Going to a different school in the UK for PhD than I did for Masters?

[TravelBug92]

Hello!

 

So I will be attending Durham University this autumn for a year, and I know because the programs are only a year long, I want to start looking into PhD programs as soon as I can. I don't know what Durham is like yet, but it is a dream of mine to go to the University of Edinburgh. I was wondering if something like that is possible/common or if people typically stick to the same Uni for both Masters and PhD? 

[St Andrews Lynx]

Edinburgh is awesome. Beautiful city, and really good in the informatics/linguistics/psychology field. You should totally apply to do your PhD there!

 

The way that higher education is structured in the UK is that most students will do their undergrad degree, then a Masters...then apply for a PhD. It isn't like in the USA where the Masters is usually a part of the PhD program. (In my case, my Masters was actually part of my undergraduate degree!) That means that most British students do move between the MSc and the PhD. There will always be some students who stay put, but I think it usually looks slightly better on your CV if you move somewhere else (for the same reasons as in the USA). 

[TravelBug92]

I already know that I LOVE Edinburgh, so being able to live there would be fantastic. Thanks for the info! I was thinking that might be the case, I remember hearing that people often do their Masters as part of their undergrad degree when I first started looking at schools in the UK.  I can't wait to start looking up some programs