Need help - IR - Aber/East Anglia/Sussex?

I need help with deciding which offer to accept. I prefer the IR aspect of the course and I'm not quite sure which uni has the best program and gives better chances for future career.

So what do you think : Aberystwyth, East Anglia or Sussex?

Reply 1

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Aberystwyth is in the premier league - and always near the top of it.

Sussex is decent enough and has a few specialisations at Masters/PhD level

East Anglia - never heard of it in IR circles, but that's not to say it hasn't got specialists.

Reply 2

Jeremy_Whiskers

I'd go with Sussex, good university and good department, Aberystwyth has an amazing department but the overall reputation of the university will let you down i imagine.

Reply 3

skisimon

I'd be inclined to go with tpd's recommendation. Aberystwyth has an excellent IR department and is a decent enough uni in its own right. The difference between Sussex and Aberystwyth as universities, rather than IR departments, is fairly minimal.

A lot of the factors to help decide which institution to attend will be down to you:

Where you currently live (and, more importantly, how far away you want to be from home) - Aberystwyth is a nice town, but it takes almost a whole day to get anywhere from it (even Cardiff)...

What do you want to do with your degree? If you want to go into a heavily IR related job, or academia, then Aberystwyth would look nice on your CV - though the advantage it would give you would probably not be huge. Sussex or Aberystwyth over the other for any other jobs will be virtually irrelevant.

Personally, I'd go for Aberystwyth, but that's me.

Reply 4

username358506

Jeremy_Whiskers

I'd go with Sussex, good university and good department, Aberystwyth has an amazing department but the overall reputation of the university will let you down i imagine.

You're an idiot.

Aberystwyth ***** on Sussex and East Anglia combined, it was the first university to create an international relations department and is still at the top of the class. Employers in the field of IR don't look at the university, they look at the department(especially in Aberyswyth's case).

As skisimon(who shares my name) said, if you want to use your degree for international relations then Aberystwyth is the way to go, if not, think carefully about what it is you want to do and then take it from there.

Reply 5

Jeremy_Whiskers

Stalin

If you're going to speak to me, please do so with relative courtesy :rolleyes:

I'm fully aware of Aberystwyth's IR department and its history, however as i stated i feel the latter would be underminded by the relatively mediocre prestige of Aberystwyth with non-IR related ends, which i imagine the individual at hand is more likely to approach than academia. However if he is intent on post-grad then reconsideration may be needed, although it's worth noting alot of Aber's big hitters only teach post-grad, and considering the good standing of both Sussex and Aber, i imagine both would provide an adequate platform to approach academia. That and i imagine Aber's undergraduate intake won't be of a significant intellectual calibre or inquisitiveness due to the grade requirement and the consequential nature of the student intake, however the latter is only theoretical and i'm sure there are exceptions.

Reply 6

skisimon

Ultimately, when it comes to getting a job, the person hiring will view both Sussex and Aberystwyth as universities with almost indistinguishably 'mediocre prestige' (to borrow your terminology JW). Outside of the top three-to-five universities, and then the top fifteen, there is little differentiation made until you get to the bottom half of the table. The key will be what classification degree is achieved.

Whether the person hiring will take into account the department itself is another matter (and will likely depend on the job applied for - as I have said, academia and most IR specific roles will have hiring undertaken by someone who is well aware of the reputation of different universities' departments).

Reply 7

Jeremy_Whiskers

Well perhaps my pre-conceptions were incorrect but i always considered Aberwystwyth of notable lower regard in terms of prestige than Sussex, of which i always deemed relatively reputable - somewhat reflected in the discrepancy of the entry requirements of the two?