The Student Room Group

Departmental -vs- Overal rep

Right, yes i know there are other factors such as campus.. whats best for you etc :wink:

But.. based on SOLELY repuatation/league tables. eg What an employer will think when he sees the uni on your CV.

Specifically these two unis....

Uni of Surrey, 6th for comp sci, but only 39th overal

Durham, 17th for comp sci, 8th overal (well known however.. surrey is not so)

Which is more important? :biggrin:

EDIT: for comp sci ovb ;-)
Reply 1
I'd much rather go to a strong department over a weaker one. Computer science at Durham is far from poor (they don't have any poor departments) but is is one of their more mediocore departments. One of only a handful that don't rank amongst the top five/ten. It's arguably not as renowned as physics, english, history, chemistry, law etc.

Also, an employer is unlikely to base their decision of league tables anyway. Those who actually care about uni rep will already have a fair idea of the strong uni and those they prefer. I think you're doing Surrey a slighty disservice. It's still well known and a solid uni.

Course content and location are far more important than either (at least, in my opinion).
Personally, i go for department, especially for the course i'm doing, as if the teaching isn't up to scratch, clinical skills suites etc aren't as good my experience on placements and as a trained nurse are compromised.

Im a big believer that university reputation means a bit when it comes to academic degrees- as it's the overall teaching quality. However it's the department and RAE that should be looked at more closely- but don't let uni rep be your deciding factor in choosing universities
Reply 3
River85
I'd much rather go to a strong department over a weaker one. Computer science at Durham is far from poor (they don't have any poor departments) but is is one of their more mediocore departments. One of only a handful that don't rank amongst the top five/ten. It's arguably not as renowned as physics, english, history, chemistry, law etc.

Also, an employer is unlikely to base their decision of league tables anyway. Those who actually care about uni rep will already have a fair idea of the strong uni and those they prefer. I think you're doing Surrey a slighty disservice. It's still well known and a solid uni.

Course content and location are far more important than either (at least, in my opinion).


I agree. Especially for a course like computing the course content can be so different. That would be the deciding factor for me.
Reply 4
anna_spanner89
Im a big believer that university reputation means a bit when it comes to academic degrees- as it's the overall teaching quality.


Why so you think good reputation means the teaching quality is good?
TheOneWho
Why so you think good reputation means the teaching quality is good?



Well I assume a university with good facilities, money and research will affect the teaching and study qualities...
Reply 6
anna_spanner89
Well I assume a university with good facilities, money and research will affect the teaching and study qualities...


I think that only really works in theory. In practice undergraduates are rarely let loose on the (really) expensive equipment and some of the best researchers are completely focussed on researching and do little or no teaching.
Reply 7
Department. But there are other factors as well...

Also, it depends on the margin between the two. Like River85 has said, Durham is far from "poor" for comp sci and thus it may be worth sacrificing Surrey's supposedly tip-top comp sci rep for Durham's overall rep if you see what I mean.
Reply 8
TheOneWho
I think that only really works in theory. In practice undergraduates are rarely let loose on the (really) expensive equipment and some of the best researchers are completely focussed on researching and do little or no teaching.


I'd agree with that. Also it's worth saying that a super awesome research king is not necessarily a great teacher: people at the top of their game in terms of research can be mediocre, and sometimes outright poor when it comes to teaching, whilst less celebrated academics, including those just starting their careers can be excellent teachers who really manage to teach rather than relying on the 'read aloud and point at the board' method of education.
In the real world, departmental reputation is probably far less important than it is made out to be here. Out of those two, for example, I'd go to Durham without a doubt, and in computer science I'm sure it'll be seen as stronger because it's Durham.

I'd say overall is more important, but if a department is crap then I'd steer away. But if a department's good but the university isn't, it wouldn't make me want to go there.

To apply it to my application, Durham is a very good university but rubbish for Business, therefore I chose not to apply there.

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