York or Oxford for an MA in Early Medieval Literature?

I've been accepted by York for the MA in Medieval Literatures and Languages and I am eagerly awaiting Oxfords reply for the Mst in Medieval Literature (650-1550)
Although I have not been accepted by Oxford yet I want to be ready. In my area of early medieval English literature I am aware of the strengths of both institutions. York with the interdisciplinary excellence and Oxford with an incredibly strong set of teachers and refined interests.

I do not know which to choose if I were to get both for my MA, it would be much easier to live in York (and cheaper) opposed to Oxford. I am actually really prepared for the intensity of Oxford as I wish to proceed into Phd after my Mst. What I cannot figure out is if one institution is better than the other? I do not care for prestige or table rankings - I only want the best education I can possibly get. In all factors (teaching quality, research output, archival resources) both York and Oxford are tied in my mind. I am looking for any obvious flaw of either course, any downside or upside to swing the balance in the favour of either institution if at all possible.

Reply 1

University of York

Official Rep

Hello!

Congratulations on your offer with us! 🎉 I completely understand the stress of deciding between 2 extremely strong institutions. We're immensely proud of our interdisciplinary excellence so it's brilliant to know it's recognised and valued by future students like yourself, thank you! 🤍

In terms of what will swing the balance between the two, as you said you don't care for stats or rankings, which means the objective information you find online often solely relies on this.

So for a true and subjective decision based on what you will personally enjoy and value more, I'd encourage you to go to each institution; meet the academics, their peers and physically see where you could be studying. We have the Masters Taster Day on 18 March which may be able to help you decide, you can register their interest and find out more on our Masters Taster Day webpage.

Equally, if you wanted some student to student advice, our student blog channel is a great way to get more authentic insight into studying a Masters here. Although some blogs aren't specific if Medieval Languages and Literature, hopefully they can help paint a picture of the quality education we provide across all courses.

Here are some extra videos that may help! We have Arwen discussing her Masters in Literature and also a video from the Centre of Medieval studies!

Best of luck, I hope York is the place for you!
-T😊