MSc Finance Lancaster or Imperial

I have offers from Lancaster and Imperial for MSc Finance. Pls help me in selection of the university. As far as I know Imperial is a very highly reputed school but the cost of the course is very high as much as GBP 6000 more than the Lancaster. Is it worth paying the additional fees and going to Imperial or Lancaster is good enough in terms of job prospects, employibility both in UK and abroad.

Reply 1

finmath7

Imperial without a doubt.

The difference of 6000 pounds is no big deal once you've got yourself a lucrative job.

Reply 2

markets

I agree. The two programmes are definitely not in the same league. You should go for Imperial.

Reply 3

hm82

Dont listen to these jokers.

Here are the facts;

Imperial has a better reputation than Lancaster in general in the UK. However if you are planning to work outside of the UK there wont be any difference whatsoever when it comes to applying for jobs. In fact, if companies start looking at rankings such as Financial Times MBA then Lancaster blows Imperial out of the water.

All I can say is that the Accounting & Finance department at Lancaster is top notch (from personal experience) and all of the top Investment Banks come here to recruit. They are especially interested in minorities - Goldman Sachs picked up three asian candidates this year for their IBD and JPM picked up around 6 in total.

All in all on one hand you have Imperial which will cost you over 10k pounds more but you will have a slightly easier time landing interviews in IB; Lancaster will give you just as good an education but has a lower reputation within the UK. It all boils down to your personal preferences and what you want from your degree. Brand names will get you interviews but wont get you jobs, so make the decision based on your future goals, budget, and expectations.

Good luck.

Reply 4

finmath7

I agree that brand name schools will not necessarily land you the job. But it's easier to secure a 1st-round interview.

I can't comment on the quality of education in both Lancaster and Imperial, as I haven't studied there. But you can't deny the fact that Imperial is always top 5 in both teaching and research rankings.

If you take a look at Citibank's recruitment websites, they only have recruitment drives in LBS, Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, IC and Warwick. The way they target schools should reveal their preferences.

But that is not to say that graduates from other schools do not stand a chance. There is an article on i-banks, who they recruit, etc. I'll put the link here when I find it. But basically the top firms claim that most of their employees are graduates with advanced degrees (Masters, PhD) from big names like Oxbridge, LSE, IC and UCL.

Reply 5

hm82

Finmath if you read my post you'll see I said you would have an easier time landing first round interviews if you went to Imperial, but after that only your knowledge, skills, and character are important - I have met a ton of muppet candidates that came from LSE, Oxbridge, Imperial etc in the interviews that I have attended so far and they often fell through while I went to the next round.

So I stress once again - if you are going to work abroad ie India, reputation between the two wont mean much. In fact based on all of the people who I have spoken to in Europe or the States, the only uk schools that most have heard of are LSE and Oxbridge.

So decide whether spending more money is worth the extra reputation or not, and where/what industry you want to work in. Talk to some alumni from the schools that are currently working in the type of companies you plan to target (the schools shouldnt have a problem giving out details provided you ask nicely and the other person accepts) and ask about their first hand experience at securing jobs and so forth.

Reply 6

msq123

Thanks finmath, hm82 and markets! It was great help from you guys. Do remember to give me any new info that you have regarding imperial or lancaster.
Best of luck to you people!

Reply 7

finmath7

I'm likely to attend Imperial MSc Maths & Finance this Sept.
The MSc Finance course is in fact very good (and very technical). I can take electives from Tanaka Business School as well, so we could be future coursemates!

Let's keep in touch.

Let me know if you've decided to go Imperial.

msq123

Thanks finmath, hm82 and markets! It was great help from you guys. Do remember to give me any new info that you have regarding imperial or lancaster.
Best of luck to you people!

Reply 8

pagodas

Lancaster is one of the top in Accounting and Finance. Imperial has indeed a better overall reputation but the specific department at Lancaster is one of the 2-3 TOP...

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