encephalization

Yes, maybe I should have been more specific, although I did write M.A.. I know that when it comes to Medieval Studies, both York and Leeds have dissertations/theses in one form or other. The Oxford M.St. I have no real knowledge about to be honest.

For an M.A., I would not contact the professors until I had decided on what university I wanted to attend. However, the M.A. in the UK usually includes a dissertation/thesis which is written during the last six months of the degree (after two semesters). The dissertation often counts towards 60-70% of your final mark. Most schools would make students choose their topic during the start of the second semester but in my experience it is a great advantage if you start a good few months earlier. It might even be good to start thinking about it now. If you do a thourough read-up on the subject and identify a problem, most professors/future supervisors would be very happy to help you early on. This also means that when the rest of the class chooses their topics, you do not have to fight over attention. Just my 2 pence..

I definitely wish I had applied to more schools. If nothing else, just to be able to wait for the results. Everyone seems to be in a lovely agony. Only applied to one US university and only a master at that. Looking back I think my chances for a Ph.D. aren’t that bad and I should have at least given it a shot. Oh well, now it’s all or nothing. If all fails I have a few applications in Europe too but it is almost like I have prepared myself for great US of A.

@ BlueSwedeShoes - Swedish universities are charging non-EU citizens (also citizens of EES and Switzerland) from Fall 2011. The following page will indicate if you are eligable for "free education": https://www.studera.nu/studera/4673.html @ snowballed - I am currently on my last year of a B.Sc. in Northern Ireland and have nothing bad to say about the country, nor QUB. Because of the last few decades here, I can imagine that there are many interesting topics to study within Politcal Science