Should I take an extra semester to finish my MA?

[huhjunn]

I'm in a one year MA in Public Policy and Administration program and I don't plan to do any more schooling afterwards (maybe the odd post-grad certificate here or there). Right now I'm taking the maximum course load which sets me on the path to finish in one year, but I'm thinking of making life a bit easier by taking an extra semester and graduating a year later. If I do this, I'll technically be done studies in December, but won't actually have my degree until June convocation (6 month wait). So instead of degree conferred 2016 it'll be 2017.

To be completely honest with you, there's no particular reason for me to do this other than I want to make my life easier and relatively stress free. I'm also a part-time RA if that helps?

Do you think this is a decent idea? Pros / cons?

[eeee1923]

I ended up taking an extra few months to finish my MS and I honestly think it resulted in a better thesis. I cannot say that those last few weeks will not be really stressful, but you want to do a good job in this grad program so that you can get strong rec letters and overall just feel proud of the work you accomplished.

So overall, if the extra semester will help you be less stressed (and thus more productive) and help you get a jump on finding a job - then I say do it. Good luck with your MA. 

[fuzzylogician]

I think it depends on what you want to do after you graduate. If you want to continue in academia, then it's important to have a strong thesis and good grades, and if spreading the degree over three semesters will help with that, then maybe it's worth it. If you're going out into the workforce and you expect your employers to care much more that you have your degree in hand than what your grades were, then graduating earlier will make it easier for you to find a job and start earning money. I don't think there is a huge difference between having the degree conferred in 2016 vs 2017, though it can cause some administrative headaches in some cases (but nothing insurmountable, probably). On the other hand, I think the notion that spreading the degree out more will make it stress free is unlikely, and it's more like "less stressful" but still the last few weeks will be unpleasant, as they always are when you're scrambling to finish something and have a big deadline looming.