Hello everyone,
I see that most discussions relate to the undergraduate programmes, but im on here for some postgrad discussions if anyone can shed some light on this:
I recently got accepted for the MLitt International Relations masters programme at St.Andrews and its counterpart MA International Political Science at Durham. I'm quite torn between making my final choice, since both these unis are so similar in size, population, close community culture, traditional and old unis, reputation for the specific department, overall uni reputation and rankings, etc..
The key differences are:
a) Price: around 10,000 gbp higher overall expenses for one year at St. Andrews compared to Durham.
b) Reputation: St. A seems to be more 'branded' because of its oldest scottish uni title, its guardian and times ranking, and since its always explicitly mentioned in discussions alongside Oxbridge and Russell like as if it was worth that additional mention for such a small uni which isn't affiliated to any group. Whereas Durham is a Russell uni, so it has that clout within the UK for job prospects immediately after graduation.
c) Job Prospects: St. A seems to have fewer recruitment drives due to the low population of the uni and it being quite far off for london based companies... This probably is the same for Durham for the same reasons, but maybe it gets away with it on the job market because of being a Russell group uni.? idk.
d) Social Environment: St. A seems to give off a more social vibe, even if its smaller in size and population. Seems very engaging, with a stronger sense of community, whereas Durham has quite a rep for snobbery. Although i don't know these for a fact. And St.A just seems like it has more going on in general. But all these are just my perceptions.
e) Academics: it's quite literally just self study, and whatever you make of it. Plus how different could the academic resources or tutors be when both are such high performing universities? I do hear that the IR department is a 10/10 in St.A and maybe a 9-8/10 at Durham in comparison to other depts at their unis.
What do you guys think about this?
Does St.A get points for being prettier and culturally rich and more internationally diverse?
i'm trying not to let this make me biased lol.