Johns Hopkins VS Oxford for MSc Immunology/Microbiology

[player23]

Hi all

Im an international student currently based in the UK.

I was unsuccessful in my PhD apps but I was counter-offered a place to do an ScM in Microbiology n Immunology at JHU's BSPH... I also have another offer to read msc Immunology at oxford.. both institutions are equally reputable and both have great Microbio/ immunology departments..

the thingy is, the ScM is 2 years while the msc at oxford is 1 year... and thus after rationalising.. it seems that doing a masters at Oxford would be faster and better option since both programmes should be comparable. But many have told me that Hopkins would be a better place to do a masters given its reputation in medical research... and Im quite attracted to the strong research focus in the ScM course as compared to the taught MSc in Oxford... (

If you were me which would you choose? need some advice here...

I plan to do a PhD and subsequently go into a career in infection N immunity after my masters

Edited March 26, 2010 by player23

[BKMD]

Two things:

1. How much will it cost? It seems like a 1 year program would be significantly cheaper. Also, I'm not sure if they offer funding, but a good way to find out about the funding options is to email the current masters students. Usually the school won't guarantee anything but often it is possible to acquire as assistantship eventually. If you want to start a PhD right after your MS, then it's going to be a long time before you'll have enough of an income to start paying off the debt. It's an important factor, I think.

2. If you want to do a PhD, then I think the research-oriented 2-year program would help your chances a lot, especially from JHU (obviously Oxford has a good reputation as well, but I think Hopkins is often considered "the" program for medical research).

[BKMD]

One other thing I should add:

In my field at least, the expectations are lower if you're applying for a PhD straight from undergrad, but if you already have a masters, they expect that you have a really strong research record, and preferably publications. It seems like it would be hard to get this out of a 1-year program.