reputation: general or subject specific?

what would you say is more important to you? the reputaion of the university you attend as a whole? or the reputation of the department within you study?

the reason I ask is as you may or may not know, I'm struggling to decide between Imperial and Bristol for Civil Engineering (and reputataion is only one of many factors here). Imperial has a better reputation overall in my eyes although I've heard much better things about Bristol's civil department than Imperial's (who seem to me more recognised in Mech/Aero/EEE)

EDIT: I really intended this for general discussion, not just disscussion of my app :smile:

Reply 1

Acaila

17

For me, reputation of the department, and that's reflected in my uni choice. Generally, nobody seems to have heard of where I go to uni (I was at a fencing comp this weekend and they kept calling us a college :mad:

) but the reputation of my department and faculty is great - everyone back home who knows about drama were very vocal in saying I was going to study a great course at a well-respected place.

Reply 2

Lillybut

1

ummmmmmm, i would have to say id go with my gut instinct. Reputation, and a good course are only some of the things a uni can offer- you have to go there and feel right- if you understand what i mean :wink:

gd luck with ur choice xxxx

Reply 3

jovialtom

2

The difference in reputation between Bristol and Imperial is somewhat negligable. What you should be considering is whether you want to live in London or not.

Reply 4

smurfride

1

yep if there is little difference in reputation, after going to visit the uni which had a great dep for what i want to do, i realised i just couldn't spen 4 years there! if i were you, visit the uni's get a feel for them and see where you think you'll be happiest-at the end of the day if your happy you're more likely to enjoy what you do.

Reply 5

Ollie87

1

It depends on the course really and what you want to go into. For example, law and medicine students are likely to have their career paths planned already and will probably go into something directly related to their degree. In this instance, course reputation is arguably more important.

However, for more 'open' degrees such as English, where graduates could end up doing any number of things not related to their degree, the reputation of the university as a whole is probably more important. Clearly there is no set rule, however.

Reply 6

arkbar

12

Department. Although the University itself (not its reputation) is obviously a significant factor.

Reply 7

jellybaby99

i'd say university, although i should really say department!

Reply 8

wilbur

1

With my uni choices I found the dept and uni repuatation were both gd. The two often seem to go together. But if i had to choose......... department.

Reply 9

Tarts_n_Vicars

13

I'd say Department. Especially as your degree is pretty specialised so your career is more likely to be directly related to it than say an English or History graduate (I'm doing History so don't flame me for saying that lol).

Long term people in your field will recognise the uni with a better reputation in their field rather than good unis in general. Unless you go to Oxford which gets lots of "oohs" and "aahs" when you mention it over dinner lol.

Reply 10

Hawk

1

Personally for me Faculty reputation was far more important than Uni reputation.
Glasgow isn't exactly a top 10 university yet the Vet School is one of the top in the world with an international reputation.

Reply 11

username9303

3

Reputation of the university. But because the course is so specialized there's no particular subject league table as such.

Reply 12

Apricot Fairy

16

It depends on the course.

I'm doing English, and so my career is unlikely to be directly related to my degree course. The general reputation of the university is therefore more important.

If you're doing a more vocational course (such as engineering, for example) then employers are likely to have a much better idea about the relative merits of each course, and so the reputation of your department will be more important.

Reply 13

Apricot Fairy

16

Ollie87

It depends on the course really and what you want to go into. For example, law and medicine students are likely to have their career paths planned already and will probably go into something directly related to their degree. In this instance, course reputation is arguably more important.

However, for more 'open' degrees such as English, where graduates could end up doing any number of things not related to their degree, the reputation of the university as a whole is probably more important. Clearly there is no set rule, however.

Ahh. Ollie got there first. :smile:

Reply 14

gianthead

12

I'd go for the quality of department, unless the university had a terrible reputation otherwise.

Reply 15

shinyhappy

14

For my firm, I went for general reputation. However, for my insurance, I picked the course I liked the most, which ended up being Sheffield, rather than Warwick and Newcastle, which had given me the same offers - but would probably be considered more reputable unis.

Reply 16

Spunky

14

Both. But not overly. I chose the university I go to (Oxford) because of the university, not its inherent reputation. Though if it came down to it I'd pick the best compromise unless one of my choices had an amazing reputation for either department/university, then I'd pick the amazing department/university.

Reply 17

Wrangler

2

I'm always a little skeptical when it comes to Depts having a much better reputation than the university - from the undergrad point of view at least. For instance, if a University with the "best" Chemistry Dept in the country, hands out offers of CCC, the students it takes on wont be as good as those at the Dept which only takes on people with AAA, and I've always thought a very good measure of a degree was how good its graduates are.

However, on the postgrad front - I can see, to an extent, where there can be more of a difference between individual Dept reputations, and that of the University on the whole. But then, I'd say this was down to individual researchers or research groups.

Just my tuppence! :smile:

Reply 18

Danny the Geezer

21

In my case, both. Leeds is a reputable uni but also has a top-5 course.

Reply 19

galactic_star

thats exactly what i wanted to know.....like for example....does Durham qualify as an excellent Accounting/Finance department...probably no..!!...as compared to Bath or Warwick.

.....the reputation of the university as a whole can be understood...however the strength of the department...is like for how many years they have been in business....and where they stand as of now...especially in the level of entry grades required on one side and ......world class employers visiting that particular campus on the other... :smile:

reputation: general or subject specific?

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you