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Political Masters courses

Hey everyone,

Hope somone can help. I'd like to do some form of political masters after my undergrad. My 1st year grades were kinda mediocre - 60%. I know I can write alot better from now on and will learn more effective means to hit the higher grades.

I'd like to do a masters at either:
Kings
Soas
Oxbridge
Lse
York
Warwick

Maybe a slant on international relations/diplomacy/globalization.

Is there any advise other posters can offer me in terms of what grade boundaries i need to hit for a great chance at these places or what else they may look for apart from grades. (I am aware LSE will expect a 1st and likewise for Oxbridge)

Funding should not be a problem either.

Any help would be much appreciated.

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Reply 1

unknown demon

please can somoene give me advice?

Reply 2

shady lane

LSE tends to make high 2:1 or 1st offers to students from British universities. I think it depends on your predictions though. A friend on my course got a 2:1 offer with a Bristol degree, but another got a 1st offer from UCL.

60% isn't going to be good enough for LSE or Oxbridge, and probably not for SOAS either.

Reply 3

Alan Smithee

If you don't get the higher grades in the next two years, then forget it.

Reply 4

billyboy

appreciate its not on your list but im at newcy and know their international studies MA asks for a 2:1 or better - would imagine most unis would be similar with the exception of oxbridge really. if your confident that 60% was the lowest you ll achieve then you should be reet. you have got two more years at undergrad level first tho - so id wait until the end of next year before stressing about your results

Reply 5

simon123

billyboy

I really dont think that LSE/UCL/Warwick and probably even places like Bristol//Kings/Durham/York and Nottingham would accept a student with a 2.1 at 60%

Reply 6

ChemistBoy

The minimum requirements on websites are only a certain guarentee of acceptance if there are more places than applicants. I very much doubt this will be the case for this highly competitive area.

Reply 7

Kiri

The War Studies Department at King's College, London, is excellent for political/IR type Master's Degree courses. They offer some really interesting things like an MA International Peace and Security, MA in Conflict, Security and Development, as well as just straight International Relations.

It is, however, a very good department, so there is a lot of competition to get in. Most courses require at least a 2:1, some require a 1st. If you have relevant work experience though, and can show that you are really passionate about studying the course you apply for, then you might have a better chance.

Reply 8

JohnyJ

yeah, at King's I think they would probably expect you to have around 65%, maybe a little less, and that is just a minimum to give you a fighting chance.
Although as an institution King's doesn't rank as highly as oxford, lse etc, its War Studies department is right up there with them. Demand for places is high and so competition can be very tough.

Try not to worry about your overall percentage though. I think they are more interested in seeing how you have progressed. For example if by your final year you are producing first class papers on a regular basis, I think you will stand a good chance.

Other than grades, they will also look at your extra curricular activities (related to the field or not), any work experience you have relative to the field, good letters of rec, and most importantly (I think) a personal statement that shows you have really considered why you want to do the degree (e.g. maybe thats the field you want to work in) and that you are really genuinely interested in the subject. Someone who has a really strong interest in the field who can illustrate it will fair much better than someone with higher grades who chose to do the masters for no other reason than they didn't know what they wanted to do after their undergrad degree.

Reply 9

the_beast

simon123

I really dont think that LSE/UCL/Warwick and probably even places like Bristol//Kings/Durham/York and Nottingham would accept a student with a 2.1 at 60%

maybe LSE.Oxbridge. the rest of them will probably accept someone with a 2.1 (60%-65%) with a strong personal statement, good references (in my opinion). i know this is probably true for warwick because the admissions tutor basically said i would get in on the basis i got a 2.1 (she never asked if it was a high 2.1 etc). then i asked her when i should apply and if competition is high for places. she said i can even apply in the summer and competition depends on the number of applicants, it varies. from her answers i dont think its that competitive. im not too sure about soas or kings because its in london.

Reply 10

JohnyJ

Alot can depend on the individual course.

As far as am aware (and i admit this is based on hearsay and not much else - but this in itself will effect competition for places) Warwick has the best IR masters programme in the country followed closely by LSE. The possibility of getting into IR at Warwick on 60% thus seems remote. If not enough people apply, then sure it is possible. However, the people I know that applied for IR at Warwick all had firsts from their undergrad.

Reply 11

the_beast

JohnyJ

Warwick has the best IR masters programme in the country followed closely by LSE.

i dont know too much about it , so i cannot comment. but even if warwick is better than LSE for IR, it cant be by much. i would rather study it at LSE than warwick.

Reply 12

JohnyJ

Yeah of course when you weigh in all factors including institution reputation, LSE will carry you alot further. But I was talking about reputation of the individual degree programme alone.

Regardless of which is ultimately best though, Warwick is right up there. Hence getting in on a 60% 2.1 will be extremely difficult unless you are amazing in another respect.

Reply 13

shady lane

JohnyJ

Definitely not true.

Reply 14

JohnyJ

Like I said, hearsay, but if i'm hearing that then others must be too. As such I would assume the calibre of students applying is high.

Reply 15

ba_mhaith_liom

JohnyJ

However, the people I know that applied for IR at Warwick all had firsts from their undergrad.

I was in Warwick last year and, for my sins, I was living with two Politics post-grads so I knew numerous people doing the various politics Masters, e.g IR, IPE, International Politics and Europe, Globalisation and Development. I know of three guys who had firsts from their undergrad, but most people simply had 2.1s. And they certainly weren't, in general, an intellectually threatening bunch.

Reply 16

the_beast

ba_mhaith_liom

I I know of three guys who had firsts from their undergrad, but most people simply had 2.1s. And they certainly weren't, in general, an intellectually threatening bunch.

i agree, you just have to look at the website. they give no indication on how competitive it is unlike oxbridge, lse. Most of these programmes are based on coursework. if your coursework is higher (high 2.1) than your degree average (low 2.1) and it is highlighted in your reference., you should get accepted.

Reply 17

Alan Smithee

ba_mhaith_liom

And they certainly weren't, in general, an intellectually threatening bunch.

What is an "intellectually threatening bunch"?

Reply 18

bertu

I'm still stuck at ''intellectually threatening bunch''....

I did my undergraduate in Malta, economics first class honours, voluntary work experience in Malta, Italy, and Ethiopia - accepted into LSE (MSc Development Studies) and Warwick (MA IR). I chose Warwick because LSE is prohibitively expensive in my case, and I preferred the Warwick IR modules to LSE Development Studies Modules (I feel at ease in both IR and Development Studies, so the decision was basically down to which I liked the most).

I have friends who did their degree in Warwick - though it might not rank as high up as Oxbridge and LSE, it does come very close.

Take care!

Reply 19

Socrates

You can get into SOAS masters with 2:2, can does not mean you will, but it has happened before...