Oxford v. LSE

I've gotten accepted into two programs:

MSc International Relations (1 year) at LSE in the IR Department
MSc Global Governance and Diplomacy at Oxford in the ID Department

Both are 9 months long. I ultimately want to become a diplomat, civil servant, or journalist. I am from North America.

The LSE course has more options for elective modules (2-3). But I've heard class size is high and opportunity for interaction with professors is lower at LSE. At Oxford, my course will have approx. 20 students but I'll only have two elective modules. But it has the instant name recognition.

Does anyone have any insight on either degree or advice.

Reply 1

zerxtrdftyguh

In this scenario I think choosing Oxford is a no-brainer. I don't know if it is different in the US but International Relations is looked down upon and seen as an 'easy' course by most people in the UK. On the other hand, Global Governance and Diplomacy sounds a lot more prestiguous and will probably help you become a more competitive candidate to apply to the jobs you are interested in.

And honestly Oxfords brand name is worth choosing it over LSE for any subject that isn't economics so yeah, Id choose Oxford if I were you.

Reply 2

masters-help

Original post by zerxtrdftyguh

In this scenario I think choosing Oxford is a no-brainer. I don't know if it is different in the US but International Relations is looked down upon and seen as an 'easy' course by most people in the UK. On the other hand, Global Governance and Diplomacy sounds a lot more prestiguous and will probably help you become a more competitive candidate to apply to the jobs you are interested in.
And honestly Oxfords brand name is worth choosing it over LSE for any subject that isn't economics so yeah, Id choose Oxford if I were you.

Thanks a lot for your reply!
I had no idea that International Relations is seen as an "easy course". Would you mind explaining why?

Reply 3

zerxtrdftyguh

IR is taken by the same type of people that do marketing if that makes any sense. Also, entry requirements (at undergrad) are pretty low and the course just doesn't seem to teach with real world application, so people look down on the subject and honestly, I think employers see a master in IR as having no master at all.

I'm not saying this to make you feel bad about one of your masters choices but so that you take the amazing opportunity you have at Oxford instead of IR.

Reply 4

masters-help

Original post by zerxtrdftyguh

IR is taken by the same type of people that do marketing if that makes any sense. Also, entry requirements (at undergrad) are pretty low and the course just doesn't seem to teach with real world application, so people look down on the subject and honestly, I think employers see a master in IR as having no master at all.
I'm not saying this to make you feel bad about one of your masters choices but so that you take the amazing opportunity you have at Oxford instead of IR.

Thanks for this insight, honestly appreciate it. Do you mean IR is done by the same people who want to do "international business"? Because that makes sense, both have a vaguely related cross-cultural skills component.

Reply 5

Picnicl

LSE only has a research intensity (percentage of staff deemed to be doing high quality research) of 65%, which is surprising, given its reputation. Oxford's is 95%.