Integrated Masters or separate masters

Hi, I just finished first year at UCL studying Mathematics.

I don't know whether I should do the 4 year MSci course at UCL (integrated Masters), or do the BSc and move somewhere else for a separate master's degree. If I was to move university it'd be to go to Imperial or Oxford, both who offer masters courses I like the sound of.
is there a particular advantage of doing one or the other? is there really any difference???
Any advice is appreciated.

Reply 1

username1258931

13

Original post by Doge12345

Hi, I just finished first year at UCL studying Mathematics.

I don't know whether I should do the 4 year MSci course at UCL (integrated Masters), or do the BSc and move somewhere else for a separate master's degree. If I was to move university it'd be to go to Imperial or Oxford, both who offer masters courses I like the sound of.
is there a particular advantage of doing one or the other? is there really any difference???
Any advice is appreciated.

Benefit of doing integrated masters: generally it’s just one extra year and you still qualify for student finance (I’m not sure you do if you move and start a separate degree).

Benefit of moving elsewhere: If you need a change of scenery, or if you want to apply for phds at the new institution you already have your foot in the door.

There may be other benefits, for example technically I think separate masters is a ‘better’ qualification but most employers won’t care about the difference.

Reply 2

OddOnes

17

Don't bother with integrated masters. When my dad was hiring graduates anyone with an integrated masters got no extra credit for it compared to standard bachelor degrees.
Anyone who had done a standalone masters did.

Now, I still know many successful people who have gone on to PhDs from integrated masters. However, even they admitted they might have had to still do another masters had they not been accepted.

Integrated masters also limit you in career path. You're stuck doing that subject and have no opportunity to change or specialise. You can't get funding for a standalone masters if you have an integrated one. If you did a standalone masters you can choose whatever subject you want.

I appreciate more funding is available for integrated, but it's a waste of money anyway.

Reply 3

Mr Wednesday

19

Original post by OddOnes

Don't bother with integrated masters. When my dad was hiring graduates anyone with an integrated masters got no extra credit for it compared to standard bachelor degrees.
Anyone who had done a standalone masters did.

As someone who has recruited plenty of PhD students and seen people launch their careers with both integrated masters and stand alone MSci degrees I completely disagree with this comment. Both have their advantages, but anyone that knows what they are doing will understand that a 4 year UCL MSci is >> 3 year BSc.

A stand alone MSc may be a little longer than the 4th year of an MSci and have a more substantial project, that's a potential plus, but it also means changing your financing and the disruption (or possibly joy) of moving to a new institution. My recommendation is to check with your tutor when you would have to make that decision at the latest .... probably well towards the end of your 2nd or into the 3rd year and see how you feel about your options then. Good to do a bit of fact finding about MSc courses at Imperial, Oxford etc but you don't have to rush this.

Reply 4

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

It depends what you want to do with the degree, and what are you're planning to go into work in. You should also consider your financial situation, as while integrated masters are funded as part of the undergraduate degree with maintenance and tuition loans, standalone postgraduate masters are funded separately, and you just get one loan of up to £10k (possibly slightly higher now due to inflation etc) to cover tuition and/or maintenance and you see fit. This is particularly pressing if you wanted to do a 1 year masters in e.g. London, where living costs are extremely high.

However some (maths) PhD programmes prefer you do their masters course as a prelude to it (e.g. Cambridge). Either way, it's normally fairly straight forward to move from the integrated masters to the bachelors in the first two years of the course (and sometimes in third year, early on), and by then you'll have a much better idea of the area/career you may want to pursue and be able to determine whether the integrated masters or a standalone would serve you better. I'd suggest waiting until the end of second year, and revisit the issue then.

In most cases though, I don't think it will make a difference if you do the integrated masters or not. Unless you want to change field entirely (e.g. do a finance masters after a maths undergrad) or go into one of a handful of PhD programmes which normally expect you to do their masters course, and they don't have funding for a 1+3 PhD type programme, it's probably just splitting hairs.

Integrated Masters or separate masters

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you