With the fall term drawing to a close, it’s a good time if you’re an undergraduate student — especially in third or fourth year — to start thinking about whether you might want to strengthen your skills and stand out from the crowd by doing a master’s.
To help guide you, two second-year master’s students, Mykal Ibrahim (master’s in public and international affairs) and Alexanne Larocque (master’s in human kinetics), address some common misconceptions that they grappled with as they weighed the choice to pursue graduate studies.
Myth 1: It’s only extra schooling and won’t make a difference in your career path
Don’t underestimate the importance of networking and the part it plays in shaping your career path. A master’s goes far beyond an extra year or two of education — it’s an opportunity for you to discover a different angle on your current field of study, or to discover an entirely new field.
Myth 2: You should start working and not waste your time continuously studying
A master’s can serve as an investment that enhances long-term professional advancement, equipping you with specialized skills and knowledge that employers value. As you would at work, in your graduate studies, you’re also engaging with peers, learning from professionals, expanding your network and deepening your understanding of your field.
Myth 3: You need to know your exact research topic before applying
Most students discover their true area of interest during their graduate studies. Part of the journey is exploring various aspects of your field of study, engaging with different topics and refining your skills to gradually gain a deeper understanding of how you want to orient your career.
Myth 4: Grad school is only for people who want to become professors
A graduate degree isn’t just a pipeline to academia. A graduate degree equips you with versatile and highly valued skills to pursue careers in industry, government, consulting, non-profits, research institutes and international organizations.
Myth 5: It’s too difficult
Students think the jump from undergrad to a master’s is very difficult. Finding the right supervisor makes a world of difference. Every supervisor has their own way of doing things. Finding someone whose approach and work style match yours is an absolute game changer, because there’s a lot less structure than at the undergrad level. Many students might be scared to start a master’s, but if you surround yourself with the right people, you won’t realize how far you’ve come until you look back at who and where you were before.
Myth 6: You must write and defend a thesis
If you’re not too keen on having to write a long thesis and defend it in front of a panel, there’s a range of short-duration course-based master’s available at the University of Ottawa that offer varying methods of assessment. They can be completed in eight to 20 months and can include a combination of coursework, internships, supervised research papers, practicums and/or co-op.
Be inspired by the huge range of fields to explore through graduate studies.
Watch 60-second videos created by University of Ottawa graduate students that explain their research as part of the uoGRADflix competition.
Browse videos from the 2025 uoGRADflix Showcase and vote for the 2026 People’s Choice Award!
All finalist videos for 2026 will be posted on our YouTube channel and website early next year. Watch them and vote at your own pace between January 12, 2026, at noon, and January 13, 2026, at noon.
The winners will then be revealed online January 13, 2026, at 3:30 p.m.
Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate excellence in graduate research!