The Student Room Group

Does your university matter when trying to apply for a masters?

Let's say I did and economics degree at somewhere like Glasgow. Does that then stop you from going somewhere better in the future to obtain a masters?
It depends on where you apply and what for. Most universities and masters course admissions teams will have a very well developed "cheat sheet" built by looking at how previous students from different backgrounds perform on their courses. In some extreme cases you find that a student with 75% + 1st class degree from institution 1 is equivalent to <35% and 3rd / fail at institution 2.

Glasgow is a pretty well ranked institution so provided you did well on your degree I cant see this being a problem for a masters.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by ErvinBoyes
Let's say I did and economics degree at somewhere like Glasgow. Does that then stop you from going somewhere better in the future to obtain a masters?


Sometimes it makes a difference if you are moving from a very low ranked university to a very competitive course, but Glasgow will give you no problems applying anywhere.
Original post by ErvinBoyes
Let's say I did and economics degree at somewhere like Glasgow. Does that then stop you from going somewhere better in the future to obtain a masters?

Might be difficult for someone studying an undergrad at Solent to then study a postgrad at Oxford but even then, of course if you finish with a 1:1 they can't exactly turn you away.
Your undergraduate university doesn't really matter, but if you are moving from a "lower ranked uni" to a highly prestigious one then you are almost definitely going to need a 1st class degree and relevant experience in your field to have a chance against students who did their undergrad at a higher ranked uni.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by TheSotonian
of course if you finish with a 1:1 they can't exactly turn you away.


Yes they can and do quite happily turn people away with a strong 1st from a lower ranked institute, particularly if the MSc is competitive entry. On courses I have run MSc admissions for we use both an institutional database that translated undergrad scores (national and international) into our equivalent, and the track record of past students from other institutions on our courses. It was certainly the case that we considered some UK "1st class" students to be of too low a quality for entry. There was however also an appetite to see how students from institutions we had not recruited from previously performed, so its not based purely on institution rank, history matters as well.

In summary, a good degree from a lower ranked institution is not a bar to entry to an MSc at a higher ranked institute, but its certainly not a guarantee, and if previous students from the same background as you have done badly on a course, it can and does result in people being turned away.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by Mr Wednesday
Yes they can and do quite happily turn people away with a strong 1st from a lower ranked institute, particularly if the MSc is competitive entry. On courses I have run MSc admissions for we use both an institutional database that translated undergrad scores (national and international) into our equivalent, and the track record of past students from other institutions on our courses. It was certainly the case that we considered some UK "1st class" students to be of too low a quality for entry. There was however also an appetite to see how students from institutions we had not recruited from previously performed, so its not based purely on institution rank, history matters as well.

In summary, a good degree from a lower ranked institution is not a bar to entry to an MSc at a higher ranked institute, but its certainly not a guarantee, and if previous students from the same background as you have done badly on a course, it can and does result in people being turned away.


Fair enough haha

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