Questions to Ask Masters Program
Questions to ask a masters program before you apply or accept an offer. They cover who actually teaches, the full cost and what funding really goes to students like you, how many people finish on time, how advising works, and where last year's graduates ended up.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Who teaches the core courses: tenured faculty, adjuncts, or doctoral students?
Why ask it
Departments advertise their well-known professors and then staff required courses differently. Ask for the instructor of record for the last two years, which is usually published and settles the question.
How many people started the program last year, and how many finished on time?
Why ask it
The gap between those two numbers is the most honest quality measure available. An office that does not track it, or will not share it, has told you something either way.
What is the full cost including fees, and what does that not cover?
Why ask it
Tuition is rarely the total. Ask about mandatory fees, health insurance, software, field trips and the summer term, since these routinely add a large amount that appears nowhere in the brochure.
What funding exists for someone in my position, and who actually receives it?
Why ask it
Many masters programs fund very few students, and the money often goes to a particular category: domestic, full time, or entering with a specific background. Ask what proportion of last year's cohort received anything.
Can I see the courses actually taught in the last two years, not just the catalogue?
Why ask it
Catalogues list courses that have not run in years. The real schedule shows which specialisms are alive, and whether the electives that attracted you are offered often enough to take.
How much of the program is required, and how much can I choose?
Why ask it
Determines whether you can shape the degree towards what you came for. Heavy core requirements are not automatically bad, but they do mean your reason for choosing this program may never appear in your timetable.
Is it a thesis, a capstone, or coursework only, and can I switch after starting?
Why ask it
This decides how your final year is spent and whether the degree supports a doctoral application later. Ask what proportion choose each route and whether supervision is guaranteed for the thesis option.
Can I work while enrolled, and do students actually manage it?
Why ask it
Programs marketed as part time friendly may still schedule required courses mid-week. Ask when classes are held and what employed students say, rather than whether it is possible in principle.
How are advisors assigned, and what happens if the match does not work?
Why ask it
Advising quality varies more than teaching quality and matters more to your experience. A department with a stated process for changing advisor is a department that has needed one.
Which faculty are taking new students, and is anyone on leave or close to retiring?
Why ask it
People choose programs for one professor who then goes on sabbatical or leaves. This is a fair question, usually answered honestly, and it can change which offer you accept.
Where did last year's graduates go? Can you name employers or programs?
Why ask it
Named destinations are verifiable and vague ones are not. A list of specific employers or doctoral placements is strong evidence; a claim that graduates work across many sectors is not evidence at all.
What do employers in this field think this degree qualifies me for?
Why ask it
Departments and employers sometimes disagree about this. Ask the program, then ask two people doing the job you want, and treat any mismatch between the answers as the important finding.
Is this degree required for the licence or role I am aiming at, or merely useful?
Why ask it
For regulated fields the answer is a matter of fact, including which accreditation the program holds and in which jurisdiction. It is worth confirming with the licensing body rather than the admissions office.
What does the teaching schedule look like: evenings, weekdays, online, in person?
Why ask it
The practical shape of the week decides whether the program fits your life, and it often differs from what the format label implies. Ask specifically whether any required element must be attended in person.
How large are the classes I would be in?
Why ask it
Averages hide the difference between a lecture of two hundred and a seminar of twelve. Ask for the size of the required courses, which is where most of your time will be spent.
What do current students complain about most?
Why ask it
Staff who have talked to their students can answer this, usually naming timetabling, advising or administration. An insistence that there are no complaints means either no one is asking or no one is telling.
Who leaves the program, and why?
Why ask it
Attrition patterns tell you where the strain is: funding running out, a particular course, a mismatch with the workload. It is a more revealing question than asking about the biggest challenges students face.
Can I talk to two current students, including one who has found it hard?
Why ask it
Admissions offices offer ambassadors who are chosen for enthusiasm. Asking for a second, less polished view is reasonable, and how the request is handled tells you about the culture.
What would make you tell someone not to apply here?
Why ask it
A good department has an answer, usually about fit: the wrong research interest, the wrong career target, the wrong expectations about funding. A refusal to name anyone unsuited to the program is a sales response.
If I am not admitted this cycle, what would make my application stronger next time?
Why ask it
Asked before you apply, this is effectively a free review of your profile. The answer tells you what they weigh most, which is often experience or a specific prerequisite rather than grades.
Evaluating a masters program
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Ask the right people
Admissions staff can answer questions about cost, deadlines, structure and process accurately. Faculty are the right source on supervision, research fit and whether a specialism is really active. Current students are the only reliable source on advising, timetabling and workload. Ask each group what they actually know, and be suspicious of any single person who answers all three confidently.
Numbers worth writing down
- Total cost for the whole program, including fees and living, and what you would need to borrow.
- Proportion of students receiving funding, and the median amount.
- Completion rate and typical time to finish.
- Class sizes for required courses.
- Named employers or doctoral programs from the last two cohorts.
Where applicants go wrong
- Choosing on institutional reputation when the department, not the university, is what employers in the field know.
- Assuming funding will appear later. Ask before accepting, since most decisions are made at admission.
- Ignoring accreditation or licensing requirements until after enrolling.
- Talking only to the people the program selected for you to talk to.
- Treating a masters as a solution to career uncertainty. If you cannot say what the degree is for, the answer is usually to wait a year.
Before you accept
Get the offer, the funding and any conditions in writing, and check whether the funding renews in the second year. If you are moving, cost the whole thing including housing, visa fees and health insurance. Then ask yourself the plain question: if this degree does not lead to the job you have in mind, would the two years and the money still have been worth spending.