Imperial vs UCL for postgrad in conservation field

Hey all, I would like to get some advices on which programme/university is more relevant for wildlife conservation. I have offers for MSc Ecology, Evolution and Conservation from Imperial (based at Silwood Park) and MSc Biodiversity and Global Change from UCL, but I’m not 100% sure which course is more fitting for me. While everyone around me think I should select Imperial because of its much higher ranking and ‘prestige’, I personally think UCL’s programme fits my career aspirations better, with the course being more multidisciplinary and dynamic. Does university ranking matter so much? I would love to hear some feedback from those who did the programmes before or did similar programmes in either one of the universities.

Reply 1

HoldThisL

At masters level, I'm no expert, but yes, university prestige definitely matters and is worth considering even if we're talking about UCL and Imperial

What are your career aspirations? Why does UCL fit that better?

If you feel you'll benefit from it more, you probably will, and don't let me give the wrong impression - UCL and Imperial are similarly prestigious universities on the international level - I'm just trying to say Imperial has the slight edge, so take that into consideration unless the UCL course is clearly the one for you

Reply 2

ChinTheBird

Original post

by HoldThisL

At masters level, I'm no expert, but yes, university prestige definitely matters and is worth considering even if we're talking about UCL and Imperial
What are your career aspirations? Why does UCL fit that better?
If you feel you'll benefit from it more, you probably will, and don't let me give the wrong impression - UCL and Imperial are similarly prestigious universities on the international level - I'm just trying to say Imperial has the slight edge, so take that into consideration unless the UCL course is clearly the one for you

Hey, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts sincerely. My main career aspiration is to be able to contribute to systemic changes that could benefit the wildlife conservation field positively across my home country.

Comparing the programmes from both institutions, I think the programme offered by UCL is able to give me foundation that is more relevant, compared to the one by Imperial, which I feel would be able to prepare me in becoming skilled field researcher in ecology, but is not exactly what I’d prioritise at this stage. I think UCL’s programme would allow me to have better understanding of the global trend and threats to biodiversity, and equip me with the necessary monitoring and applied conservation skills.

I’m almost certain that the UCL’s programme would be more fitting for me, but would still like to hear some feedback from those who did the programmes before, just to make sure my assumptions for both programmes are not wrong.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your honest feedback. From the opinions I’ve gathered from the people I’ve spoken with so far, I do feel that prestige matters, at least amongst the people in the workforce. However, considering that it is ultimately about the skills we learn and how that align with our own personal goals, not the name we carry, I would probably listen to my heart at the end of the day.

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