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Imperial College London

London

Physics, Imperial vs Oxford

Hello to all imperial Physics students out there and/or who have friends studying Physics at Oxford:

What are the differences between Imperial and Oxford for Physics?
1)Teaching Quality
2)Level of Research, Type of Research
3)Research opportunities while a student
4)Career Prospects: Say I wanted to do my phd in america
5)Student-Teacher ratio

Thanks!

Reply 1

hajolli

Imperial is one of the top ten universities on Earth. Your career prospects will be identical regardless of whether your degree is from Oxford or Imperial due to Imperials world ranking and science-specialist status. Your choice is purely down to personal preference.

Imperial College London

London

Reply 2

arianex

Original post by hajolli

And by personal preference, I believe this might mean environment (among other things though, no doubt :biggrin:

)

By environment, I mean the different specialities/quirks of the two universities (Oxford's formal halls, Imperial's mandatory half-day Wednesdays for clubs and socs - and of course, the difference between the two actual cities :biggrin:

) Soi f there's something about a particular uni you're not comfortable with (for me, Oxford's mandatory catered option in the first year and very draughty rooms were a niggle), it might well affect how you end up coping. Don't brush it to one side when you're making your decision.

But back to academia - it might be seriously worth comparing the course structure of the two - this is ICL's, this is Oxford's.

1)Teaching Quality
5)Student-Teacher ratio

Regarding 1) (and 5) to a certain extent), I'd have to say that the core diff between ICL and Oxford is the fact that Oxford has a tutorials system in place; so if that really appeals to you, then that might be worth seriously thinking about if you're trying to decide between the two.

As to proper student-teacher ratios, I'll try and dig up my prospectuses - they have figures there :smile:

I must say with regards to 2), 3) and 4, it doesn't matter whether you go to one or the other; they're still pretty darn good. :cool:

Reply 3

danielhills

I applied for physics at both Imperial and Oxford this year. But got rejected from Oxford, so hopefully will be going to Imperial next September providing I get the grades.

Imperial Positives
- London!
- Probably as respected as Oxford in the Scientific world
- Good summer work oppurtunities in London (big city banks)

Oxford Positives
- It's Oxford
- Better support, possibly..
- Good if your not to keen on huge cities

I think if I had received offers from both, I would of chosen Oxford. I wasn't sure about the course at Oxford but at interview they told me it has changed from the one outlined on their website. It now has less choice and general relativity is now a cumpolsory option in the 3rd year now, not a choice in the 4th. This really appealled to me, but looks like I don't have a choice!

Although Imperial does have the benefit of a Theoretical Physics course, which means I will do less practical and more maths :smile:

So i'm dissappointed to miss out at Oxford but the more I think about it the more I like the sound of Imperial.

Hope this is helpful!

PS.
Why does everyone talk about Oxford and it's amazing tutorial system when most top universities now have similar set ups in place? I understand that Oxford system is probably better, but I think it's not that much of a unique selling point anymore?
just wondering..

Reply 4

freezombie

Original post by danielhills

PS.
Why does everyone talk about Oxford and it's amazing tutorial system when most top universities now have similar set ups in place? I understand that Oxford system is probably better, but I think it's not that much of a unique selling point anymore?
just wondering..

Do they though? Some of my friends are studying engineering at the Technical University of Munich, which has something they call tutorials, but the reality of the matter is 60 students sitting in a room working on problems with two or three academics strolling around the place, available for questions. I think many universities mislabel "master classes" like these, a term I picked up at the U of Manchester, "tutorials", though some certainly do have a tutorial system comparable to the Oxford/Cambridge one.

Reply 5

username549369

My physics teacher told me that Imperial was better than Oxford for physics
(But then again, he might have just been trying to cheer me up after my rejection from Oxford)

Reply 6

BrilliantMinds

Original post by Supernovae

My physics teacher told me that Imperial was better than Oxford for physics
(But then again, he might have just been trying to cheer me up after my rejection from Oxford)

It doesn't really matter now, as I've made up my mind. I hope to bury this thread :getmecoat:

Reply 7

.Theory

they're pretty much equal

so it comes down to girls, and that's where oxford wins

Reply 8

asdfg0987

Original post by BrilliantMinds

It doesn't really matter now, as I've made up my mind. I hope to bury this thread :getmecoat:

What did you decide on?

Reply 9

BrilliantMinds

Original post by asdfg0987

What did you decide on?

I will let you know soon enough.

Reply 10

danielhills

Original post by freezombie

Yeah im not to sure either. Definitely alot of Universities claim to have a tutorial system but whether it is anything like at oxbridge i don't know. Imperial say they have a tutorial system with only a couple of students per academic, i hope this is true as i feel Physics is a course where this kind of learning is particularly important.

I think alot more Universities will take up the tutorial system if they haven't already, especially with increased competition between them as fees increase.

Reply 11

sy_1

Original post by BrilliantMinds

Yeah, I've also heard that Imperial have a tutorial-like system, which makes the difference between Imperial and Oxford even smaller.
How are the different courses at Imperial/Oxford split up and/or assessed? For example, how modular is it at Oxford??

Reply 12

billydisco

Original post by sy_1

It differs by department. In one of the departments you (and 2 others) met with your tutor every other week. You also have study groups and this was arranged by lecture module. SGs were once a week per module and probably contained a maximum of 14 students.

In a typical week i had:
-16 hours of lectures
-8 hours of study groups
-6 hours of practicals
-1 hour of tutorials (2 hours per fortnight)