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Looking at Masters courses, what to look out for when deciding on universities?

Hi there, I've decided I want to do a masters course in Philosophy Ma, I have some universities in mind but the problem I'm finding is I don't know how exactly to compare universities. There's far less information on the universities for postgraduates than for undergraduates, I've been able to find a recognised league table for philosophy at postgrad level which is great but short of that I don't know where to start. I visited Bristol University last week and I didn't know really what I should be looking at. The main two things I am looking for is firstly a great department and standard of teaching, then secondly a city which has a good music scene, for gigs and such, but the problem is I'm not sure exactly how to compare places. Like I don't know what I should be looking out for, there's no guides when visiting so it's harder than visiting for undergrad. I'm looking at UCL, Kings College, Birkbeck College, Bristol, Edinburgh and Leeds. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Reply 1

Angelil

www.findamasters.com is apparently a good place to start.

And that's a lot of paperwork there - I'd advise applying in two 'cycles'. Apply to the ones with earlier deadlines before Xmas, and then if you don't get offers from those, apply to the remaining ones in March/April, just to spread out the process.

Most important thing to check out is the department and who could potentially be supervising you.

Reply 2

Komakino

Thanks a lot for the advice Angelil

Reply 3

FadedJade

Hi there, I'm in the process of applying for Philosophy masters myself so might be able to help as I've researched quite extensively!
What areas of Philosophy are you hoping to specialise in? Are you applying for a taught or research masters?

Angelil's advice is good about getting things in before Xmas but you might be struggling a bit. I had everything ready to be sent off late September but I've found it quite difficult to get references sorted. So if you're planning on taking her advice I'd get sorted asap. :smile:

Reply 4

apotoftea

Keep in mind that Birkbeck is a specialist evening only institution. Your course will be only taught in the evenings and AFAIK, the only accommodation they have for students is through the UoL collegiate halls which has high demand on a small number of rooms.

Oh and you will not find a league table for postgrad studies. Look at resources, who's in the department, does the course fit with your research interests etc.

Reply 5

Komakino

I really don't know Im not sure how I've left things so late as I've been thinking about doing a masters for a long time. Which Universities are you looking at Nina? I think I would want to specialise in Philosophy of the mind but Im also interested in gender philosophy, metaphysics and epistemology. Im applying for a taught masters.

Reply 6

FadedJade

Durham is a great place for those areas! I know a lot of your listed are London based and I didn't look at any of those because I wouldn't want to live there.

Personally I'm interested in ethical and political theory and I want to go to Reading as they have a lot of specialists there.

If you look at www.prospects.ac.uk you can search for philosophy masters and it tells you all the relevant courses available. I used that to help me narrow down the options before looking at institution websites.

Reply 7

TheInvincible

Check out the Times World University Rankings http://www.topuniversities.com/university_rankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/top_100_universities/

Reply 8

FadedJade

Those ranking have absolutely nothing to do with postgrad applications however so thats a rather pointless exercise.

Reply 9

Komakino

Yes I looked at that already, its not that good to be honest, plenty of these universities were not on there. One thing you might want to look at is the Philosophical Gourmet Report, it seems to be the only table comparing postgrad philosophy programs

Reply 10

FadedJade

Personally I didn't find that of any use to me at all. And realistically, I don't think tables help for postgrad. The courses are much more specialised so its more important to go with that IMO.