I’m thinking about my masters; im still a year or two away and might take a break before depending on how the job market for me is, but i think i want to get it in a foreign country (i’m american). Part of the reason is cost, so my choices of foreign country are largely dependent on whether its significantly cheaper than america. The other reason is i’m an archaeology major and in america, the research is basically all indigenous archaeology, which i’m not super into, partially because i feel like it’s not my history to make assumptions about as a white guy, but also cause i like architecture and there’s not much architecture to look at.

One of the places i’d love to study is Poland; im half polish and have visited relatives there before and really liked visiting; it’s also much cheaper which is great. However, english language programs are limited, especially in any area i’m interested in. I’m not totally against learning Polish, i’m just not very good at it. I’d probably get a little better before deciding completely, but i can’t imagine id achieve fluency.

Has anyone else gotten a masters in a program of a language you dont speak? I know it’s not ideal, but i’m interested in how possible it is.

First semester grad student here and majoring M.S. in Psych. I am still learning to read and summarize research literature which has been super hard (got my Bachelors of Arts in K-12 Education which was more hands-on) and my professor assigned a lit review paper as our final which has to have 10 peer reviewed journal articles as sources included in it due in a month. I am not sure how in-depth my citations need to be but I am a really good writer eventhough I am not sure how to make my writing sound masters level or scholarly.

I am a cs junior and I have been confused about undergraduate research. I am aiming for MS in the subfield I am passionate about. However MS at reputable university requires prior research experience. The thought of getting started in research has been a huge source of fear in me. So I have a few questions hoping someone experienced can answer it:

1. Do you need to be a master of the field to start research, or do the basics count? By basics I mean foundational undergraduate coursework and general knowledge. Is it normal to feel completely unqualified at the start?
2. Are local university positions and cold emailing the only ways to find opportunities? If both methods fail, especially because my home university (and even country) lacks active research positions or faculty specializing in my subfield is there a "third path" to getting research experience?
3. What actually qualifies as "research experience" for an MS application? Does it have to be a peer-reviewed publication, or do deep implementation portfolios, advanced final projects, or structured independent studies count?
4. Is the "stepping stone" MS strategy valid for a PhD? If I do a coursework based or average tier MS to build up my research profile, how realistic is it to use that as a stepping stone to get into a phd program in top US universities ?

I’m seriously considering dropping out. I am one year into my program and even 6 months ago I was already very apathetic about the program and crying over it. I don’t even want to be in that field anymore (my program works towards a specific profession) so I question why I am wasting so much of my time and energy being burnt out and doing assignments when I am not even sure if I want this profession anymore. On top of that my mental health is completely deteriorating when I thought I healed. I was recently diagnosed with anxiety and depression, my doctor is very concerned about me and really wants me to take antidepressants, and I am thinking about relapsing into old addictions/bad habits and just… ending it everyday. My program also specializes in helping other people and I am completely not in that headspace to even help myself let alone others. The only reasons why I might stay are that my parents already paid for so much and I don’t want to disappoint them. They also expect a lot from me and want me to have a stable career, which of course I understand, but at the same time I am so burnt out I do not have it in me to look for a job, and I can barely even work a regular 9-5 job because I get depressed every time I do. I dont know, office jobs just deplete and drain me even if I like the job itself, and of course the depression has come back every time i am in these kinds of jobs. My true passions are jobs that will not make me a lot of money but that’s not sustainable either. So im stuck about what to do, should I stick it through even though it’s ruining my health or should I take a leap of faith and drop out? If i do drop out i will really need to formulate a sustainable plan but if i don’t, i am afraid of what i will do to myself.

How has your experience been? I recently got into a funded program but am getting cold feet considering I have two toddlers. My partner is amazingly supportive, but I've also been the primary financial provider. Curious about your experience or advice you'd offer. Leaving this open-ended because I'm not really looking to be talked into/out of it, just genuinely curious.