Best universities for economics

The survey is a measure of student opinion, not a direct measure of quality, so it may be influenced by a variety of biases such as the effect of prior expectations. A high-ranked university expected to deliver really excellent teaching could score lower than a lower-ranked university that, while offering lower-quality teaching, does better than students expect from it.

Hi,

What would you say are some of the best UK universities for economics? In terms of future prospects, student satisfaction, etc? Wanted to hear some of your opinions.

Thanks

Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, UCL and Warwick are defo the top bracket universities for Economics. Some other top universities for econ include Bath, Nottingham, Bristol and St Andrews imo

Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, UCL and Warwick are defo the top bracket universities for Economics. Some other top universities for econ include Bath, Nottingham, Bristol and St Andrews imo

Are these good:

LSE
Exeter
Warwick
Leeds
York
UEA
Lancaster

I am going to rank these universities below:
1. LSE
2. Warwick
3. Exeter,Leeds, and York
4. Lancaster
5. UEA

I am going to rank these universities below:
1. LSE
2. Warwick
3. Exeter,Leeds, and York
4. Lancaster
5. UEA

OP, this a better list of good UK economics courses than what can be found using official rankings like the guardian, complete university guide, Time rankings, global QS rankings, etc.

But I'd also add Durham and Edinburgh into the second bracket.

Hi BenRyan, i am a new register in TSR and i cannot send DM to you and sorry to send message in this way. I am the offer holder of Msc in EME, LSE and MPhil in Economics, Oxford in 2022. i want to listen some advice from you. I have not too much interest to pursue a Ph.D if i can get a decent job after graduating MPhil from Oxford ( i prefer Consulting like MBB or OW, Economics Consulting or NGO (like the world bank, WTO) ). However, if i fail to find these jobs, i my choose to find Ph.D. in Management since business school has abundant funding( no interest to economics). Oxford is very expensive to me, but if its career path is good, I try to pay for it for my future. Thanks for any suggestion from you.

Firstly, congrats on the offers, they are the two best UK Economics master's courses in my opinion, so well done!

Deciding between depends on a few differences between the courses. The main one is that LSE's EME is ~9months long, whereas Oxford's MPhil Economics is 2years long. So whilst they're roughly the same price in terms of tuition, with LSE you'll have to pay for 1yr of living in London Vs 2yrs of living in Oxford (generally cheaper than London per year but obviously more expensive overall as you'd be there twice as long). Another big difference is that whilst at LSE, you'll write your dissertation whilst studying your other modules, at Oxford's master's normally you finish modules and then write the dissertation.

Another big difference is the course content. Both are designed as being top master's to enter either industry or a PhD. However, Oxford's is more geared towards prepping you for a PhD which is why you do modules in stuff like real analysis, etc whereas LSE's does prep you for a PhD but it better prepares you for industry imo. Another big difference is the modules, at LSE you get less choice and you do a few long modules whereas at Oxford you do more optional modules so can tailor it more to your interests.

In terms of careers, I'm not sure what you mean by OW, but both of these master's would be good for MBB and economic consulting. NGOs (e.g. WB, IMF, BIS, WTO, UN, etc) may be possible but in my experience they typically hire PhD graduates rather than master's ones so you may find this relatively more difficult. It's also worth noting that LSE's location will be significantly better for when you get round interviewing for different businesses/organisations as it's based in London.

In terms of doing a PhD afterwards (in UK or abroad), I think the actual material of the EME is harder and so is better prep for a PhD. However, if you're going down the PhD route and want to the MSc/MPhil then straight into PhD without a gap then Oxford's might be better as you can do the first year normally, build up relationships with the faculty and then apply in your second year for a PhD so that you can start it once finishing your MPhil. Whereas at LSE it's harder as its a shorter course, you would need to apply for a PhD soon after starting the MSc so will be hard to get good recommendation letters as the professors won't know you much, unless you did your undergrad there.