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I am aware that being funded by a grant greatly improves your chances of receiving a master's degree, however, hypothetically what would be the potential consequences of offering to fund your own? If the negative consequences are minimal, how does one go about offering this to a potential supervisor without under-selling themselves?

I'm applying to programs in Canada.

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    I don't think there's any evidence that self-funded graduate students have better or worse outcomes than grant-funded ones. Also, in the US at least, it seems like a self-funded student might have a better chance of finding a supervisor. The primary reason I turn inquiring students away is that I don't have any money to fund them.
    – Bill Barth
    Oct 10, 2014 at 13:36
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    Are you suggesting you would forgo funding to fund yourself? Or, are you wanting to use this as a possible leverage for admission if you are rejected?
    – Brian P
    Oct 10, 2014 at 19:04
  • It depends on the discipline. I believe MBA students usually get no funding from the institution. Oct 11, 2014 at 4:26

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Getting funding usually stipulates that you have a project that is related to the fund that you have applied to. That being said, it is not always the case. Whether you are self-funded or funded does not necessarily mean that a particular supervisor will work with you. If your research interests are not aligned with the professor's, then it is likely that he/she will reject working with you, even if you are funded. It does not really matter if you are funded or not. It looks better on your CV, however, if you do get funding.

Furthermore, being funded does not guarantee that you will receive a master's degree. Hard work and dedication do. It is the same in any academic program.

If you want to work with a certain professor, I would suggest that you email him/her with a research proposal. That way he/she is able to 1) know that you exist and are keen to work with him/her, 2) that you have a project in mind, and 3) you are open to criticism concerning your research proposal.

Professors like working with students who want to work with them, usually, and they also like students who have similar research interests, or have stimulating proposals for new avenues of research.

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One potential problem is what I'll refer to as "Lack of Responsibility", and I experienced a little bit of it when part of my degree was funded by a university fund not tied to any particular project.

While it gives you a tremendous amount of freedom, it means that you're not tied to any mentor/group/project/grant. Your work product doesn't need to go in the annual report, or be written up to make the lab look good for a renewal, etc. There's no pressure to settle down and get to work - which means the freedom to explore, but also the freedom to drift aimlessly.

Basically, it removes "Because someone needs to keep the lights on" as a motivating factor behind getting work done, and that is a powerful motivator.

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