English masters at Oxbridge

I've been looking at courses in English/cultural studies in the UK. I found the MPhil in Criticism and Culture course at Cambridge, and have been drawn back to the page several times since then. Unfortunately for me, it IS Cambridge and I can only imagine the competition.

Oxford's MSt in English (World Literatures in English) also got me interested. The reason I'm asking about Oxbridge is because of the additional scholarship opportunities. I'm an overseas student, and the fees are more than what I'd earn in a couple of years.

I was wondering if I stood a chance at all. How crazy is the competition? Any idea what the equivalent grades are for Indian degrees? How important is the research proposal? Any advice on this, and any other related courses would be really appreciated.

Also, any one else here applying for these (or similar) courses?

Reply 1

QHF

Original post by plain_jane42

The reason I'm asking about Oxbridge is because of the additional scholarship opportunities. I'm an overseas student, and the fees are more than what I'd earn in a couple of years.

I was wondering if I stood a chance at all. How crazy is the competition? Any idea what the equivalent grades are for Indian degrees? How important is the research proposal? Any advice on this, and any other related courses would be really appreciated.

The competition for places is tough, but people do get in. It's not all Oxford and Cambridge graduates, too: in fact, I think there are usually only a minority of them in each masters cohort. Competition for funding is fiercer still but again, people do win those scholarships. But yeah, it's tough.

The research proposal -- or statement of purpose -- is very important, but when applying for masters courses it's probably best not to think of it as a research proposal but as a slightly more general document. These are primarily taught courses, and the specific topics that people work on for their masters dissertations often change quite significantly between when they apply and when they actually start working on the dissertation. So while it's good to sketch out a detailed and specific idea for your masters dissertation I think it is also helpful to explain why the other components of the course fit your interests. These places get a lot of applicants who have very good BA degrees. They tend to pick out the ones who have research interests which seem to demand the kind of teaching and resources that they, specifically, offer. You want to be a good student with good research interests whose research would be better served by taking the course you're applying to rather than by taking any other course in the world. Show that you're not just applying 'because it's [Oxford]/[Cambridge]' but rather because you've read up on the department which is reading your application and you know that you're a good fit for their strengths and for the course they offer.

Graduate admissions people at each institution ought to be able to help on the question of grade equivalents. You might also find that contacting people in each department who are involved with the courses you are interested in will get you some advice which will help you shape your statement of purpose. Academics are busy and vary in their approachability, but my experiences have generally been positive.

University of Cambridge

Cambridge

Reply 2

sj27

Original post by plain_jane42

I don't know all the details but I know Cambridge has a fair amount of scholarships for indian students (ie relatively more than for other internationals). You do need to check entrance requirements though, because as I understand, in a number of instances a master's from an Indian university is required as the entrance requirement for a master's at Cambridge. Don't know about Oxford.

Edit: hm yes Cam has a minimum requirement of a master's unless you have a bachelor's in engineering from an IIT with 85% or more (I am guessing you did not do engineering?)
http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international-students/international-qualifications

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 3

El Salvador

It's always very difficult to tell.

In the same cohort, you can find people who have a first or a 2:1 going straight into it. You can find people not from a particularly relevant background. You can find people with tonnes of work experience. You can find Oxbridge graduates. You can find people already with a master's degree, maybe even one from Oxbridge already. You can find people already with a good doctorate somewhere. But I also know someone with a 2:2 getting in, though he's doing it part-time.

Reply 4

plain_jane42

Thank you so much for your replies. I didn't think of writing to the graduate admissions office, but I did contact the department directly. I was told there's no reason to believe my academic record would put me at any disadvantage. I've read that a dozen times, trying to read more into it, but I've come up with absolutely nothing. :biggrin:

Haha. You're right, I did not do engineering, wanting to distance myself from the almost scary obsession with engineering that grips most of middle-class India.

Maybe some background would be helpful? I didn't go to IIT, but I do have a master's degree. Not in English, but in a communication related MA where I opted for (and did well in) elective courses such as cultural studies and film theory & criticism. I graduated with a CGPA of 8.57 (on 10), among the top 5 rank holders of my Masters batch. English was one of the subjects in my triple major bachelor's, though, so I do have some directly relevant academic history as well (graduated with distinction, if that helps). I just wasn't sure if this was enough.

I'm really not sure what the equivalent of a first or 2:1 are. I do have a first class BA and MA, which is pretty decent in India, especially for degrees in the humanities. I guess there's no way to know if I don't apply. :smile:

I wanted to see if it would be a "no, with competition that insane, there's no point in applying with your grades". Like everybody else who applies, I'd be investing a lot of time, effort and money into these applications. It would be totally worth it, if I realistically stood even a slight chance. :smile:

Reply 5

sj27

Original post by plain_jane42

I was told there's no reason to believe my academic record would put me at any disadvantage. I've read that a dozen times, trying to read more into it, but I've come up with absolutely nothing. :biggrin:

)

Haha, was that from Cambridge? That's about as close as you'll get to "we encourage you to apply". (And if you get something from them saying "it would be very helpful if you could do X", that means "you must do X, now".).