The Student Room Group
University of Oxford, Pawel-Sytniewski
University of Oxford
Oxford

Oxford Brookes or Anglia Ruskin for Psychology?

so basically i have received an offer from ARU for a Clinical Child Psychology MSc and an MRes in Developmental Psy from OBU..any thoughts on which is the best choice..?

i have an inclination towards OBU because of its higher rankings in the league tables but i have seen different ranks on different tables.. i guess they fluctuate a lot and i have also read that they are undergrad-focused.. the psychology dept at OBU also seems more developed
i am an international student from mauritius..
help plz! need to formally accept one of my offers soon! thx :smile:
Reply 1
If the degree titles are anything to go by I would say that you have chosen two rather different degrees. One has a focus on clinical work (remedial / therapeutic) whilst the other is research oriented (and appears to be a precursor for those wanting to undertake a PhD) after graduation.

Shouldn't you first decide what you want to study, rather than where?

To answer your question, Oxford Brookes is well-established psychology department with a reputation for postgraduate teaching. It also has (or at least, had) strong links with the University of Oxford's Department of Experimental Psychology. In the past, the two universities have pooled their intellectual resources to win research cash (including PhD studentships). Because of this, I have more faith in Brookes as a quality institution, but I haven't looked at the partnership projects for 2-3 years so I may be giving useless advice.
University of Oxford, Pawel-Sytniewski
University of Oxford
Oxford
Reply 2
Original post by Scooby, PhD
If the degree titles are anything to go by I would say that you have chosen two rather different degrees. One has a focus on clinical work (remedial / therapeutic) whilst the other is research oriented (and appears to be a precursor for those wanting to undertake a PhD) after graduation.

Shouldn't you first decide what you want to study, rather than where?

To answer your question, Oxford Brookes is well-established psychology department with a reputation for postgraduate teaching. It also has (or at least, had) strong links with the University of Oxford's Department of Experimental Psychology. In the past, the two universities have pooled their intellectual resources to win research cash (including PhD studentships). Because of this, I have more faith in Brookes as a quality institution, but I haven't looked at the partnership projects for 2-3 years so I may be giving useless advice.


Thanks for your answer!

That was actually one of my main concerns as well, but the course tutor at OB has reassured me that all the modules are taught. I have looked at the course content for both unis and they are quite similar, with Brookes offering a wider number of modules encompassing mostly the same things as the modules at ARU (20 credits per module vs 30 at AR). They both look at normative and atypical child development, as well as the research methods in developmental psychology. Admittedly, Brookes is a bit more research-based and AR puts a little more emphasis on developmental disorders, but that's about the difference, really.

I find it really encouraging when you say that the Psychology Dept. at OB is recognised for its postgrad study.. the league tables don't really give that opinion..

I don't know about the partnership with Oxford presently, but it sure looks good! :tongue:

Anything else you can tell me would be welcome!
Reply 3
Original post by flowers21
Thanks for your answer!

That was actually one of my main concerns as well, but the course tutor at OB has reassured me that all the modules are taught. I have looked at the course content for both unis and they are quite similar, with Brookes offering a wider number of modules encompassing mostly the same things as the modules at ARU (20 credits per module vs 30 at AR). They both look at normative and atypical child development, as well as the research methods in developmental psychology. Admittedly, Brookes is a bit more research-based and AR puts a little more emphasis on developmental disorders, but that's about the difference, really.

I find it really encouraging when you say that the Psychology Dept. at OB is recognised for its postgrad study.. the league tables don't really give that opinion..

I don't know about the partnership with Oxford presently, but it sure looks good! :tongue:

Anything else you can tell me would be welcome!


I would ignore league tables - they are devised by non-academics and consist of information that really isn't relevant to post-graduate study, such as how well the university students did at school. Further, there are no league tables that demonstrate the quality of teaching (though there are student satisfaction scores for undergraduate students, not post-graduate students). Also, tables do not contain MRes/PhD success rates, where students with these qualifications find employment / PhD funding etc. Undergraduate league tables are bad enough, but as a post-graduate student you should away from them! :smile:
Reply 4
I've just completed my undergraduate degree in psychology at ARU and although the department is very good, that degree is brand new and as such there are bound to be problems. Also there are a few changes and issues in the department at the moment so given what I know I would go with Oxford brookes. I'm heading to UCL myself as I want out of ARU!! Good luck deciding.

Mir
Reply 5
Neither are amazing or top institutions. I would say Oxford Brookes atleast then if people ask you could say 'Yeah i go to Oxford' and just leave off the brookes.
Reply 6
Original post by ladymary
Neither are amazing or top institutions. I would say Oxford Brookes atleast then if people ask you could say 'Yeah i go to Oxford' and just leave off the brookes.


I think a graduate psychology student should be more concerned with the knowledge and skills that s/he will develop through the master degrees on offer. The OP needs to focus on course content (what is specific to each course), facilities (labs, accommodation, libraries) career prospects (research funding opportunities, travel opportunities, CV building activities etc), and the likes.

Placing emphasis on how entire institutions are ranked by newspaper reporters pulls focus away from the field of psychology toward how every single department in a university is lumped together to form an institutional score which can then be used to rank all universities. Why on earth would the OP care about history of art, sport science and business studies within and outside of Anglia Ruskin and Oxford Brookes? It makes no sense at all.
Reply 7
Original post by Scooby, PhD
I think a graduate psychology student should be more concerned with the knowledge and skills that s/he will develop through the master degrees on offer. The OP needs to focus on course content (what is specific to each course), facilities (labs, accommodation, libraries) career prospects (research funding opportunities, travel opportunities, CV building activities etc), and the likes.

Placing emphasis on how entire institutions are ranked by newspaper reporters pulls focus away from the field of psychology toward how every single department in a university is lumped together to form an institutional score which can then be used to rank all universities. Why on earth would the OP care about history of art, sport science and business studies within and outside of Anglia Ruskin and Oxford Brookes? It makes no sense at all.


i totally agree!! the psy dept at OB has its own very developed baby lab, and loads of other facilities that will be available to me as a postgrad student, and i totally welcome that. it affects me in no way that OB is found in the same city as Oxford uni and that i wont be going there..
i'm not going there 1. because it doesnt offer the course that i want and 2. because i simply didn't apply there
if i wanted to be part of those great institutions i would have applied there irrespective of what i wanted to study, and frankly, that is not my main concern! thumps up to scooby :biggrin:
Reply 8
Original post by flowers21
i totally agree!! the psy dept at OB has its own very developed baby lab, and loads of other facilities that will be available to me as a postgrad student, and i totally welcome that. it affects me in no way that OB is found in the same city as Oxford uni and that i wont be going there..
i'm not going there 1. because it doesnt offer the course that i want and 2. because i simply didn't apply there
if i wanted to be part of those great institutions i would have applied there irrespective of what i wanted to study, and frankly, that is not my main concern! thumps up to scooby :biggrin:


It's sounds like you've thought a lot about this - good for you! It also sounds like you're leaning toward Oxford Brookes too, which is a good thing (judging by what a previous poster said about the brand new course at Anglia Ruskin). I recall that Brookes has a strong international community, which is always good for visiting students.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by mir
I've just completed my undergraduate degree in psychology at ARU and although the department is very good, that degree is brand new and as such there are bound to be problems. Also there are a few changes and issues in the department at the moment so given what I know I would go with Oxford brookes. I'm heading to UCL myself as I want out of ARU!! Good luck deciding.

Mir


Thx Mir, this really helps :smile: what course are u gona do at UCL? i heard their Psychology dept. is really good as well!

I will be formally accepting my offer from OBU now, thanks loads to u n Scooby for the advice! :biggrin:
Reply 10
No probs at all. Glad to help. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed my time there but I didn't want to do postgraduate there. I'm doing an msc in countering organised crime and terrorism. Psych dept does indeed look awesome at UCL but they don't do forensic courses.
Good luck anyway... its exciting! :-)
Reply 11
Original post by mir
No probs at all. Glad to help. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed my time there but I didn't want to do postgraduate there. I'm doing an msc in countering organised crime and terrorism. Psych dept does indeed look awesome at UCL but they don't do forensic courses.
Good luck anyway... its exciting! :-)


yeah and the course fees are awesome as well, more than 19.000 pounds for the course I wanted to do :P (in psychoanalytic devl. psy) i simply couldn't afford to even apply there lol..
anyway, I think I'm gona enjoy oxford brookes! oxford seems like a really nice place to live..
good luck for your postgrad! :smile:
Reply 12
Thanks :-) you too.

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