Did you know you can study a completely different subject at Postgraduate level? At Kent, we have a range of Conversion Master’s Programmes where you can learn new skills, improve your job prospects and prepare you for a career in a different discipline.

For example, we offer business, economics and computing programmes for students from an entirely different background, while our Master’s degrees in law or journalism develop your academic and professional skills in new areas. You can find out more here.

View our Conversion Master’s Courses

Other subject areas include:

• Accounting, Finance and Economics
• Analytics and Operations Management
• Computer Science
• Creative and Culture
• Law, Society and Social Justice
• Leadership and Management
• Marketing and International Business
• Social Work, Healthcare and Society
• Professional Development and Education

The list includes some of our most popular conversion programmes but is not exhaustive; you can find more opportunities on the full online prospectus.

What is a conversion course?

Conversion courses are intensive postgraduate programmes that allow you to pursue a career which may differ to your undergraduate degree or if you’re looking to change your career path. They can be from 1-2 years depending on the programme and with full-time or part-time study options.

Whether you’re changing direction or honing your skills, stand out and specialise at University of Kent with career-focused postgraduate courses taught by expert academics. Tomorrow’s world is waiting.

Postgraduate Virtual Open Event, Thursday 20 May

Come along to talk to specialist academics and admissions staff about postgraduate study. You can also meet staff from the Graduate School, and get the latest funding information, including the loans for Master’s students.

Takes place online Thursday 20 May, 16.00-19.00

Book your place now.

This week sees the launch of the KentVision portal and events to support your next steps including the Year In programme, postgraduate study, and your future career.

Kent Vision launch

The new KentVision student portal will now launch later this week. Learn about the new system and watch the video for tips on how to get the most from Kent Vision.

Events for you to try this week:

• Creating a professional online presence on Tuesday 20 April, 11.00-12.00
• Postgraduate study talk with the Dean of the Graduate and Researcher College on Wednesday 21 April, 12.00-13.00
• Bitesize session: where to find jobs on Friday 23 April, 11.00-11.30
• Postgraduate study live tour and Q&A with Recruitment Officers Russ and Jon on Friday 23 April, 15.00-16.00.

Browse all events

Have you read this?

• Online exams – including past papers, support and guidance
• Exam Calm events and support to help you feel prepared and relaxed for exams
• Book in with the Careers Team for careers advice and support
• Don’t lose money to a scammer
• Year in programme – deadline approaching for Finalists
• Latest Covid-19 update: Return to campus
• On campus? Book your asymptomatic Covid-19 test now

Browse all student support

Keep an eye on:

• Student Guide
• Our Instagram stories
• University emails

Let us know what you think of these updates by emailing communications@kent.ac.uk

The Careers Team are still here to help you with career support and advice over the Easter break.

As well as career-focussed events for you to attend online, you can also book in for Quick Advice sessions which are 15 minutes and can cover CV, applications, cover letters, your LinkedIn profile or job-hunting advice.

If you need longer, you can book an appointment with a Careers Advisor to get more in-depth advice about your career.

Book a careers appointment now.

Are you in your final year and thinking about your next steps? Have you considered completing a year learning a new subject? This is an initiative where students can broaden their degree experience by adding an additional year but in a different subject. You could obtain skills and experience in Computing, Data Analytics, a Language or Journalism.

Your additional year can be taken between stage 2 and 3, or after you have completed stage 3. The programme will be added to your degree title, letting employers know about your increased employability.

This is a real opportunity to learn about a completely different area and gain some industry skills, which employers value. The deadline for finalist students to apply for the Year In programme starting in September 2021, is Sunday 9 May, so get your application in soon!

For more information about Year In, please visit the website.

ZIn your final year? If you’re considering postgraduate study at Kent, check out these Instagram lives (@UniKentLive) coming up:

• Wednesday 14 April at 14.00 – PG students Shelley and Laura will answer your Qs around Postgrad life at Kent
• Friday 16 April at 15.00 – LLM student Alex from @kentlawschool will answer your Qs specifically around studying Law
• Friday 23 April at 15.00 – Recruitment Officers Russel and Jon will give you application tips and advice and a tour of the Postgrad specific spaces on campus.

The Instagram Lives will be available to watch after on our Instagram.

Postgraduate study talk

Join Professor Paul Allain, Dean of the Graduate and Researcher College, Dr Tim Hopthrow, Deputy Dean of the Graduate and Researcher College and Stephen McLaughlin, Postgraduate Funding Officer for a Postgraduate Study at Kent presentation and Q&A session. Takes place online, Wednesday 21 April 12.00-13.00.

Come and ask questions about postgraduate study at Kent and find out what funding options there are for Master’s and PhD study.

Exclusive funding for Kent students

Kent has over 100 awards for students with a First or 2.1 degree undertaking postgraduate study at our locations in the UK and Europe including new scholarships exclusive to Kent Finalists:

• “Tomorrow’s World” Civic Mission Scholarship
• “Tomorrow’s World” Excellence Scholarship
• Kent Alumni Tuition Fee Discount
• Kent Business School Loyalty Award

Learn more about our postgrad offer at Kent by checking out our #StayOn #StandOut webpage.

Over the Easter break why not take advantage of SLAS and get on top of:

• planning and revising for your exams including developing revision and exam techniques
• developing your maths, financial maths and statistical knowledge in time for exams
• developing and completing assignments including dissertations

You can either book an appointment online, visit our website or email learning@kent.ac.uk

April is National Stress Awareness Month. Due to Covid-19 and lockdown, this year it is more important than ever to understand stress and how it can be reduced. With deadlines and exams fast approaching, many students can find this a very stressful time. Understanding stress and how it affects you can make it easier to deal with. Below are some interesting facts about stress and some links for where to go if you need help.

What is stress?

Stress is when your body thinks it is under attack and switches to ‘fight or flight’ mode. It releases hormones and chemicals like adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine, which causes a number of reactions.

Everyone can experience stress in different ways and changes caused by stress can be emotional, physical, behavioural, or a mixture of the three.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year that they felt overwhelmed and unable to cope.

Where can I go for help?

Student Support and Wellbeing Services:

If you feel that stress is affecting your mental health, don’t be afraid to reach out to Student Support and Wellbeing. The University is able to offer counselling and other support to any students experiencing issues such as anxiety, depressed feelings and emotional difficulties. For more information, head to Student Support and Wellbeing.

Stress Management Workshops are also available and delivered by qualified counsellors who will help you to identify stress triggers and learn how to manage stress levels effectively. Sign up for the next workshop on 28 April.

Speak to your friends or family (or someone you trust):

When you’re feeling stressed, often the temptation is to isolate yourself. However, speaking to friends and family can help a lot!

Although it can be difficult to connect with friends due to Covid-19, interaction with others can help with relaxation and generally just talking things through. A good idea could be to go for a socially-distanced walk, or to call your friends online.

The Stress Management Society’s ‘Free Stress Guide’:

If you’re looking to better understand stress and how to deal with it, take a look at the Stress Management Society’s ‘Free Stress Guide’. It explains what stress is, how to recognise it, and what you can do to cope better.

Prepare, Connect, Be Calm

Exam season can be difficult and this year students all over the world are facing new challenges as they prepare for exams. At Kent we have a lot of resources, information and activities to help you stay calm, connected, and feel prepared to tackle your exams.

Head to the Exam Calm page to see how you can make the most of a range of support from different university departments who are working together to help all students throughout the summer term.

Remember: stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing! It helps us to survive dangerous situations and is a natural reaction. However, being in a state of stress for long periods of time can be damaging to our health, so don’t be afraid to reach out if you feel you need help. To look after yourself, ensure you are getting enough sleep, managing your time, taking part in physical activity and talking to others! Try taking up hobbies, and take breaks from work whenever possible.

The Study Plus scheme provides a range of short-term courses and workshops which can enhance your graduate employability skills alongside your main subject specialism.

All events will be delivered virtually either by teams or zoom, details will be on Target Connect and sent to you beforehand. Here’s what’s coming up:

Study Plus – Digital Writing by Jakki  Bendell 30 March 10.30-12.00 

• Understand how digital writing differs from academic writing
• Know what to write about and how to engage your readers
• Plan and structure your content
• Get to the point quickly

Study Plus – ASPIRE Pitching finals and showcase 31 March 14.00-16.00

Selected student entrepreneurs have the chance to pitch their business to our panel of expert judges and win £1,000 to develop their business. Everyone is welcome to join the showcase and celebrate the Business Start-Up Journey programme.

Study Plus – Leading your Team Session 2 By Leanne Davies 1 April 13.00-15.00

• Identify the roles and responsibilities of being a leader.
• Explore different leadership styles and their impact on individual and team performance.
• Identify what motivates and inspires me and my team to do our best work.
• Delegate effectively to develop and maintain a performing team.
• Explore how to give and receive feedback to reinforce or change behaviour.
• Coaching questions?

Study Plus – Editing and Proofreading by Jakki  Bendell  6 April 14.30-16.00

• Understand the difference between editing and proofreading, and why they are difficult
• Know how to check and improve the readability of documents
• Identify techniques to edit and proofread your document systematically
• Know what to look for
• Use free software editing tools

If you book and can no longer attend, please let us know by emailing studyplus@kent.ac.uk as we do have limited places.

We look forward to seeing you at the events and don’t forget to check out Study Plus term 3 events.

Hey! I’m Harvey, I’m a second year marketing student at Kent who was diagnosed with Autism in 2019. Prior to coming to university at 21 I was in the world of work, unknowingly autistic so I thought I could share some tips with you about work and job hunting, whether you’re autistic or have another disability or condition that affects your work. 

Know yourself

Firstly, and for me since being diagnosed the most important tip, is knowing yourself. For me personally I know I can be overwhelmed by a lack of routine or lack of control, so I know that I can’t work in London because the idea of the tube and its loud crowded environment causes me anxiety and I can’t escape it easily. Therefore, for my year in industry I deliberately chose a scheme that was not in London, although I was very lucky my dream scheme wasn’t there anyway! 

The moral of this story for me is to know what you can and can’t do. There is a lot of media today that will tell you you’re unlimited and can do anything, which is true in principle, but it doesn’t mean you should be upset if you make the choice to do or not do something because it wouldn’t work for you. The quicker I reconciled with myself what I wanted and that it was OK the better I felt about myself.

Reasonable adjustments

When It comes to applying you have a right by law to reasonable adjustments, which means throughout the application, interview and in your job your employer must make reasonable adjustments to your work and workspace to ensure you are not discriminated against. You also have the right to disclose or not your disability. Personally for me I always disclose because legally it cannot affect your application. 

The things I normally say is “I am Autistic and sometimes I can’t make eye contact with you, I might go off on a little tangent as well so try and be precise with your questions!”. Or perhaps there is a chance you could slowly get used to the environment if that is something you need? Being able to spend a couple of hours getting to know the layout, people and space might increase your confidence and help to settle you in!

A word of warning!

If the employer does not or cannot accommodate your disability, they might not be the right one for you. Sadly, even today a lot of employers do not understand disability. Personally, I have had a lot of people not quite understand the way my mind works, not maliciously but perhaps a manager may get annoyed by how literally I word things, or I want very detailed instructions. It is up to you to judge on a case-by-case basis but be wary and don’t be afraid to raise the question and have suggestions how they can use your skills best! But don’t feel it is your fault if you encounter issues, I was very hard on myself for a while before I knew I had autism and instead of chastising myself I reflected on what I could have done better, but also accepted when it wasn’t my fault.

Have self-confidence

Another tip that I have is, just because you don’t fit one criteria doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply! Any reasonable employer should know that the perfect candidate doesn’t exist and so as long as you think you’re able to do the job and can show them what have you got to lose by applying? I personally have applied to and even got jobs that I didn’t think I was qualified for or didn’t meet every criteria on the description, so my best tip here is to have confidence in yourself! 

Like anything at University of Kent, there is so many resources available to help you. Never be afraid to reach out to the Student Support and Wellbeing Team or the Careers Team where you can get dedicated one-to-one support on any questions or issues you might have around disability and employment.

Photo by Lukas Blazek on unsplash.