QMUL vs Birmingham?

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(edited 1 year ago)

.ACS.

Well, the QMUL course is much more mathematical and theoretical because the maths related modules are taught by the school of maths whereas in Birmingham all the courses are taught in the economics department.

It's a tough call. In my BSc and MSc I focused on econometric theory, and my preference would be for QMUL as the course is more rigorous than Birmingham's course. Then again, Birmingham has a lot of interesting applied economics modules with a focus on eastern Europe and they have a lot more case studies, so you end your BSc with a good basic theoretical grounding as well as actually knowing what has happened in economies around the world since the 1900s. QMUL, however, is much more theoretical, focusing on the maths and the models, without much application, but they would argue you can apply this in your spare time or your dissertation, and it is more important to have a better understanding of the theory as opposed to what's going on around you. (It's an old debate I suppose that you can't have a true understanding or appreciation of the application without a solid grounding in the theory; you only need to look at some of the awful work by Andrew Rose on currency unions and trade theory to realise that without a good grasp of the theory, your empirics can be meaningless and in fact just wrong. But equally, unless you know the data, the context, etc., maybe your model just doesn't match in reality in which case it is also meaningless. But that's for another discussion!)

It depends on what you want, really. I'd argue QMUL is better prep. for an MSc and then PhD. Birmingham is maybe more interesting, depending on your interests/likes?

Neither is going to have a significant impact on your career chances. However, I do know that QMUL academics work a lot with the Bank of England, Frontier Economics and a few other economic research houses in London. So if you do well in a few modules, get to know your lecturers, this may help with references, etc. But again it depends on what you want to do after university.

Reply 2

.ACS.

Having done a more mathematical and rigorous course at QMUL will improve your chances at being accepted into LSE, UCL, etc. for an MSc programme. That is, of course, as long as you do well in your undergraduate.

Plus, I would argue that going to QMUL might also improve your chances because a lot of academics at QMUL do work with those at LSE and UCL. Additionally, recent PhD graduates from QMUL have gone onto positions at LSE and UCL. Finally, a number of macro-finance specialists at QMUL are members of LSE's Financial Markets Group or Centre for Macroeconomics. When applying for MSc or PhD programmes, one cannot underestimate the impact of your references on being admitted.