Lancaster or MMU (Electrical engineering)

I've been offered places from both Lancaster and MMU, I've been to both offer holders days and to be honest MMU blew Lancaster out of the water in terms of facilities and lecturer engagement.

My concern is the quality of the courses, networking and employment opportunities after the degree/masters. I've also unfortunately got a bit of an ego and living in the shadow of UoM is weighing on me.

Not sure what to do.

You need to decide what's more important to you. The university which "blew Lancaster out of the water in terms of facilities and lecturer engagement" or the one where you won't risk feel "living in the shadow" University of Manchester.

Given that neither university offers Electrical Engineering, would I be right in assuming that you mean Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE)?

In terms of both "the quality of the courses" and "networking and employment opportunities", the data are all over the place, unfortunately.

According to the National Student Survey, 91% of Electrical and Electronic Engineering BSc students at MMU were satisfied, overall, with the course. The number of Lancaster is just 68%. That might tend to align with your "blew Lancaster out of the water" comment. As might the degree classifications. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 97% of graduates from that course at MMU gained a 2:1 or above, which is impressive given the typical A level grades of students there are DCC. At Lancaster, the typical grades are much higher at ABB, but only 88% get a 2:1 or above. So based upon those two comparisons, and your own offer-holder day experiences, MMU would appear to win on "the quality of the course" race.

However, you also asked about "networking and employment opportunities". For metrics in that area, Lancaster wins. According to the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, sixth months having graduated 75% of Lancaster graduates are "Engineering professionals" earning an average of £28,0000 annually. MMU graduate are "Engineering professionals" 29% of the time, with an average annual salary of £23,000. (Also, 15% of MMU EEE BSc graduate are "Sales assistants and retail cashiers" sixth months after having graduated. )

If we roll forward five years and look at median earnings, using the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset, Lancaster EEE graduates are earning £37,000 compared to MMU EEE graduates at 33,000.

The only explanations I can come-up with for the stark differences here, are that maybe Lancaster has a much better careers service and is much better are helping you find a job upon graduation. Or perhaps MMU graduates are always being compared to UoM graduates.

It seems to me that you should choose MMU (as it's a "better" course) but take personal responsibility for the subsequent career, and do so sooner rather than later (i.e. not just when graduation is around the corner).

All of the above data can be found on The Uni Guide. Data relevant to these courses in particular can be found at:

• Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Lancaster University
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Manchester Metropolitan University

I wouldn’t worry about the shadow of UoM, ultimately your long term career is far more important.

I would go with Lancaster, primarily on how I perceive the universities & secondarily as an engineer & scientist who has spent time in a couple industries and roles. To the best of my knowledge ive never worked with an MMU graduate.

Yeah that is a factore for me, how both universities are perceived. Lancaster obviously has a better rep and their careers service may very well be better at placing graduates.

But from my experience on both offer holders days the staff at mmu seemed far more attentive than those at Lancaster, maybe they have to put in more effort to appeal to prospective students, and I was entirely surprised with the quality of the facilities at mmu and equal suprised at the seeming lack of facilities at Lancaster.

But there's no point doing 3 years at what I believed was the better university to then end up unemployed.

Id also note new/flashier facilities aren’t necessarily better.

Getting a job is primarily driven by students, both building strong skills, preparation for recruitment, getting internships etc. that said culture is a massive part of this, you’ll learn a lot from who is around you - who a university typically recruits is a big factor.

I've been offered places from both Lancaster and MMU, I've been to both offer holders days and to be honest MMU blew Lancaster out of the water in terms of facilities and lecturer engagement.

My concern is the quality of the courses, networking and employment opportunities after the degree/masters. I've also unfortunately got a bit of an ego and living in the shadow of UoM is weighing on me.

Not sure what to do.

Hi @Chris smith6 ,
Congratulations on your offers from Lancaster and MMU.
The careers service at Lancaster is exceptional, they run careers fairs throughout the term and offer lots of help when looking at graduate opportunities and internships by offering 1 to 1 career guidance appointments, as well as offering lots of help in preparing for graduate applications by offering mock interviews and assessment centers.
Also, Lancaster is currently in the processes of having a new engineering building built with lots of extra facilities.
If you have any questions about Lancaster, feel free to ask!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)