Start your master’s shortlist with the work you want to do and the preparation you already have. Then check which programmes fit those aims, accept your qualifications and have a workable funding route. This produces a more useful list than collecting university names from rankings or social media.
For a first round, choose a manageable number of courses to investigate deeply. Five is a practical starting point for this worksheet, not a recommended number of applications. You may keep fewer once you check eligibility, costs and deadlines.
Write a short study brief first
Complete these sentences before browsing course pages:
- I want to develop the ability to [specific task, method or field of work].
- My current preparation includes [degree, relevant modules, project and experience].
- I need a course with [two or three essential teaching or research features].
- I can consider [locations, study format and start period].
- My funding plan is [confirmed resources or awards to investigate], and the unresolved gap is [amount or unknown].
Avoid choosing a subject only because someone describes it as easy to enter. Your brief should help you explain why the programme is useful to you, and later provide the starting point for your statement of purpose.
First pass: check whether applying makes sense
Read the official course page for the correct entry year, then its country-specific qualifications guidance where available. Cambridge’s application guidance separates course selection, requirements, deadlines and application preparation. Use that same habit of checking the stages rather than assuming one attractive course description answers everything.
| Initial check | Record one clear answer |
|---|---|
| Qualification and subject | Do I meet the stated degree level, classification and subject requirements? |
| English evidence | What evidence is accepted, and can I provide it in time? |
| Costs and funding | Is there a plausible funding route, and what is still unconfirmed? |
| Timing | Can I meet the course and relevant funding deadlines? |
| Required documents | Can I obtain the transcript, references and other evidence requested? |
Label each course “meets stated requirements”, “needs clarification” or “does not meet a stated requirement”. These are planning labels, not admissions predictions. Ask about a genuine ambiguity before spending time or money on the application.
If degree classification is the uncertain point, use our second-class lower guide. For language evidence, work through the UK English-requirements checklist rather than assuming every university treats Nigerian qualifications alike.
Second pass: compare the courses that remain
Create a sheet with one row per course and the following columns. Keep the source link next to each factual entry so you can revisit it when requirements change.
- University, exact course title and entry year.
- Course link and date checked.
- Modules or research areas that match your study brief.
- Teaching, assessment and project format.
- Relevant facilities, supervision or placement details explicitly stated by the provider.
- Academic and English requirements, including any unanswered question.
- Tuition and estimated living costs, with sources and original currencies.
- Scholarship coverage, exclusions and unresolved funding gap.
- Application deadline, funding deadline and reference deadline.
- Required documents, next action and your decision.
A course with a familiar title may teach different material from another with the same name. Identify specific modules or project options, and distinguish compulsory elements from choices that may depend on availability. Do not turn a possible placement or career example into a promise.
A fictional example of choosing what to investigate next
Imagine a graduate who wants stronger data-analysis skills. Course A clearly matches the academic threshold but offers little of the method the graduate wants to learn. Course B has relevant modules, but its subject requirements need clarification. Course C fits the graduate’s qualifications and learning goals, but funding is unresolved.
The next actions are different: reconsider A’s usefulness, ask B a precise eligibility question, and build C’s funding plan. Giving all three a single score too early would hide those issues. This example is invented to demonstrate the worksheet; it describes no university or admission outcome.
Turn the shortlist into an application timeline
Work backwards from each confirmed deadline. Add your own earlier target dates for obtaining a transcript, requesting references, reviewing your CV and checking the complete application. Your internal targets provide breathing room; they do not replace the university’s deadline or time zone.
Use the scholarship coverage worksheet to keep funding assumptions visible. If a document will arrive later, verify whether the programme accepts an interim version using our final-transcript guide.
Keep a short decision note
For each course you retain, write three lines: why it fits, what remains uncertain and the next action with a date. Remove choices that no longer fit instead of keeping them simply because you have already researched them.
When the shortlist is ready, use the master’s application document checklist as your preparation hub. Review the official pages again before submission, especially the entry year, deadlines and required evidence.
Sources checked on 21 September 2026. See our editorial policy or report a correction.