Global Political Economy at Leiden x Development Studies at SOAS

[GuGiraldes]

Hi all,

This month I got accepted to two master's degrees: MA in International Relations at Leiden University, with a Global Political Economy specialization, and MSc Development Studies at SOAS. I'm very happy as both interest me a lot, and are in great universities, but now I can't decide which one I should choose, and would like some help with it. 

At first, I was more inclined to choose SOAS, as I heard many good things about it from a friend of mine who did his Master's there. I did some research about SOAS and student life there, and I thought it would be a place where I'd really like to spend a year at. 

Today, however, speaking with another friend of mine, who attended UvA, he told me Leiden has a bigger name than SOAS, as it's one of the best in Europe. I also have a couple of friends who attended Leiden and enjoyed it, and one of them also confirmed me that Leiden looks great on your CV.

Another factor that comes into play is money. While both of them have pretty expensive tuition fees, SOAS is slightly more expensive, and the living costs in London are also higher. The two cities, although completely different in size and probably with completely different vibes, seem great places to get to know new people and enjoy post-grad studies. 

With all that said, I would like to hear some opinions on this topic, whether any of you attended any of these schools, or know people who have. All help is welcome!

Thanks :)

[Richelieu]

As a SOAS alumni, I definitely recommend choosing Development Studies there. I studied Global Diplomacy which is rather close to what you aim to study and it opened a lot of doors for me. Especially in development studies, SOAS is pretty well known with some good rankings.

[GuGiraldes]

11 hours ago, Richelieu20 said:

As a SOAS alumni, I definitely recommend choosing Development Studies there. I studied Global Diplomacy which is rather close to what you aim to study and it opened a lot of doors for me. Especially in development studies, SOAS is pretty well known with some good rankings.

Thanks for the insight! I've heard that in terms of student satisfaction, SOAS is really great! Will take that into consideration!

[dherres]

Regarding a bigger name, I find it hard to believe that *in the chosen field,* Leiden is more prestigious than SOAS. The latter was ranked #6 in the WORLD this year. I know several alumni from their development program, and they told me that potential employers have commented positively on the fact that they attended SOAS. 

That being said, obviously there's a lot more to consider than rankings and name. SOAS is a specialty university: if you have a regional interest in Africa, Asia, or the Middle East, SOAS is the place to go. Plus, London will give you more opportunities for networking and internships. Look at the curriculum of each program and identify which courses you'd want to take and what skills you would get out of them. Get onto LinkedIn and see where alumni have ended up. Consider how connected the faculty are, and whether they have mostly academic or practitioner backgrounds (one SOAS Dev Studies alumnus told me that faculty were very happy to use their connections to help the students network). Good luck with whichever you choose!

Edited May 6, 2020 by dherres
word fix