Do you mean in terms of being given a place on a course? I think not. Obviously, international students usually have the funding sorted for their courses. That said, there are basic requirements to get on any course and departments will give places to applicants who meet these requirements and have their funding sorted.

International students from developing countries might not have access to technology that home/eu students might take for granted and struggle in that sense. For some, like me, it takes a while to adjust to the approach to learning here, which is very different to what I had in all the previous educational systems I had studied in.

The language issues might vary from department to department and uni to uni, but at the university where I have done my postgrad study, there are excellent facilities for language support. Aside from this, students are required to have the equivalent of a GCSE grade C to be considered on the course.

It can't be denied that international students contributing 50% to the UK educational sector a few years ago and to the economy makes them attractive not just to the unis, but to the government. However, candidates have to be able to meet the requirements to get on a course. How well they cope with the demands of it is another matter.

Try to let the staff in your department know that you are interested in teaching. They are usually good with letting you know when other departments have such vacancies. I have been pointed in the direction of a couple opportunities that way.

Also, try to be proactive. Send out prospective CVs out to local departments as well. And let your supervisor know it is something you are really interested in doing as well.

Is it realistic with the demands of the job market though?

Hey Natassia

I think you're worrying for no reason. I am almost done with a Mass Communication PhD that is so interdisciplinary that it is difficult sometimes to describe sometimes. Mine touches on Linguistics, Journalism and Cultural Studies, History and Politics. Theoretically and methodologically, it also borrows very widely. Mass Communication as a field is inherently interdisciplinary. In some ways this is great, because it kind of allows me to contribute to a nice selection of disciplines. Also, it helps to demonstrate that there are so many diverse ways to approach the same thing. It is also really great because your one thesis could strike a cord across various subject areas and disciplines. We have a Sociologist who lectures both in Mass Communication and Sociology. Sociology is obviously her primary specialty, but she has been able to apply it in a way that embrace more than one discipline.

Afterward, it also allows for you to be able to bring in newer perspectives to established disciplines/fields. For instance, you would be very welcome in my field.

There is nothing to say that you couldn't lecture on a BSc Psychology course, perhaps in addition to your knowledge of the quantitative approaches to it, you could infuse it with a more qualitative aspect that might be missing. Human beings are psychosocial and such an approach is very welcome. That could be your speciality.

I think going interdisciplinary might allow you to theoretically and methodologically interlink fields in a new way. That is not so bad in my book. Different academics have different approaches and this is a good thing.

The MSc generally tends to be more theoretically-focused, and more suited for someone who has their eye on perhaps a career in research, or maybe academic. The MA tends to be more industry-oriented and more suited for someone who wants a professional career. Again, as most other respondees have pointed out, check the syllabi carefully and the course aims and objectives before you make your choice.

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I am currently writing-up a thesis in Mass Communication, on track to submit in September this year. All through my PhD experience, I have been able to determine that I would want a teaching career in FE/HE rather than a typical research one.

I do worry though that the bulk of the roles available tend to be more research-focused. While I do enjoy research, I do know that I certainly want to spend the bulk of my time teaching rather than the typical academic roles which are more research-oriented, with a bit of time for teaching.

Is the job market really this saturated by research roles? Am I being unrealistic in looking for full-time, permanent teaching-dominated roles?