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Durham University

Durham

Durham or Manchester?

hi!
i am going to apply graduate school now. i am not sure for choosing durham or manchester. manchester have great international reputation while durham is better in uk. why is that? as a international student i really confusing about that. just compare teach quality which one should i choose?

thx

Reply 1

johnh1983

I had exactly the same decision to make recently and got about a 50/50 mix on opinions. Apparently Durham is more of a picturesque town and Manchester more of a thriving metropolis. Ultimately, I went with Manchester because I liked the program so much more. But, I really had a tough time of it. If the programs were identical I probably would have picked Durham.

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Reply 2

River85

Original post by wow007051

Because Manchester is a much larger university, and produces a greater quantity of research across the faculties (note quantity, not necessarily always better quality). This is what the international league tables consider. Domestic league tables consider things such as research quality, student satisfaction (among undergraduates), career prospects, entry standards (again, among undergraduates) and other factors.

It's difficult to compare teaching quality without knowing the department/course you'll be applying to. Also, as a postgraduate, are you interested in research? Are you applying for a taught or research postgraduate programme?

Reply 3

gr8wizard10

I'd personally go with Durham.

Reply 4

Yosho

It's difficult to say... As someone from the UK, I would have said Durham without question. It has a strong, better reputation here than Manchester does, and those reputations are often (but not always) reflected in the difficulty of the courses and the required entry standard for new students (which obvious has a huge influence on how difficult the courses can be made - the harder the entrance requirements, the more/harder the course material the university can include.

Reputation, is not everything though, of course the student experience will hugely affect your time at unviersity, how much you enjoy it, how well you are able to work and so on.

However, once you have left, in the employment world, reputation can be everything. Some sectors are more forgiving than others. I would say, if you want to go on to do doctorate studies in the United Kingdom or work here, go to to Durham as this will make your life after university easier.

If there is a specific reason why Manchester is better for you that doesn't include reputation though, that might be a deciding factor. Without further info though, I say go to Durham.

Reply 5

River85

Original post by Yosho

I would say, if you want to go on to do doctorate studies in the United Kingdom or work here, go to to Durham as this will make your life after university easier

Whether the OP goes to Manchester or Durham will have little to no effect in postgraduate. Postgraduate adissions tutors (academics) will likely view both as broadly comparable Russell Group universities. University name/brand doesn't have any effect in postgraduate applications. Besides, depending on the subject Manchester may be more highly thought of than Durham (or other universities of that "level" many see, such as Warwick).

Reply 6

Yosho

Original post by River85

Whether the OP goes to Manchester or Durham will have little to no effect in postgraduate.

Fair point.

I suppose it only matters for jobs then.

Reply 7

RussellG

Original post by wow007051

>why is that?

Because the national reputation of universities is based on how selective the university is (in other words entrance difficulties) whereas the worldwide reputation is based on how influential the university is in international (mainly hard science) academic societies. some universities like oxbridge/imperial/ucl have both good students and good research outcomes, but most universities have either one of them or none of them.

The thing is, for making universities more selective, they must intake less number of students. But smaller number of students brings less amount of research incomes/endowment. And this is a huge disadvantage for having outstanding research outputs.

Manchester is a huge research university with 2.5 times more students and 4 times more research income than Durham. (i.e. Manchester is less selective but more reputable worldwide)

But personally, Manchester is a great option for postgraduate study especially in hard science fields. One of the most exciting playgrounds for science geeks. They will provide great facilities and money to you for investigating the great mystery of universe or making innovative robots/software etc.

>just compare teach quality which one should i choose?

Not only. Check if course structures fit what you want to study or not, and also check job prospects. You should check the research standard of your field (RAE/ARWU) too. Since you are an international student, you had better know reputations of both universities in your country.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 8

Mansun

Both are excellent, but the tradition of Durham gives it an edge in the UK.

Reply 9

rituanand

From a business school perspective-which is better Durham or Manchester? My course is MSc Management and I really do like Durham. However, Manchester holds a higher reputation I assume. Rankings arent everything to me, however, I would appreciate some input of any kind from anyone. Thanks!

Reply 10

Eljoe

My son has offers from both Durham and Manchester for his UG in Biosciences and Molecular & Cell biology respectively. Any suggestions on which one he should opt for? He does intend to pursue PG and possibly a Doctorate after that.

Reply 11

mazruby

Original post by rituanand

Hello Ritu, I'm in an identical dilemma right now. I'm holding offers from both Durham and Manchester for MSc Management.What have you finally decided on?

Reply 12

rituanand

Hi! I went with durham because i did not hear back from manchester! :smile:

Reply 13

Anonymous #1

Original post by Eljoe

Durham. Better undergraduate teaching than at Manchester because the classes are smaller and the average student there is likely smarter than at Manchester, although the smartest ones at UoM are some of the brightest students in the country (they are mostly international), the huge class sizes give rise to a wide range of variation skewing the average. Durham will also shape him to be a better overall individual. However, for that graduate degree, Manchester >>> Durham

Reply 14

Anonymous #2

if you don’t mind me asking, why do you think Manchester is better for postgraduate than Durham?? Thankss

Reply 15

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous #1

If you don’t mind me asking, why do you thinkManchester is better for postgraduate than Durham?? Thankss

Reply 16

Picnicl

Original post by River85

Because Manchester is a much larger university, and produces a greater quantity of research across the faculties (note quantity, not necessarily always better quality). This is what the international league tables consider. Domestic league tables consider things such as research quality, student satisfaction (among undergraduates), career prospects, entry standards (again, among undergraduates) and other factors.
It's difficult to compare teaching quality without knowing the department/course you'll be applying to. Also, as a postgraduate, are you interested in research? Are you applying for a taught or research postgraduate programme?

But Manchester's research quality is also better than Durham's on average (87% v 83%).
However it's true that Manchester's size would aid it in creating more research than Durham since, as a percentage of staff doing high quality research, Durham actually has a higher percentage (70% v 66%). But do the Manchester staff each individually submit more research too?