{"id":16090,"date":"2021-02-05T08:10:17","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T07:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/?p=16090"},"modified":"2022-01-24T16:11:35","modified_gmt":"2022-01-24T15:11:35","slug":"my-undergraduate-to-postgraduate-journey-at-bu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2021\/02\/05\/my-undergraduate-to-postgraduate-journey-at-bu\/","title":{"rendered":"My undergraduate to postgraduate journey at BU"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>This is a guest blog written by BU graduate Vicki who studied at BU for her \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/study\/courses\/bsc-hons-nutrition\">BSc (Hons) in Nutrition<\/a> and decided to stay here for her postgraduate degree in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/study\/courses\/msc-nutrition-behaviour\">MSc Nutrition and Behaviour <\/a>as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why did I choose BU again?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><u>The nutrition team<\/u><\/p>\n<p>A big part of my decision was based on the quality of the teaching and level of support I had received during my undergraduate degree. If you aren\u2019t a current BU student, I\u2019d recommend chatting to some of our students on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/unibuddy\">UniBuddy<\/a> to ask about their experiences and try to attend a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/study\/postgraduate\/meet-us\/postgraduate-open-days\">Postgraduate open day<\/a> where you can connect with academics and students.<\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15544 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2020\/11\/Open-days-DSC_0034-ADJUSTED-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"BU bunting at Talbot Campus on a sunny day\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2020\/11\/Open-days-DSC_0034-ADJUSTED-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2020\/11\/Open-days-DSC_0034-ADJUSTED.jpg 448w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n<p><u>Discounts<\/u><\/p>\n<p>There are various discounts available, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/scholarships\">scholarships<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/study\/international\/international-fees-funding\/postgraduate-tuition-fees-international\/bu-fee-discounts-postgraduate-students\">graduate discounts<\/a>, these are the two that I was eligible for.<\/p>\n<p><u>Placement opportunities<\/u><\/p>\n<p>I believe the experience gained during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/students\/careers-employability\/find-placement\">placement<\/a>, including networking and potential employment opportunities can be just as valuable as the degree. I am currently completing two placements at the local hospital and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/why-bu\/sportbu\">SportBU<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How have I found postgraduate study so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, 2020 wasn\u2019t just the year I started my postgraduate degree, it was also the year of Covid-19 and the introduction of virtual learning. I have really missed attending BU in person, I love the facilities and chatting with everyone in person. Putting aside the fact I do prefer in person learning, here\u2019s what I think so far:<\/p>\n<p><u>Subject specialism<\/u><\/p>\n<p>My BSc was great for teaching me about nutrition but I wanted specialise in behaviour change and how that can help people to adopt healthier eating habits. So far, the course has given me more insight into motivational interviewing, intuitive eating and we have had plenty of guest speakers who have shared their expertise with us.<\/p>\n<p><u>Transferable skills<\/u><\/p>\n<p>From referencing to time management, everything you learnt on your undergraduate will be so useful for your postgraduate.<\/p>\n<p><u>Course duration<\/u><\/p>\n<p>Generally, postgraduate degrees are shorter than undergraduate courses yet much more condensed. Each of my three undergraduate years started in September and ended after the May exams whereas my postgraduate is a full 12 months.<\/p>\n<p><u>Contact hours<\/u><\/p>\n<p>Usually, my course is only one day per week, however due to the course being delivered remotely it\u2019s now split over two days, with a couple of extra support sessions the first week of every month. So, less contact hours than an undergraduate degree but\u2026<\/p>\n<p><u>Research and independent study<\/u><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/Undergradvs-postgrad.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-16091 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/Undergradvs-postgrad-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/Undergradvs-postgrad-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/Undergradvs-postgrad-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/Undergradvs-postgrad-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/Undergradvs-postgrad-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/Undergradvs-postgrad-125x125.png 125w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/Undergradvs-postgrad.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a>Expectations are far higher at postgraduate level. You should be reading research papers and attending webinars in your own time to help with your understanding and the lecturers are always sending links to these materials. It seems quite intense at first but the journal clubs and group discussions help us to make sense of the information.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16092\" style=\"width: 184px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/thumbnail_image0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16092\" class=\"wp-image-16092 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/thumbnail_image0-174x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/thumbnail_image0-174x300.jpg 174w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2021\/01\/thumbnail_image0.jpg 186w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 174px) 100vw, 174px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-16092\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tidy desk, tidy mind! This helps me to focus and treat my MSc as I would a job.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Would I recommend postgraduate study?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I would absolutely recommend postgraduate study to anyone who feels their undergraduate degree sparked an interest in a specific area, or for anyone who is looking for a change of career. Whatever your reasons, do your research into the right course for you, after all, your entire postgraduate degree will rely on those research skills!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a guest blog written by BU graduate Vicki who studied at BU for her \u00a0BSc (Hons) in Nutrition and decided to stay here for her postgraduate degree in MSc Nutrition and Behaviour as well. Why did I choose BU again? The nutrition team A big part of my decision was based on the&#8230;  <a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2021\/02\/05\/my-undergraduate-to-postgraduate-journey-at-bu\/\">Read more &raquo;<span class=\"sr-only\"> about My undergraduate to postgraduate journey at BU<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":16091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1669,1672,503,1663,1664,12,1667,1641],"tags":[603,1917,2049,146,2060,2103,1149,2482],"class_list":["post-16090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-applying","category-pg-courses","category-health","category-health-social-care","category-postgraduate","category-returners","category-student-blogs","category-teaching-and-assessment","category-ug-vs-pg","tag-bsc-hons-nutrition","tag-graduate-discount","tag-masters-degree","tag-mature-student","tag-mature-study","tag-msc-nutrition-and-behaviour","tag-postgraduate","tag-undergraduate-vs-postgraduate"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16090"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19325,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16090\/revisions\/19325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}