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Is an MSc Economics from Warwick ...

Suitable for direct entry into phd cambridge or oxford without doing the mres?
Original post by longshanksbow
Suitable for direct entry into phd cambridge or oxford without doing the mres?


Yes
I haven't been thinking about post-MSc options because I'm not sure I want a PhD in Economics or not. However, a few options come to mind, since I'm looking to do a short PhD if I must do one. FYI I will be on leave from my company starting September and ending next year, but I'm not sure they will let me do another leave of absence for a PhD.

1. Ask Warwick I'd like to do an MRes in February 2017.

2. Apply to Cambridge and UCL MRes in December 2016 and January 2017.
2.1. If I get accepted to Cambridge or UCL MRes, then go to either in October.
2.2. If I don't get accepted, proceed to MRes Warwick.
2.3. If I don't have the MRes Warwick option, then go back to work.

3 . Reapply to Cambridge and UCL PhD in December 2017 and January 2018.
2.2. If I get accepted to either, less than 1 year into the Warwick MRes, then go there.
2.3. If I get accepted in my current employer, I may or may not be able to go.

For 2.1, I'd be doing four years of graduate work, and for 3, I'd be doing five years. My question is whether I would be able to enter Cambridge or UCL immediately next year, conditional on finishing a MSc in September 2017, and if not, whether 1 year of MRes in Warwick will shed 1 year of PhD time-to-completion in Cambridge?

Thank you.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by longshanksbow
I haven't been thinking about post-MSc options because I'm not sure I want a PhD in Economics or not. However, a few options come to mind, since I'm looking to do a short PhD if I must do one. FYI I will be on leave from my company starting September and ending next year, but I'm not sure they will let me do another leave of absence for a PhD.

1. Ask Warwick I'd like to do an MRes in February 2017.

2. Apply to Cambridge and UCL MRes in December 2016 and January 2017.
2.1. If I get accepted to Cambridge or UCL MRes, then go to either in October.
2.2. If I don't get accepted, proceed to MRes Warwick.
2.3. If I don't have the MRes Warwick option, then go back to work.

3 . Reapply to Cambridge and UCL PhD in December 2017 and January 2018.
2.2. If I get accepted to either, less than 1 year into the Warwick MRes, then go there.
2.3. If I get accepted in my current employer, I may or may not be able to go.

For 2.1, I'd be doing four years of graduate work, and for 3, I'd be doing five years. My question is whether I would be able to enter Cambridge or UCL immediately next year, conditional on finishing a MSc in September 2017, and if not, whether 1 year of MRes in Warwick will shed 1 year of PhD time-to-completion in Cambridge?

Thank you.


It's not very clear why you aren't doing the obvious thing of applying to PhDs this autumn and then making a decision about taking a place up as/when/if you get offers.
Original post by threeportdrift
It's not very clear why you aren't doing the obvious thing of applying to PhDs this autumn and then making a decision about taking a place up as/when/if you get offers.


By this autumn do you mean applying to mres/phd programs for next year? That option is the cambridge/ucl option. If you mean applying to PhD without MRes, then that seems impossible to tackle since my college records are bad and cambridge should want good grades from msc or anything else to go with, although I have some substantive research experience which I think I can work with. I think Essex has a similar route to phd and in that instance I may even apply to essex mres now.

In any case I'm not sure how much the msc will count for against the mres/phd programs. Will it be able to supplant a cambridge or essex or ucl mres completely?
I'm also a bit confused about what your question is tbh. I think you have a few options in terms of what you can do and then it's up to you to work out what works best for you and where would be best to gain your qualifications based on your research interests.

If you want to do an MSc you may be able to work part time depending on your schedule and how you manage your time. If you want to do an MRes you may not be able to work part time and maybe can consider doing the degree part time if you need to work. An MRes is more demanding because you'll be expected to be doing your own research. In both cases you will need 3-4 years to do a PhD and you can't really shave time off that. because there are a number of factors that will dictate how long the PhD takes. An MRes+Phd program takes 4 years. You can always consider doing the PhD part time as well.
Original post by longshanksbow
By this autumn do you mean applying to mres/phd programs for next year? That option is the cambridge/ucl option. If you mean applying to PhD without MRes, then that seems impossible to tackle since my college records are bad and cambridge should want good grades from msc or anything else to go with, although I have some substantive research experience which I think I can work with. I think Essex has a similar route to phd and in that instance I may even apply to essex mres now.

In any case I'm not sure how much the msc will count for against the mres/phd programs. Will it be able to supplant a cambridge or essex or ucl mres completely?


I'm still confused. If you have an MSc from Warwick, you are equipped to do a PhD at Cambridge. You do not have to do an MRes.
Original post by threeportdrift
I'm still confused. If you have an MSc from Warwick, you are equipped to do a PhD at Cambridge. You do not have to do an MRes.


Okay, according to someone who did his MSc at (fill-in-the-blank competitive) university in the UK, Cambridge rarely accepts students from outside of the UK/EU into their MRes program directly, and that (s)he had to rely on his/her MSc to get accepted, according to Cambridge Univ.

So I'm actually from Asia, and did my undergrad at an ivy league institution in the US(which is supposedly the equivalent of an Oxbridge/LSE degree in the UK) but I have no math credits in college nor have a good enough GPA to support my application.

So it seems, based on the anecdotal and testimonial evidence stated above, that you need to do an MRes after an MSc from a competitive university such as Warwick, or am I wrong on this, due to the prestige of Warwick's economics department differentiating it from other lower-ranked MScs?
Original post by longshanksbow
Okay, according to someone who did his MSc at (fill-in-the-blank competitive) university in the UK, Cambridge rarely accepts students from outside of the UK/EU into their MRes program directly, and that (s)he had to rely on his/her MSc to get accepted, according to Cambridge Univ.

So I'm actually from Asia, and did my undergrad at an ivy league institution in the US(which is supposedly the equivalent of an Oxbridge/LSE degree in the UK) but I have no math credits in college nor have a good enough GPA to support my application.

So it seems, based on the anecdotal and testimonial evidence stated above, that you need to do an MRes after an MSc from a competitive university such as Warwick, or am I wrong on this, due to the prestige of Warwick's economics department differentiating it from other lower-ranked MScs?


You are wrong, but if in doubt, ask Cambridge.
Reply 9
Avatar for _Indra_
_Indra_
Hello,

I have finished an MSc in Economics at Warwick this September (2016) after 1 year of Postgraduate Diploma still in Warwick.
I applied for an MRes in UCL and for a PhD in Cambridge and Oxford in December 2015 (during the first term of the MSc).
I received conditional offers from UCL and Cambridge (rejected by Oxford) and opted for UCL, so now I'm an MRes student at UCL.

It's possible then, but you should get a first in the MSc, have high previous marks/GRE and some Research Assistantship, which is good for the references.
Hope this helps

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