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University of York
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PPE at York still highly regarded?

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Original post by tussanfr
I agree, however, I am an international student and I don't have time nor can I afford travelling to the UK anytime soon. I generally prefer larger cities, so that's a huge plus for York. On the other hand, I very much appreciate the buildings in Durham. For some reason I also like the fact that Durham University is older than University of York, even though York is the older city.

I love New York, London, Prague, Amsterdam and other large cities and like most kids my age, party:ing is an important factor. I smoke/drink too much and I'd like to keep it that way for the time being. The quality of teaching and post-graduate prospects are more important though. Which one do you think would suit me better?

Thank you for your help!


On those criteria, it seems a bit like York is the better choice for you out of the two. The thing worth remembering is that the Uni of York campus is pretty close to the city centre. You get a lot of the benefit of how pretty York is by coming to uni here. You also get the fact that things actually happen here. York is no metropolis, but there are extremely cool bars and pubs, an arthouse cinema, a strong cafe culture and nice restaurants.

Durham, on the other hand, is pretty dead apart from the students. Whilst many of the colleges are based in the centre of Durham, it has a population 30,000. It is minuscule.
University of York
York
Reply 21
Original post by tussanfr
I agree, however, I am an international student and I don't have time nor can I afford travelling to the UK anytime soon. I generally prefer larger cities, so that's a huge plus for York. On the other hand, I very much appreciate the buildings in Durham. For some reason I also like the fact that Durham University is older than University of York, even though York is the older city.

I love New York, London, Prague, Amsterdam and other large cities and like most kids my age, party:ing is an important factor. I smoke/drink too much and I'd like to keep it that way for the time being. The quality of teaching and post-graduate prospects are more important though. Which one do you think would suit me better?

Thank you for your help!


From what you've said, York's the best choice on offer for you.

(If you really want to go for a large city university offering PPE, I'd give Manchester a look as well- they offer a respectable course, I hear.)
Reply 22
Thank you both. Still undecided though. Thinking of just going to the one with best academic reputation for PPE - still haven't figured out which that one is though.
Reply 23
Original post by tussanfr
Thank you both. Still undecided though. Thinking of just going to the one with best academic reputation for PPE - still haven't figured out which that one is though.


Honestly- short of Oxford, you're very much splitting hairs in terms of the universities' reputations.

For goodness' sake- for your own sake, pick whichever you might happen to decide would best suit you as an individual.

Some courses offer better International Relations streams. Some courses offer superb British Politics courses (York). Some courses are Development-focused (York, if you decide to take that route). Some are entirely different.

Really. Below Oxford? Reputation doesn't really matter between York, Manchester, Durham, and perhaps, at a push Lancaster.
Essex is absolutely unbeatable if your interests lie more in the Politics stream than anything else- their Politics department is downright brilliant. I've had friends go there who've gone on to LSE for their Postgrad.

If you're at a loss?
If you're stuck, pick York. It's wonderful.
If you're stuck, with a general predisposition towards studying International Relations Theory, take a look at Manchester. As things were when I first applied, Manchester would have been the better choice for me in terms of IR theory stuff- I'd strongly advise you look into it properly if that's an area you're inclined to specialise in.

Beyond that?

I can say that if you're inclined to go for either British Politics or Development Politics, York is fantastic.
Honestly. The quality of the courses I've seen in those streams has been beyond belief. Genuinely excellent/

(If you're at all intereted in IR theory, give Waltz's "Theory of International Politics", ch. 6 a look- and, perhaps, J.Mearscheimer's "Tragedy of Great Power Politics" a flick through. They're genuinely unbeatable. If you're struggling to get hold of a copy of Waltz, give me a nudge- I'd be happy to throw one your way.)
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 24
Original post by AirRaven
Honestly- short of Oxford, you're very much splitting hairs in terms of the universities' reputations.

For goodness' sake- for your own sake, pick whichever you might happen to decide would best suit you as an individual.

Some courses offer better International Relations streams. Some courses offer superb British Politics courses (York). Some courses are Development-focused (York, if you decide to take that route). Some are entirely different.

Really. Below Oxford? Reputation doesn't really matter between York, Manchester, Durham, and perhaps, at a push Lancaster.
Essex is absolutely unbeatable if your interests lie more in the Politics stream than anything else- their Politics department is downright brilliant. I've had friends go there who've gone on to LSE for their Postgrad.

If you're at a loss?
If you're stuck, pick York. It's wonderful.
If you're stuck, with a general predisposition towards studying International Relations Theory, take a look at Manchester. As things were when I first applied, Manchester would have been the better choice for me in terms of IR theory stuff- I'd strongly advise you look into it properly if that's an area you're inclined to specialise in.

Beyond that?

I can say that if you're inclined to go for either British Politics or Development Politics, York is fantastic.
Honestly. The quality of the courses I've seen in those streams has been beyond belief. Genuinely excellent/

(If you're at all intereted in IR theory, give Waltz's "Theory of International Politics", ch. 6 a look- and, perhaps, J.Mearscheimer's "Tragedy of Great Power Politics" a flick through. They're genuinely unbeatable. If you're struggling to get hold of a copy of Waltz, give me a nudge- I'd be happy to throw one your way.)


Thanks - very comprehensive. My greatest intrest is in Economics and Durham seems to have the best department for economics between the two of them. I really like York as a city though, will probably firm York after LSE rejects me.

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