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Msc Economics & Finance in Warwick (WBS) vs MSc in Economics (Finance) Edinburgh

Hello!!

I’ve been accepted into both programs and I am having a hard time picking between the two and would love to get second opinions!!

Background:

I have 2 years experience in strategy consultancy and looking for a program that covers the following

1- Faculty teaching style its important to me that the faculty is supportive
2- Jobs its important to me that the university supports students in getting jobs
3- Academics! Although i am working in the private sector but after getting my master’s i am looking to take on Graduate Teacher Assistant jobs to emerge myself more in Research and later one possibly continue with a PhD in Economics (field of interest are policies, financial economics)

Honestly although i hate to admit it but prestige is something on my mind when it comes to picking Warwick is in the top 60 universities internationally but locally it seems to have a higher regard than Edinburgh but Edinburgh seems to be more known internationally so I am not sure!

Please share anything on your mind I really want to make the wise choice here
Original post by grizzy09
Hello!!
I’ve been accepted into both programs and I am having a hard time picking between the two and would love to get second opinions!!
Background:
I have 2 years experience in strategy consultancy and looking for a program that covers the following
1- Faculty teaching style its important to me that the faculty is supportive
2- Jobs its important to me that the university supports students in getting jobs
3- Academics! Although i am working in the private sector but after getting my master’s i am looking to take on Graduate Teacher Assistant jobs to emerge myself more in Research and later one possibly continue with a PhD in Economics (field of interest are policies, financial economics)
Honestly although i hate to admit it but prestige is something on my mind when it comes to picking Warwick is in the top 60 universities internationally but locally it seems to have a higher regard than Edinburgh but Edinburgh seems to be more known internationally so I am not sure!
Please share anything on your mind I really want to make the wise choice here
I think the first two points are fairly redundant. Every faculty at every uni will say their teaching style is supportive. And even when hearing feedback from past students, different people find different teaching styles supportive, so it's subjective to the extent that you're unlikely to get any super useful advice on this front.

In terms of careers, most unis don't really help students get jobs nowadays. As you'll know from undergrad and getting into strat consulting, it's really on the students to just do it themselves. This is more for external jobs, in terms of internal roles, it's not super common for people to work as research assistants between MSc and PhD nowadays in the UK, it does happen but it's much more the case now that you'll do RA work for a prof during the summers or while you're doing a PhD, not beforehand full-time. I'm not an expert on the RA roles at these unis, but I would imagine Warwick's might have more available given the course spans the economics department and WBS - both of which are big and highly rated. For Edinburgh, the economics department is much smaller and the uni's business school isn't anything to write home about.

On the prestige factor, if you're looking to work in a different country straight away then I could somewhat understand the prestige of Edinburgh being a thing. But if you're planning to work in the UK straight after the MSc, I'm not sure why the prestige of Edinburgh would be a factor - Warwick is seen as strong in both economics and finance and this generally holds for academia and career prospects. The international rankings and prestige usually just reflect how old and big a uni is, hence why Edinburgh and Manchester are often placed above other unis which are considered better domestically either overall or at least in quite a few subject areas.

Reply 2

Original post by BenRyan99
I think the first two points are fairly redundant. Every faculty at every uni will say their teaching style is supportive. And even when hearing feedback from past students, different people find different teaching styles supportive, so it's subjective to the extent that you're unlikely to get any super useful advice on this front.
In terms of careers, most unis don't really help students get jobs nowadays. As you'll know from undergrad and getting into strat consulting, it's really on the students to just do it themselves. This is more for external jobs, in terms of internal roles, it's not super common for people to work as research assistants between MSc and PhD nowadays in the UK, it does happen but it's much more the case now that you'll do RA work for a prof during the summers or while you're doing a PhD, not beforehand full-time. I'm not an expert on the RA roles at these unis, but I would imagine Warwick's might have more available given the course spans the economics department and WBS - both of which are big and highly rated. For Edinburgh, the economics department is much smaller and the uni's business school isn't anything to write home about.
On the prestige factor, if you're looking to work in a different country straight away then I could somewhat understand the prestige of Edinburgh being a thing. But if you're planning to work in the UK straight after the MSc, I'm not sure why the prestige of Edinburgh would be a factor - Warwick is seen as strong in both economics and finance and this generally holds for academia and career prospects. The international rankings and prestige usually just reflect how old and big a uni is, hence why Edinburgh and Manchester are often placed above other unis which are considered better domestically either overall or at least in quite a few subject areas.

Happy that you’ve answered!! Thank you so much for a lot of valuable inputs to be quite frank unless I get into LSE warwick is indeed the obvious choice haha

May i ask more about the economic department in warwick?? How well established is their research facility in terms of resources and capabilities?

Do they publish research in specific fields only or cover it all? Do they also publish research on an international scale ?

Reply 3

I have been studying at Edinburgh (Econ and Finance). If you pick Edinburgh, pick it for the city or the school prestige (not that it trumps Warwick's). Econ here is dire, Finance is slightly better and the Business School is much more adept than the School of Econ. Do not expect any career aid here.

In terms of exit opportunities, I regret not accepting my offer to Warwick most days.

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