Interested in a UK University that is well ranked but not well known?

[Kevin1990]

Hi all,

I am from the US and the time to apply to grad school is nearing for me & I was seriously considering applying to universities in the UK , due to the structure of their admissions process, cost, and way of doing things academically.

I am interested in mainly IR/politics courses(particularly War Studies) and I am esp. interested in the universities of Nottingham & Glasgow due to this. I'm also applying for admissions to KCL's(which is actually my first choice) course on the field as well.

However, in terms of the University of Nottingham & Glasgow I am facing a problem in the sense that they are both UK & Globally well ranked & have strong reputations in Europe(better then many US Ivy League Schools & programs) but not known at all back here in the U.S except by those who have studied in the UK.

How big of a problem would this be if I were to get into & commit to courses at one of these universities, finish it, then come home & apply to positions with a degree from there? mean these universities are al members of the UK's Russell group(same grouping of Oxford & Cambridge) and are viewed by those familiar with the British University system as prime alternatives to the Oxbridge system.

Thank you in advance for any replies I get!

[db2290]

I'm in the reverse position as you (British but currently doing a Ph.D in the United States). I've found that since being in the US system, most students and/or professors have a very limited knowledge of UK universities other than Oxbridge and a few highly ranked others (LSE, UCL and Imperial perhaps, depending on discipline), even if those universities are ranked nationally and internationally very highly. I'm not sure how much of an issue this is, and it depends somewhat on what you want to do most Masters (I'm assuming this is for a Masters, correct?). If you aren't hoping to go into academia and just want to get a job, I think that brand-name matters more than if you want to go onto a Ph.D, in which case your professors might be aware of the work coming out of that University and department.

Last thing - Although Glasgow and Nottingham are "Russell Group", they aren't on par with Oxford or Cambridge by any means. The Russell group designation can be broad (and therefore fairly imperfect) when it comes to quality. For instance, the University of Leeds is RG and is 26 in the last Times ranking.

[wreckofthehope]

Last thing - Although Glasgow and Nottingham are "Russell Group", they aren't on par with Oxford or Cambridge by any means. The Russell group designation can be broad (and therefore fairly imperfect) when it comes to quality. For instance, the University of Leeds is RG and is 26 in the last Times ranking.

I'd also say that as a research university, and globally, Nottingham tends to be better known and more highly thought of than Glasgow. Nottingham has a big name in Asia which might be a boon when you graduate, even if it is less well known in the US.

The other thing is this: while I think the name recognition thing can cause problems, I think the more important thing to consider is that if you are doing your PhD in the UK but want to work in the US, you are going to lack some of the essential training and skills that US jobs are looking for... I suspect that is the real reason that people from UK uni's aren't well represented in US academia (rather than people not knowing their universities). You finish in three years and do very little teaching, if any at all; you don't have time to publish well; you do no coursework and you don't build up a contact network in the US system. Since you are competing for jobs with US-trained PhD's who do have these things, you are at a disadvantage. If you went to Nottingham, say, but worked very hard to alleviate some of these issues then I think you would be at a bit less of a disadvantage coming back to the States.

[Kevin1990]

I'd also say that as a research university, and globally, Nottingham tends to be better known and more highly thought of than Glasgow. Nottingham has a big name in Asia which might be a boon when you graduate, even if it is less well known in the US.

The other thing is this: while I think the name recognition thing can cause problems, I think the more important thing to consider is that if you are doing your PhD in the UK but want to work in the US, you are going to lack some of the essential training and skills that US jobs are looking for... I suspect that is the real reason that people from UK uni's aren't well represented in US academia (rather than people not knowing their universities). You finish in three years and do very little teaching, if any at all; you don't have time to publish well; you do no coursework and you don't build up a contact network in the US system. Since you are competing for jobs with US-trained PhD's who do have these things, you are at a disadvantage. If you went to Nottingham, say, but worked very hard to alleviate some of these issues then I think you would be at a bit less of a disadvantage coming back to the States.

Hi sorry for my very late reply to your post on my topic, I just finished up my studies for the semester.

I was actually planning on applying for a masters...So I was wondering what issues could arise if I graduate from these universities in terms of name recognition if I go back to the states?

Upon returning home I would like to work in a think tank/policy position hence one of the reasons I'm wondering about this. Although, I do want to go onto a Phd eventually but I most likely do that in the US/

I'm in the reverse position as you (British but currently doing a Ph.D in the United States). I've found that since being in the US system, most students and/or professors have a very limited knowledge of UK universities other than Oxbridge and a few highly ranked others (LSE, UCL and Imperial perhaps, depending on discipline), even if those universities are ranked nationally and internationally very highly. I'm not sure how much of an issue this is, and it depends somewhat on what you want to do most Masters (I'm assuming this is for a Masters, correct?). If you aren't hoping to go into academia and just want to get a job, I think that brand-name matters more than if you want to go onto a Ph.D, in which case your professors might be aware of the work coming out of that University and department.

Last thing - Although Glasgow and Nottingham are "Russell Group", they aren't on par with Oxford or Cambridge by any means. The Russell group designation can be broad (and therefore fairly imperfect) when it comes to quality. For instance, the University of Leeds is RG and is 26 in the last Times ranking.

Again apologies for my late reply to your post,

But yes I am planning on going for a masters in the UK.

Kings is my top choice by I really like what I see of Nottingham and idk what to think about Glasgow.

Yes, from what I understand the Russell Group of universities does tend to be a bit of a hodgepodge sort of speak.

Edited December 24, 2012 by Kevin1990