whether the objectives can be achieved with the degree after the course is completed.

So here we go: if your goal is just to gain new knowledge, any postgraduate degree that interests you will be useful. Now, if your goal is to have an extra degree to differentiate you in the job market, everything will depend on which area of ​​the job market you want to work in.

Imagine that I am a psychologist and I want to work with school psychology. With this objective in mind, I can search for specific postgraduate courses that combine the two areas of psychology + education. And, researching the area in depth, I can begin to see that a postgraduate course in psychopedagogy would be better than a postgraduate course in school psychology. So the tip is that you already have in mind which area you want to specialize for the market and, with this objective, search for nearby areas.

Maybe it’s good to first broaden the horizons. Instead of closing on school psychology, I can expand and think about psychology + education, therefore. With this, I can research postgraduate courses in education, postgraduate courses in the area of ​​pedagogy or even postgraduate courses in the philosophy of education. With this, I open up my range of options and (having already been limited by area), I can see exactly what I want to achieve.

Conclusion

Choosing a postgraduate course can be as difficult as choosing an undergraduate or college. This is because the postgraduate course can be in an area close to the college, it does not necessarily have to be in the same college, it can be in related areas. In addition, there are some types of postgraduate degrees that can also help to confuse those who are thinking of continuing their studies. In the text, I show the types of postgraduate degrees (latu sensu or stricto sensu) and give tips on how to decide for one or another form of postgraduate degree, in addition to showing what to think about before making the final decision.

See also the comments below!

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