Imperial College London vs University of Toronto

[StressedOutApplicant]

Hey guys! Hope application season has been treating you well. 

I have narrowed down my choices for masters to the following two programs:

1. MSc Advanced Chemical Engineering with Biotechnology, Imperial College London. 

2. MEng. Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto. 

At the moment I am leaning towards Imperial, primarily because of its top 10 ranking and the fact that its an MSc. Im assuming that doing an MSc which has a research component keeps both possible routes- phd and industry open, as opposed to an MEng which is purely industry focused. 

Will appreciate any further advice on this. Note: I will be an international student at both places, so the cost is essentially the same. Will an Imperial degree have more prestige worldwide? 

Thank you for the help!

[parabolesareeverywhere]

Hi buddy,

Imperial MSc grad here, but from a different department. Firstly, let me tell you that both universities are great and famous, and it is quite an achievement to have these both offers, so congratulations!

That said, imo, the ranking and the title of your diploma are minor if not irrelevant criteria to make a decision here.

firstly, at that (top) level, the small, arbitrary differences of some rankings don't matter anymore. If you would ask about top 10 vs top 50, it'd be a different call. 

secondly, in the UK the titles of your diploma can be arbitrary too. one year before I did my course, it was a MRes; when I did it, it was an MSc. at cambridge, you get a MPhil in chemistry. what does that even mean? don't put too much weight on these titles.   

if you completely neglect other factors apart from the course itself, such as the location, campus-style/social life, job market, etc., i would mostly focus on the course structure and the professors/instructors there. say, you want to stay in research afterwards, which course offers the better opportunity to do independent research during your studies? just because the UoT degree is officially an "MEng" does not mean that it can't entail a larger research project compared to the MSc degree.

best of luck!