Does it look bad if you do an undergrad and postgrad degree at the same uni?

Does it look bad if you do an undergrad and postgraduate degree at the same uni?

thanks

I don't see why it would.

If your Uni lets you stay on to do a PhD (I'm assuming that's what you're talking about), then you can't have been that bad, and it makes sense that you get into* something which your uni is good at, because there'll be more opportunities to do projects in it during your undergraduate degree.

I guess it doesn't show an adventurous side, or the ability to convince someone you don't know of your ability and interest in a field, which applying elsewhere would, but it also doesn't prove you don't those attributes.

I'm not really in any kind of position to say though, really. I'm not going to be the one looking at your application for whatever it is your applying for, these are just my thoughts on the matter.

*I mean get interested in, but I guess getting admitted also applies here.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 2

thegodofgod

OP, I would say it may even be the opposite as you would have academic referees who have known you for longer (if you count a BSc/BA and then a MA/MSc/MRes, and then a PhD, then that would be 7 or 8 years) than having done each degree at different institutions.

Reply 3

1024796

Staying at the same university for BA and MA is not really bad. What might look a little dodgy on a CV is if you subsequently did it for PhD as well. I have heard it looks good if you can show you are competitive at other universities too and aren't relying on the same old connections throughout your education. But even then, I'm not sure this is a big factor in most employers' calculations. If you're well qualified and have experience they want to bring on board, they'll take you whatever.

Reply 4

Bill_Gates

Original post by fat_hampster

Original post by thegodofgod

Original post by DeMoomin

Hi guys,

thanks for the replies its for a bsc to a msc.

I spoke to a well known academic at my university and he said it looks better to have two different universities as it shows "insight". But i didnt really get the point tbh, i much rather be at the same institution. But thanks i'll take it into context when applying.

Any more feedback is welcome :smile:

Reply 5

Klix88

Plenty of unis offer discounts to undergrads who continue to a Masters at the same institution. It isn't unusual at all.

Having said that, I did my Masters at another uni. They had a completely different theoretical approach to my subject and I do feel that it widened my perspective. I went back to my undergrad degree for my MPhil/PhD.

Reply 6

Ellim

I am going to go against the grain and agree with your lecturer. Here's the catch: are you planning on going on to do a PhD? If so, then I wouldn't worry so much about moving now (for your Master's) but then move for your PhD. Are you at Oxbridge? It seems 'normal' for some students to do all three degrees at the same uni (though not necessarily in the same college).

I think what your lecturer means by 'insight' could also be called 'influence': the subtle (or not-so-subtle!) focus-shift, change in dominant ideology or methodology from department to department will expose you to a broader range of thinking ad theory.

Not to mention it means you automatically double your available pool for references.

Reply 7

QHF

I wouldn't say staying looks bad, exactly, and it clearly has advantages: you don't need to build up a bunch of new pedagogical/mentoring relationships, you know how the department works &c. But moving also has its advantages: you get a broader sense for the possibilities in your field as every place does things in its own way and has its own emphases and if you've only seen one set you have a more limited perspective. And as Ellim says, it increases the range of people you can ask for references or advice, which is useful. Finally, if you have a particular area you want to work on which another place really specialises in you might want to move there for that, though it sounds like you're happy to stay where you are so I suppose that's not the case.

I switched universities after my undergraduate degree and it has worked fairly well for me. But everyone's circumstances are different, and I'm sure staying at the same university isn't going to automatically put a big black mark on your CV.

Reply 8

RibenaRockstar

If your current university isn't particularly stellar then you can use the next level as a way to move to a more prestigious university

Reply 9

cambio wechsel

I think with others that there's no negative read-off from this but there is a positive read-off to be made from switching. If you switch, you've won the postgraduate place in properly open competition. In staying at the same institution it might sometimes be supposed that you were trading on goodwill built up over your undergraduate degree. Of course this is by no means true of everyone staying on, but what's almost always the case is that someone with a degree that leaves him or her poorly placed to trade solely on the CV will likely stay put "yes, he got a 64% average but of course we saw the Shakespeare paper in which he got a 75 and if he concentrates there, he should be okay..." "that's right, and of course he always hands in on time and in full, so we can at least be content that he'll finish..." "true enough, and he's usefully chatty in seminars..."

Reply 10

poohat

I really dont think it matters, however I would advise getting your Masters from the best university possible, which is likely to mean applying somewhere else (unless you are already at a top place).

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 11

SnoochToTheBooch

that's what I did and I couldn't really give a **** if it does to be honest

Reply 12

Bill_Gates

thanks for the replies guys. Im quite happy with my current uni, i could apply elsewhere but it will involve me moving away from home (Birmingham) which will cost extra and i wont be able to run my business from home which brings about (12k per year) so a double loss.