Oxford Politics students.

[Cesare]

 Hey, thanks for all the great responses.

 

 

I think there’s a confusion, the MPhil/PhD at LSE is in Development Studies not political science. So I’m choosing between different animals. My take is that the international development department is smaller and less known but there is few really good people doing Political Economy, so I would fit there. Not sure about my fit in Oxford yet. As you said it might be less quantitative so I would be somewhat isolated….

 

Funding. Currently I'm being considered for scholarhips at both unis, but no word yet. However if I get it the LSE scholarship would cover both the 1 year MPhil and the 3 year PhD. Also because the LSE offer has the word PhD in it I can apply to a broader range of funds....

With the global rankings (I haven't looked into the methodology of the ones you listed) you need to keep in mind that the Development, Government, and IR department at LSE are typically included as one very large Political Science department. In the US, there is no distinction between these 3 departments. I think more so than other European universities the IR department at LSE has been pushing for IR to be separated from Political Science this is evident by the fact that they hired Iver Neumann who is a great scholar by the way. 

[soulgroove]

soulgroove thanks for your great reply. It was really helpful. Let me clarify some stuff about me:

 

 I already have two MSc (one from LSE), so I´ve had plenty of class work, I have already a clearly defined research proposal and significant work experience. I did not apply directly to the DPhil because many people told me it was fairly difficult to go in unless I already had a supervisor ex-ante, so I went for the MPhil. 

 

 Anyway, my take at this point is to move as fast as possible to the PhD as possible (no more class work!), and LSE gives a single year of MPhil plus no re application to move to the PhD except getting a 65, while Oxford gives me two years of MPhil, a re application process that has uncertainty and administrative work.  By the way how engrossing is the administrative work? At this point I am more keen on asking to move to the MSc research at Oxford  to move faster to the DPhil. However I am still open to suggestions...

 

2) I think I have a fairly good supervisor at LSE, however do you have any suggestions in Oxford? I like quantitative comparative politics, econometrics  and political economy. Also I wanted to ask why didn´t you end up finishing your DPhil at oxford? (If its ok to ask).

 

Thanks a lot for your reply! Very helpful!

 

If you are focused on what you want, and if you can find a good supervisor at LSE, then by all means pick LSE. There should be no problems about that. I only recommended Oxford only if you can find a better supervisor, and if you needed time to do coursework and consider your research proposal. In my mind, research proposals can twist and turn over many years of "stewing".

 



If you follow the rules, internal application for the DPhil is a piece of cake. The only problem is if you want to ask for flexibility.... then the administrators are not likely to be very flexible.

I didn't end up finishing at Oxford because I lacked a great supervisor who was interested in what I was doing (i.e. Southeast Asian mass politics). My Masters thesis supervisor was good and nice. Not great.

As to what the both posters above have said, yes there is probably not much that separates Oxford and LSE in terms of the overall reputation of the departments SUBSTANTIVELY, but I believe that there is a PRESTIGE IMPRESSION difference. I got this response a lot when I was working part-time in a consultancy in London and around academic circles. Whether this is important to you is only something you need to figure out.

Again, if you like quantitative comparative politics, econometrics and political economy, then even Essex might be a better "fit", that is if you can find the right supervisor. In Oxford, I can think of Raymond Duch, James Tilley and David Rueda. They all use quantitative methods to a large extent, but only David Rueda works vaguely on political economy.

[alejo099]

If you are focused on what you want, and if you can find a good supervisor at LSE, then by all means pick LSE. There should be no problems about that. I only recommended Oxford only if you can find a better supervisor, and if you needed time to do coursework and consider your research proposal. In my mind, research proposals can twist and turn over many years of "stewing".

 



If you follow the rules, internal application for the DPhil is a piece of cake. The only problem is if you want to ask for flexibility.... then the administrators are not likely to be very flexible.

Again, if you like quantitative comparative politics, econometrics and political economy, then even Essex might be a better "fit", that is if you can find the right supervisor. In Oxford, I can think of Raymond Duch, James Tilley and David Rueda. They all use quantitative methods to a large extent, but only David Rueda works vaguely on political economy.

 

Thanks to all for the great help! At this point I'm more keen for LSE specially since my future supervisor is just great. The offer of LSE I have is conditional on my grade in June, if by some reason I don´t get the grade I´ll just proceed to Oxford, although the idea of having to do course work after two MSc is not nice but better Oxford than nothing.

 

soulgrove What do you mean by flexibility?

 

Thanks for the suggestions for professors I will have a look at them. 

[mr. white]

Hi everyone,

 

I got accepted into the MSc program (Global Governance and Diplomacy) at Oxford, but haven't heard anything about funding. For those of you familiar with Oxford financial assistance, do you think I have a shot at receiving a full scholarship? I am from a non-EU European country. Also, when do you think they'll let the admitted students know about financial assistance?

Cheers

[soulgroove]

Hi everyone,

 

I got accepted into the MSc program (Global Governance and Diplomacy) at Oxford, but haven't heard anything about funding. For those of you familiar with Oxford financial assistance, do you think I have a shot at receiving a full scholarship? I am from a non-EU European country. Also, when do you think they'll let the admitted students know about financial assistance?

Cheers

 

The default situation in Oxford, as with most UK universities, is that students are not offered funding. In the application process, you will be considered for university-wide funding such as the Claredon Fund and the Ertegun Fund, but those are extremely competitive and hard to come by.

 

Oxford statistics (http://www.ox.ac.uk/feesandfunding/prospectivegrad/scholarships/) say that only 17% of taught masters student receive full funding. Global Governance and Diplomacy (GGD) is a taught masters program.

 

For what its worth, when I was in Oxford from 2010-2012, I don't think I've heard anyone on the GGD course being on full funding. Most paid their own way.

[alejo099]

Hey everyone!

 

 So I got moved to the MSc Politics Research Track at Oxford (http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/index.php/msc-in-politics-research/msc-in-politics-research.html). Given this new conditions I am still not sure if I take the Oxford offer or continue at LSE with the MPhil/PhD Development Studies. 

 

 A point that dissuades me of  going to Oxford is that the upgrade form the MSc Research to the DPhil requires a full new application to the university. At LSE the upgrade does not require a full application again to the university, but "just" moving forward with the research and having a 65 at two research classes. At Oxford the upgrade... I find it confusing because they expect a FULL re application to the university (submitting references, transcripts and everything else), despite the faq stating:

 

"If I take the MSc, am I guaranteed a place on the DPhil?

 

Applicants who are admitted to the MSc are expected to proceed to the doctorate. However, the transfer to DPhil status is by no means guaranteed. You will need to complete the MSc successfully and to provide evidence to the Graduate Studies Committee that you are suitably prepared for doctoral study".

 

 

Any previous students of the MSc politics research track that successfully got upgraded to the DPhil status? Any that did not get upgraded? Any experience regarding this MSc Politics research track that you would like to share with me?

 

Thanks a lot guys.