Urgent choice KCL & St Andrews - where are the experienced ppl?? :)

I urgently need some opinions...

My shortlist consists of:

MA International Peace and Security at KCL
MLitt International Security Studies at St Andrews

Now, the following questions are still open for me:

1) Can one say that St Andrews will look better on a CV than KCL? Sorry for the generalization, but the word "elite" is always used for St Andrews, as far as for the articles that I've come across.
On the other hand, the Times calls KCL as one of the most prestigious institutions in the UK.
Any experiences/opinions on that?

2) Probably someone is familiar with the student body at both universities? Is there a notable difference betw the two in terms of internationalism or St Andrews' reputation of being very posh etc? How is the community feeling :redface:

3) War dept of KCL vs IR dept St Andrews: both very reputable. Still - can one say that KCL might have more links to employers (esp UN, OSCE and international organizations in general), maybe also because of its central London location?

4) In KCL's program, I can take 50% of courses in International Law from its renowned Law School (e.g. IL & Use of Force, Humanitarian Law). This program is also said to be more practical, whereas St Andrews' ISS is said to be much more theoretical in its approach. Any comments?

After the Masters I would like to continue working (I am now working in a UN-related body) in policy making organs (big advantage of IL at KCL...) or any international cooperation - external relations sections etc.

Thanks so much in advance! I am totally torn betw the two... :confused:

PS: costs as well as living in London vs St Andrews is not an issue.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1

beefmaster

I work in the a similar (I assume..) area as you do. Personally I would go with St Andrews. There are some very interested research centres to get involved in while you are studying there and it is very well thought of in the field. I almost went there last year but decided against coming back to the UK for a degree.

On the other hand this is just personal preference. You have experience, that will put you ahead of the many people on both courses that will be attending fresh from an undergraduate degree. So in some ways it just comes down to where you would rather live. If you think of it this way you will probably end up living in London at some point during your career, whereas what are the chances of living in St Andrews!

Reply 2

hp85

Thanks, could you specify a bit about the research centres?

To the experience - I am now working in Administration (financial), - an area where I would not see myself working in the future (I have a BA in International Relations and Management). The reason I applied to this job while finishing my BA is because of the many insights that I got into the functioning of an international organization. My genuine interest, however, lies within IR and also quite specific with Security Studies. Plus, any sort of Security Studies could not be more up to date right now - and it has a broad applicability for any sort of UN related jobs... :smile:

One thing that I have learned by now is: the more practical knowledge you get, the better - no one will ask you for deep theory in the workplace... this is in fact my biggest argument for King's .. (well, next to being able to combine the degree with International Law)...