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Choice between Imperial, Edinburgh, Durham and Southampton

I have been accepted to
MSc New and Renewable Energy - Durham University
MSc Sustainable Energy Systems - University of Edinburgh
MSc Sustainable Energy Technologies - University of Southampton
MSc Sustainable Energy Futures - Imperial College

I am from Electrical Engineering background and haven't been able to make up my mind on which offer should I accept. I am planning on either Imperial or Edinburgh. Further suggestions would be welcome.

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It might help if you said something about what you were looking for in the degree/university, and afterwards.

Reply 3

ioeuser

Besides the reputation of the university in the field, I am also looking for post study job opportunities.

Reply 4

Johnni

ioeuser

Besides the reputation of the university in the field, I am also looking for post study job opportunities.

Your post study job opportunities depend on what type of jobs you are going for and how relevant they are to the courses you listed.
What type of employers do you want to work in, government, research, environmental charity?
As you are from a electronic enginnering background i presume you are interested in the engineering aspect. If so which course specialise in this as what you may find is some may focus on the environmental side whilst others on the engineering side, look at the modules for each course.

Reply 5

uptowngirl

Hi,
I'm an oversea student who've been accepted to
MSc New and Renewable Energy - Durham University
MSc Sustainable Energy Technologies - University of Southampton
Msc Sustainable Energy Systems - Queen Mary

I am now have no idea which one I'd go but actually I will choosing between Soton and Queen Mary. Since I'm an oversea student, I'd lke to stay in London, however Soton seems has better reputation in Engineering field? Secondly, it's gonna be expensive to live in London :frown:

Anyways, we might be classmates tho lol

Reply 6

system49

I have no idea what the individual reputation of the departments is but you can easily find this out from RAE. Since all the universities you mention have a strong reputation, I would base my decision on the location. So therefore Edinburgh would be my preferred choice since it is a lovely city and its a great university.

Reply 7

FlyingIsis

RAE as system49 said is the thing to use to gauge the calibre of the departments.
Personally I would choose Edinburgh, I'm actually sitting in their uni library atm doing some 'research'. Anyway I really love Durham, it's beautiful, but the place is very small and limited, whereas Edinburgh is cosmopolitan and has all the advantages of a big city.

Reply 8

ioeuser

I have accepted the offer from Edinburgh, however I am still waiting for Imperial's decision. How much longer should I expect to wait, I had applied on 30 November.

Reply 9

Jorge14

Can't go wrong with the Collegiate system as a postgraduate - Durham is your place.

Reply 10

ioeuser

Update: Admitted to Imperial. Further confusing matters

Reply 11

ColinOfEdinburgh

The renewable energy research here at Edinbugh is great (I'm graduating EEE MEng here soon), and we have an excellent reputation for Electrical Engineering in general. That said, if you have an offer from Imperial I wouldn't blame you for going there. You are in a very envious position!

For what it's worth, I love Edinburgh so much I'm staying here for another 3 years of Postgraduate life.

Reply 12

Yorkie1314

I would go for either Imperial or Edinburgh. Reputation-alone, you can't top Imperial. Imperial is generally very well known for engineering and you get to live and study in London!! Durham's collegiate system is tempting, but I would still say Imperial. Depends on you in the end.

Reply 13

little_cliff

ioeuser

Update: Admitted to Imperial. Further confusing matters

You submitted the application form on 30/Nov/08. Still waiting in 19/Apr/09. And you know your application outcome after that. So you had been waiting more than 3 months. Am I right?

Just want to know, cos I applied to MSc Advanced Computing on the 3rd of March, do not hear back anything yet.

Thanks in advance.

Reply 14

ioeuser

little_cliff

The decision is still unofficial, I got confirmation from course director on 14th May. So I had to wait just over 5 months for the decision.

Reply 15

little_cliff

Hi ioeuser,
Thanks very much for the reply. You just relieved my fear of getting rejected.

Reply 16

ozymandias1984

Not a lot of support for the Southampton course so far. I've been accepted to study at Soton next year and although I'm going to visit Edinburgh, Durham and Imperial in the coming months I'm pretty much sure I'm going to go there. Obviously all four are excellent unis but my reason for choosing Soton is that the course is simply a lot more interesting. The course at Imperial is tempting as you are given a lot of freedom to specialize, but I have to say that Durham and Edinburgh's courses look really dull. (I'm basing this opinion on the website and postgrad prospectuses, so if I'm wrong please let me know!)

The nuclear energy course at Southampton is actually based in HMS Sultan where the Submarine Service are trained to run the onboard nuclear reactor! I don't know of any other uni that do anything similar. As I plan on specializing in offshore energy I'm also given the opportunity to study oceanography onboard the university's yacht. Granted Southampton is perhaps not the most glamorous city in the UK but the content of the course and the quality of the department (no.2 in the country for electrical & electronic, no.5 for mechanical) more than make up for it.

Reply 17

ColinOfEdinburgh

ozymandias1984

Granted Southampton is perhaps not the most glamorous city in the UK but the content of the course and the quality of the department (no.2 in the country for electrical & electronic, no.5 for mechanical) more than make up for it.

That's a fair opinion and I for one respect your choice :smile:

. Edinburgh's course felt slightly classical to me, which wasn't a bad thing (I'm an electromagnetics freak anyway!) but could put off new students into exciting new areas like nanotechnology.

Best of luck with your course (incidentally you probably shouldn't have dug up this thread :s-smilie:

)

Reply 18

sweetbubbles

Hi there,

I am applying for the session 2011-2012 in the universities
> Southampton - MSc SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
> Nottingham - MSc sustainable energy and entrepreneurship
> Edinburgh - MSc in Sustainable energy Systems
> Durham - New and Renewable Energy MSc
> Imperial - MSc Sustainable Energy Futures

People who are into such course can please suggest which one to finally go for.....
Looking into both aspects of Course content and post study job prospects.
Looking forward for some positive help.

Regards

(edited 14 years ago)

Reply 19

Alhimikut

I guess everyone has the same problem... I have been accepted to
MSc New and Renewable Energy - Durham University
MSc Sustainable Energy Technologies - University of Southampton
still waiting for Imperial
Probably gonna choose Southampton though cause the course content is really nice.. Keep me informed of any valuable news :smile:

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