The Student Room Group

UCl vs Kings Neuroscience 2018

So I'm going to be applying for neuroscience soon. And I'm finding it hard to decide between the 2 universities. I can't be the only one here who's finding it hard to decide.
So UCL is supposed to be a better university for neuroscience but Kings offers a year in industry which would help a lot in getting a job.
Also there's a lot of other factors that I haven't considered yet such as accomodation and location.

So what do you guys think of it?

Scroll to see replies

Original post by weamy
So I'm going to be applying for neuroscience soon. And I'm finding it hard to decide between the 2 universities. I can't be the only one here who's finding it hard to decide.
So UCL is supposed to be a better university for neuroscience but Kings offers a year in industry which would help a lot in getting a job.
Also there's a lot of other factors that I haven't considered yet such as accomodation and location.

So what do you guys think of it?


I would say UCL has the better reputation overall and if it has a good department as you said it sounds good.
Kings is also well respected but I have heard that it is less organised with quality of teaching etc
But I think base your final decision on which uni you felt more at home at at open days? Because different unis suit different people
Reply 2
Does King’s really offers a year in industry? I got accepted in King’s for 2018 neuroscience and I’m waiting for UCL to reply.
Reply 3
Original post by Aish_P
Does King’s really offers a year in industry? I got accepted in King’s for 2018 neuroscience and I’m waiting for UCL to reply.


Yes, they do.

Screenshot (1).png



So what are your thoughts about this?
Reply 4
As much as I’ve read, KCL has IOPPN in the campus and it is a very prestigious institute for neuroscientists in UK. The lecturers also work there. I like KCL modules more than UCL as they are flexible. Didn’t get much info on UCL tbh but again it has good reputation. But I’m inclined towards KCL right now. How about you?
Reply 5
Original post by Aish_P
As much as I’ve read, KCL has IOPPN in the campus and it is a very prestigious institute for neuroscientists in UK. The lecturers also work there. I like KCL modules more than UCL as they are flexible. Didn’t get much info on UCL tbh but again it has good reputation. But I’m inclined towards KCL right now. How about you?

For neuroscience I'd say UCL is the best place to be. They have EVERYTHING (450 PIs in neuroscience alone). KCL is also a good university, but it's clearly no match for UCL in neuroscience.
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 6
Kings have a Year in industry which will help a lot of with getting a job. UCL do have a higher prestige which will also help but I think a year in industry will be better.

Module-wise, I prefer UCL because they are more neuroscience-focused which I prefer. i'm pretty certain about what I want to do.

While UCL are supposed to have a large community of neuroscientists, I don't think that will directly help for my Bachelors. I heard that UCL do have a large variety of final year projects because of this but I guess I could do a BSc at Kings and then a MSc at UCL.

So yeah, I'm leaning towards Kings as well.
Reply 7
Original post by Neuro:
For neuroscience I'd say UCL is the best place to be. They have EVERYTHING (450 PIs in neuroscience alone). KCL is also a good university, but it's clearly no match for UCL in neuroscience.


I guess you made it pretty clear. I’ve been having clash of thoughts and it seems like you almost convinced me what I’ve been thinking this whole time. UCL has lot of research focused modules which will help me a lot in future. Thank you so much!
Reply 8
Original post by Aish_P
I guess you made it pretty clear. I’ve been having clash of thoughts and it seems like you almost convinced me what I’ve been thinking this whole time. UCL has lot of research focused modules which will help me a lot in future. Thank you so much!

I strongly suggest UCL. You might think that the research doesn't influence undergraduate training to a great extent, but that is wrong. The lecturers you will have are all experts in their fields. UCL does something called 'research driven teaching'. It means that every lecturer teaches just things directly related to his/hers area of research. In this way you will not only be taught by people who know what is happening right now in the field but by ones who are themselves involved in developing the field. There are lots of internship opportunities so don't worry about this.The student body is particurarly lovely as well.
Good luck!
Reply 9
Original post by Neuro:
I strongly suggest UCL. You might think that the research doesn't influence undergraduate training to a great extent, but that is wrong. The lecturers you will have are all experts in their fields. UCL does something called 'research driven teaching'. It means that every lecturer teaches just things directly related to his/hers area of research. In this way you will not only be taught by people who know what is happening right now in the field but by ones who are themselves involved in developing the field. There are lots of internship opportunities so don't worry about this.The student body is particurarly lovely as well.
Good luck!


Yes. You’re right! My main focus is research so it’ll be a great exposure for me. I just didn’t want to regret my decision and hence was overthinking. Thanks a lot :smile:
Reply 10
Original post by weamy
Kings have a Year in industry which will help a lot of with getting a job. UCL do have a higher prestige which will also help but I think a year in industry will be better.

Module-wise, I prefer UCL because they are more neuroscience-focused which I prefer. i'm pretty certain about what I want to do.

While UCL are supposed to have a large community of neuroscientists, I don't think that will directly help for my Bachelors. I heard that UCL do have a large variety of final year projects because of this but I guess I could do a BSc at Kings and then a MSc at UCL.

So yeah, I'm leaning towards Kings as well.

The large community of reasearchers at UCL really has an impact on undergraduate teaching. I'm aware that this might not be obvious for an applicant, but, as I mentioned on a another reply, teaching @UCL is 'research driven'. This means that the lecturers change quite often (for neuroscience modules you might have only one lecture from a particular lecturer), but they are doing research exactly about the things they are teaching you about. In this way you can be sure the lecturer knows the latest developments in the field (and it's amazing how you probably can't think of a question they can't answer :P ). You also see the passion they have for that topic (because it is what they do every day, it is what they love).
You will be trained by a lovely community of researchers, starting from young and enthusiastic ones and going all the way to fellows of the Royal Society. If you're lucky you might even encounter Nobel-laureate John O'Keefe around the campus.

Anyway, choose the university you think you will like the most!

Cheers!
hey guys

i just saw this thread. I'm actually a current neuroscience student at UCL in my first year so I'm just finishing my first term so I'm willing to answer questions if you have any. I also got an offer from kings for neuroscience and kept it as my insurance choice if anyone is interested. I'm on the MSci undergraduate course and the class is evenly split between people studying for the BSc and MSci courses.

Reply back to this post if you have any questions.

You might also want to check out last year's 'neuroscience applicants 2017' thread because someone others, including myself, posted quite a bit and there are some links for extra reading around the subject if you want to do that before you start next year.
Original post by Shockwave109
hey guys

i just saw this thread. I'm actually a current neuroscience student at UCL in my first year so I'm just finishing my first term so I'm willing to answer questions if you have any. I also got an offer from kings for neuroscience and kept it as my insurance choice if anyone is interested. I'm on the MSci undergraduate course and the class is evenly split between people studying for the BSc and MSci courses.

Reply back to this post if you have any questions.

You might also want to check out last year's 'neuroscience applicants 2017' thread because someone others, including myself, posted quite a bit and there are some links for extra reading around the subject if you want to do that before you start next year.


Thanks for the help! I am applying to Neuroscience at both UCL and Kings and recently got an offer from kings, but waiting for UCL. I found out the degree at KCL has Advanced Degree Accreditation by the Royal Society of Biology, but the degree at UCL is not accredited. Do you think it matters to have an accredited degree in neuroscience for future prospects?
Reply 13
So it seems like it's between 'more focused teaching' (UCL) vs 'year in industry/abroad' (Kings College London), when it comes to course related stuff.

What about student life at the universities? They're pretty close to each other so I'm sure location doesn't really matter.

@Sawbones , can you give an answer for KCL?

@Shockwave109, what do you think?
Reply 14
hey guys i've applied for medicine 2018 entry but I've got my fifth choice offer for neuroscience at kings. I was wondering what made you guys have an interest in studying neuroscience.
Reply 15
Original post by Neuro:
The large community of reasearchers at UCL really has an impact on undergraduate teaching. I'm aware that this might not be obvious for an applicant, but, as I mentioned on a another reply, teaching @UCL is 'research driven'. This means that the lecturers change quite often (for neuroscience modules you might have only one lecture from a particular lecturer), but they are doing research exactly about the things they are teaching you about. In this way you can be sure the lecturer knows the latest developments in the field (and it's amazing how you probably can't think of a question they can't answer :P ). You also see the passion they have for that topic (because it is what they do every day, it is what they love).
You will be trained by a lovely community of researchers, starting from young and enthusiastic ones and going all the way to fellows of the Royal Society. If you're lucky you might even encounter Nobel-laureate John O'Keefe around the campus.

Anyway, choose the university you think you will like the most!

Cheers!


BTW, how 'accessible' are the researchers/lecturers to the students? I mean, can you ask for help with the course or maybe just some general questions?
Reply 16
Original post by k.g.
hey guys i've applied for medicine 2018 entry but I've got my fifth choice offer for neuroscience at kings. I was wondering what made you guys have an interest in studying neuroscience.


I'm interested in Brain Computer Interfaces (my interest started when I watched an anime called Sword Art Online) and also behaviour & thoughts. So I'm going with Neuroscience because I can specialise either way (Computational or Cognitive).
Reply 17
Original post by weamy
BTW, how 'accessible' are the researchers/lecturers to the students? I mean, can you ask for help with the course or maybe just some general questions?


They are all very 'accessible'. You can contact them on some dedicated forums or send emails. They are all very helpful and quite happy to see interest in their field of expertise.
Original post by makami11
Thanks for the help! I am applying to Neuroscience at both UCL and Kings and recently got an offer from kings, but waiting for UCL. I found out the degree at KCL has Advanced Degree Accreditation by the Royal Society of Biology, but the degree at UCL is not accredited. Do you think it matters to have an accredited degree in neuroscience for future prospects?


Sorry for replying quite late - I've just been busy with life. To be really honest, it doesn't matter if the course is accredited or not. It just means that it is recognised for meeting certain standards but all degree courses are worthwhile if they are accredited or not. The course content is the same and the overall teaching and structure at both unis is almost identical so I wouldn't worry myself over that. Even if the degree at UCL isn't accredited, all of the lecturers and tutors you will have are great and probably fellows of the Royal Society themselves so you can ask them questions too.

King's replied to me quite quickly - they gave me an offer less than a week after applying. UCL took much longer - 1.5 months if I remember correctly.
Original post by weamy
So it seems like it's between 'more focused teaching' (UCL) vs 'year in industry/abroad' (Kings College London), when it comes to course related stuff.

What about student life at the universities? They're pretty close to each other so I'm sure location doesn't really matter.

@Sawbones , can you give an answer for KCL?

@Shockwave109, what do you think?


This might be a biased view so please take this warning into consideration. I haven't actually visited King's in a while so my opinion is fairly outdated.

UCL is in the best location. I live at home in London and UCL has great transport links - Warren Street, Russell Square, King's Cross, Euston Overground and Euston Underground station. There are a lot of green spaces and parks around. The University of London students' union is down the road from the main campus and it only takes one 10-min bus journey to get to Oxford Street from the bus stop directly outside the main quad. It's really safe since there are quite a lot of students around - SOAS, Birkbeck and RADA are very close so there are a lot of people. UCL is the oldest uni in London so it has stunning architecture and the Wellcome Trust and British Museum are within walking distance (British Museum not so much). There's a lot of places to visit here, but we lose to the fact that the River Thames isn't nearby. There are a lot of bars and pubs in the area and the freshers' week pub-crawl is something people enjoying doing. In my opinion, UCL is in the ideal place because it isn't too far away from leisurely activities and tourist places. There is a little bit of building work here and there because they're building a new and larger student's hub which is said to cater for everyone (undergrads, postgrads, postdocs, etc.).

Quick Reply