Evolutionary Biology MSc: Uppsala University or University of Munich?

[crrarlllia]

Hi guys,

 

I received 2 master's admission recently: Evolutionary biology at Uppsala University, and Evolution, Ecology & Systematics at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Uppsala U offers me a scholarship to cover the tuition fees, while in Germany the annual tuition fee is only 500 EUR, so I suppose the total cost would be similar.

 

Personally I feel Munich is a more interesting city, but Uppsala U seems to have a strong tradition in evolutionary research. And the scholarship is certainly appealing.

 

Any comments or advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you.

[zabius]

I don't have any knowledge of these two universities, so I can't give you any specific advice. But in general, I'd advise choosing the program that is a better fit for you academically as opposed to choosing based on which city is more interesting.

 

So, while Munich may be a more interesting place to live, if Uppsala U has a better EEB department with research that you're more interested in, then Uppsala seems like the smarter choice.

 

That said, I don't know much about the reputation of these two schools. Does Uppsala have a good record of placing its graduates in the types of jobs or PhD programs that you're interested in? How does its job placement record compare to that of Ludwig Maximillian? Ideally, you want a program that is both a good fit academically and that will prepare you for the career that you want. Those would be the two most important criteria in my mind, along with funding (which you say isn't really all that different between the two schools). The location of the school is an important factor to consider, but overall I'd place a lower priority on that... location shouldn't be a main deciding factor unless the schools are equal with regard to the other criteria (academics, job placement, funding) or unless one of the locations is so terrible that you just don't think you could happily live there for the next few years.

 

I hope this helps! Good luck with your decision.

[G2A]

In terms of interesting city, you should also consider that the rail connection between Uppsala and Stockholm is very good. It is a 40 minute ride but there are trains every 30 minutes in regular hours (every 15 in rush hours and every hour late at night).

[crrarlllia]

I don't have any knowledge of these two universities, so I can't give you any specific advice. But in general, I'd advise choosing the program that is a better fit for you academically as opposed to choosing based on which city is more interesting.

 

So, while Munich may be a more interesting place to live, if Uppsala U has a better EEB department with research that you're more interested in, then Uppsala seems like the smarter choice.

 

That said, I don't know much about the reputation of these two schools. Does Uppsala have a good record of placing its graduates in the types of jobs or PhD programs that you're interested in? How does its job placement record compare to that of Ludwig Maximillian? Ideally, you want a program that is both a good fit academically and that will prepare you for the career that you want. Those would be the two most important criteria in my mind, along with funding (which you say isn't really all that different between the two schools). The location of the school is an important factor to consider, but overall I'd place a lower priority on that... location shouldn't be a main deciding factor unless the schools are equal with regard to the other criteria (academics, job placement, funding) or unless one of the locations is so terrible that you just don't think you could happily live there for the next few years.

 

I hope this helps! Good luck with your decision.

Thank you for the reply!

I do understand that academic environment should be a priority. I have been researching on this but find it rather hard to assess, especially since I'm still willing to try out various research areas at this stage (which is why I choose a MSc program). Generally speaking, Uppsala U has a stronger faculty, but I wonder how many of them would actually affect my study.

It is hard to trace the placement of their graduates. I'm going to email the coordinators for more details. 

 

Yup, you've been greatly helpful =]

[rexzeppelin]

I'm a little late to the thread, but FWIW my grandfather was a professor at Uppsala, and it's highly regarded in the biological sciences in Europe, along with the Karolinska in nearby Stockholm. It's also a beautiful small town with a very active student body, lots of things to do, and as has been mentioned very convenient links to Stockholm.

 

I spent many happy summers there as a kid and I was strongly considering applying there, maybe I'll try for a postdoc there one day.