Day in the Life of a Postgraduate Student

About the author: My name is Sophie Layton, and I’m an MA International Public & Political Communication and BSc Biology graduate from the University of Sheffield. I am currently the Managing Editor of WILD Magazine, Editor of Ed Fringe Review, and Newsletter Editor for the Essex International Jamboree, as well as former Arts & Theatre Editor of Forge Press. I am also the Digital Media Officer for the Student Publication Association. I am a keen thespian with the Sheffield University Theatre Company, with interests in culture, LGBTQ+ issues and political science.

Studying for a master’s degree is a huge step up from undergraduate. With your course continuing throughout the summer, higher standards, and a dissertation which will probably be the longest piece you've ever written, a postgraduate course is challenging by design. But day to day, it’s not as different as you may first think. So come with me on a walkthrough of a standard day for me, as a master’s student!

Currently an International Public and Political Communication (IPPC) student at the University of Sheffield, my day begins at 7:45am with the dulcet tones of whichever musical theatre number I’m obsessed with (currently, it’s ‘Shippin’ Out Tomorrow’ from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). With 15 minutes to get my bearings, I switch on the morning TV and catch up on the headlines, alongside reading the morning’s London Playbook by POLITICO. Fixing breakfast as the day’s government minister spins their story, I pick an outfit, do my make-up and catch up on some lecture notes or edit the latest reviews for Forge Press (UoS' student newspaper) from last night’s performances at the Crucible and Lyceum.

As we near 11am, I grab my things and head out for my two-hour lecture on Critical Incidents in International Journalism, hearing all about the media and its shortcomings in covering major events, and the reforms that follow. I also use this as a chance to go through my emails, whittling down the list that’s been building for the past few hours.

As the lecture ends, and I have five minutes to do a ten minute walk, I swing by the Students’ Union to grab lunch, before heading to the other side of campus for a committee meeting of the Sheffield University Theatre Company (SUTCo). With an hour of Senior Committee before an hour of General, we discuss everything that’s come up since last week, including show preparations, welfare updates and planning for the upcoming Summer Ball. With it being the final meeting before official handovers, we’re lucky enough to have both the 2024/25 and 2025/26 committees together, so of course we take the chance to get committee photos!

With an hour until I’m next needed, it’s a great chance to meet up with my friends, and we wander around town, grab a coffee or, with the sun out, take a slow walk around the parks (and often talk through each other’s latest gossip!). As 4pm approaches, however, the call of my degree returns and it’s off to my two-hour workshop for Communicating with the Media. With group presentations on the horizon, our four-person team begins strategising as to how we can save our fictitious local election candidate's electoral campaign after making ageist comments about a constituent!

Workshop over, I head even further from home to my local Scout Hut; with it being a Wednesday, it’s our weekly meeting and one of my nights to plan! Brushing up on my knowledge of earthquakes, relevant charities and important items, I spend the next few hours helping our young Cub Scouts achieve their Global Issues Activity badge, one that we haven't done in several years. Games, activities and an abnormal amount of screeching for that many kids; as 8:15 rolls around they all head home, and after a quick debrief and planning, so do the rest of the Leaders and I.

Walking back home is a perfect chance to listen to some more show tunes, imagining my West End debut as Heather Chandler, May and Katherine Howard all at the same time, practically dancing back up to my flat. Dinner in the oven and messages piling up, I take a few minutes to check in with my friends, do the washing-up and read a few pages from my book. Unashamedly in bed at about 10pm, a few hours of admin, assignment planning and finishing up lecture notes is all paired with a movie, YouTube or reruns of old sitcoms, before scrolling through Instagram Reels and TikToks for my usual blend of political propaganda and puppy videos – a (somewhat!) relaxing end to a hectic day.

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