As the title says, do you think they are worthwhile/biased/pretentious, what?...
I think if i went to a uni which allowed the post nominal letters option after graduation, it'd be cool - but that wouldnt influence my choice AT ALL, oxon and cantab are probably the only ones worth using anyway..
list from wiki:
Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter ACSM
City & Guilds School of Engineering, Imperial College London ACGI
University of Cambridge (Cantab)
University of Dundee (Dund)
Durham University (Dunelm)
University of Edinburgh (Edin)
University of Exeter (Exon)
University of Glasgow (Glas)
University of Birmingham (Bham)
Imperial College London (Postgraduate) DIC
University of London (Lond)
University of Manchester (Manc)
Open University (Open)
University of Oxford (Oxon)
Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London ARSM
Royal College of Science, Imperial College London ARCS
University of Southampton (Soton)
University of St Andrews (St And)
University of Wales (Wales)
University of York (Ebor)
They help to demonstrate where you go the degree from, which is helpful if you hold degrees from many places.
So in my case I would have (by the time I finish my PhD):
MA (Oxon), MA (Saint Mary's)* PhD (Wales)
They help to demonstrate where you go the degree from, which is helpful if you hold degrees from many places.
So in my case I would have (by the time I finish my PhD):
MA (Oxon), MA (Saint Mary's)* PhD (Wales)
Other than that there's little use to them!
*a university over in Canada.
woah, thats cool! I sppose its better than just having
MA MA PhD
- but still, is it really necessary? surely you can just TELL employers where you did your degree/s, without putting them at the end of your name on every letter
It is short for the Latin, Eboracum - the Roman name for York.
The whole point of Cantab and Oxon is to indicate that their respective MAs are not a true MA but upgraded upon payment of a small fee from a BA. They are not used in the case of BAs, and their correct purpose is not to claim any kind of advantage from name-dropping - just the opposite.
woah, thats cool! I sppose its better than just having
MA MA PhD
- but still, is it really necessary? surely you can just TELL employers where you did your degree/s, without putting them at the end of your name on every letter
Well you wouldn't use them all the time! Only on CVs and things have I ever seen them used properly. In the case of the Oxford and Cambridge MA you have to deliniate because it's not a proper MA. It's a gratuity.
Say here. Dr Forrest holds an MPhil from Glasgow. So to distinguish he uses the post-nominals. If he were teaching at Glasgow he might well put MA (Oxon) MPhil (Glas) DPhil (Oxon). The reason being is that whilst he holds degrees from Oxford, his middle one is "foreign" as it were.
Say here. Dr Forrest holds an MPhil from Glasgow. So to distinguish he uses the post-nominals. If he were teaching at Glasgow he might well put MA (Oxon) MPhil (Glas) DPhil (Oxon). The reason being is that whilst he holds degrees from Oxford, his middle one is "foreign" as it were.
Nice point.
However, what would be wrong with the following on his profile page (and I'd say that it looks clearer)?
MA -- University of Oxford
MPhil -- University of Glasgow
DPhil -- University of Oxford
Yes, it's more words and all, but we aren't rationed. At least then we have the full information, and those students/alumni of universities that don't happen to have an easily accessible Latin form (which can cause confusion anyway, as we've already had someone who didn't understand the Latin form of York on here) can also use the same format.
However, what would be wrong with the following on his profile page (and I'd say that it looks clearer)?
MA -- University of Oxford
MPhil -- University of Glasgow
DPhil -- University of Oxford
Yes, it's more words and all, but we aren't rationed. At least then we have the full information, and those students/alumni of universities that don't happen to be easily translated into Latin can also use the same format.
Or am I just making too much out of this?
Because it's faster and acts as a shorthand. People don't necessarily use it much these days but a line is much more efficient than a whole paragraph in some of the CVs I've seen.
And yes, yes you are. It's perhaps the least important thing ever!
Because it's faster and acts as a shorthand. People don't necessarily use it much these days but a line is much more efficient than a whole paragraph in some of the CVs I've seen.
And yes, yes you are. It's perhaps the least important thing ever!
What about the example of York University? It relies on people understanding the Latin word for York, which many employers in today's world may well not. Ebor isn't very self-explanatory to those who haven't studied Latin or don't have the requisite general knowledge.
But yes, I agree! Though I shift the blame to the OP.
What about the example of York University? It relies on people understanding the Latin word for York, which many employers in today's world may well not. Ebor isn't very self-explanatory to those who haven't studied Latin or don't have the requisite general knowledge.
But yes, I agree! Though I shift the blame to the OP.
heh, it's a discussion - we all have our opinions
and my view of them, like yours is that don't particularly care about them
What about the example of York University? It relies on people understanding the Latin word for York, which many employers in today's world may well not. Ebor isn't very self-explanatory to those who haven't studied Latin or don't have the requisite general knowledge.
Yes, but in the Academic world - which is really where this matters more - there's a York University in Canada. It uses the (York) post nominal in order to distinguish itself from York University in GB. Academia is an international discipline and y'know, I'm sure no one is going to complain if you put:
No, as they're generally only used in the cases of Oxford and Cambridge, so it's all rather pretentious self-indulgence.
Without trying to continue the Durham "we like to think we're Oxbridge" crap but I'd say Dunelm is used quite often. But yes, it is prententious and there's no real need.
It's interesting seeing where people got their degrees from, such as here
But Latin post nomical letters don't add anything. It's archaic tradition. Anyway, even on that site they don't have Exeter as Exon. Also, I've never seen anyone use Ebor as post nominal letters for York. I know what it's short for, just haven't seen it.
What about the example of York University? It relies on people understanding the Latin word for York, which many employers in today's world may well not. Ebor isn't very self-explanatory to those who haven't studied Latin or don't have the requisite general knowledge.
But yes, I agree! Though I shift the blame to the OP.
I would think (I would hope) most employers would know that York was founded by the Romans and called Eboracum. It was a very important city, the unofficial capital of the Roman world for a couple of years. Then again, maybe I expect most people to be a geek like me.
A place for general questions and discussions about university.
Useful Resources:
Degree "post nominal letters" ie. oxon - needed?
Nice point.
