Hello fellow forum-ers,

I have obtained unconditional offers from Aston and Durham for 2010 (also obtained my offer from Bradford but I guess a lack of AACSB accreditation puts it to the back seat). I have my own set of thoughts based on information that I have gathered from various published sources and feel that Aston and Durham business schools are very comparable and might be considered to be in the same league. But I can never be too sure of that. It would be great to know your opinion about these 2 schools. That would help me a lot to decide.
Eager to hear from you all.

Thanks
Anirban

I had taken a look at Aston as well. 3 factors which support my decison of Durham between the two are:

1) Campus environment. I love the castle-setting of Durham University given that I am from the city. Aston campus looks to be high tech, but to me its made up of many multi-storey buildings nothing historic.

2) Durham university's reputation should be at a higher level than Aston's among the locals. Nevermind the reputation of the MBA programs which I believe they are on par.

3) Nationalities in the Durham MBA class should be more diverse given that the school has overseas ventures. Eg. More likely to find students from the Carribean or Japan.

Otherwise, both have triple accreditations and climbing the global rankings. Tuition cost are close. Aston is closer to London, Durham is closer to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Anirban,

Firstly congrats for making it to the MBA programs!

If I were you I wont go to Bradford, you have mentioned the reason so wont go into details.
I have a friend at Durham but she is on MSc Management like me...if its kinda helpful, she says that the school is in between good and okay...with some good professors...but its the location which is a serious disadvantage...during winter afternoon the whole place looks creepy and ultra lonely. I dont know if its true, but have heard that one of the faculty of Durham was connected with Plagiarism...the word is like a plague in the education world...even if its a rumour it caused Durham's name to tarnish in-spite of it getting AACSB.

No idea regarding Aston...its new kid up on the block, located in the birmingham city centre...very vibrant international crowd as I have heard but most of the MSc students say that Aston's research focus is hyped...its not that good.

I know I havent made any strong statement here...my opinion kinda equivocal...just wanted to share what I knew...but u can carry on your findings from here and ultimately choose whats best for you....ATB

_Nes

If you are very serious about your choice then please consult what i have written earlier in this forum including many posts comparing different UK MBAs

Durham only acqure AACSB very recently and to be very honest these accreditations dont worth that much. Most top MBAs in USA dont give a damn about AACSB and EQUIS anyways. Not to say that many more new accreditation organisations recently pop-up.

What triple acceditation means is that you cant go wrong with that MBA but it tell little about the ultra strength of the MBA.

Also please bear in mind that AACSB and EQUIS is a broad criteria to evaluate how strong the BUSINESS SCHOOL is
Only AACSB is exclusive to the MBA PROGRAM.

So triple accreditation is not really something to brag about especially when we are talking in this context.

About Durham MBA the dean commited plagiarism and after that many good lecturers left of Leeds University business school for its location closed to Durham and some for York University.

What AACSB or EQUIS look at is if the lecturers have PhD but of course it is a very bad indicator of the research credentials and teaching quality. A very intelligent person can be a very bad teacher at the same time. And PhD is something not difficult to obtain nowadays. Rather sometimes it is a sign of people not knowing better ways to spend their time and their efforts.

Many people use their 3 4 years to build a company and get profits while many go for the safe bet and get a PhD. I am sure that MBA material should encourage entrepreneurship rather than going for unadvanterous PhD route.

Durham MBA may still rise in the ranking but the chance is it will drop soon due to the rise of Asian MBA degrees from Hong Kong, China and India. I am little bit disappointed with schools from Australia and NZ for their inability to compete with the UK. Many European countries now take on the UK seriously and they soon launch MBA in their own research power houses.

The likes of Durham of Aston have no chance to compete with Tshinghua or Peking need less to say those top-notchs in USA.

But you want us to advise you on Durham vs Bradford vs Aston.

I still believe Durham and Aston and Bradford are pretty similar with Aston and Durham a bit better in terms of overall quality. Aston have advatage of better location and connections. In terms of reputation they are all pretty similar

I would advise that Aston is slightly better over Durham.

But if I were you I would quickly apply to Warwick and Lancaster and if possible Cranfield/City. All of those are real big names that carry the weight.

Sorry but Aston and Durham will take many years to be on the same par as Lancaster/City/Cranfield or Warwick.

But I understand that they require GMAT of 600 at least. Dont be afraid of the GMAT because you will need it Sooner or later.

Thanks Donho! Thanks Nes! Appreciate your comments.

For the sake of others who are curious about what Donho mentions about the former dean of Durham -
The news of plagiarism is true. I just checked it in the Guardian newspaper. Here's the link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/oct/30/highereducation.news
It was indeed the dean. But it also mentions that this act was performed at a time when he was not associated with Durham.

Thanks
Anirban

Anirban:

A serious advice...find out how is the current faculty for the modules you are gonna take up...its very very important...dont go by their qualifications...ask the alumni/students, how do they teach, avg no of case studies they give and the assessment procedure...get info for both the schools and you will have the answer...most important module is Corporate Finance btw...cheers!

ATB

_Nes

Dear Friends,

It's been some time now that we had been finding the answer to this comparison.
I've recently been in touch with a number of Durham and Aston alumni. Both are pretty positve about their school but I tried reading betwene lines to come out with the following:

1) Aston is a great place to be. Has lots of clubs which arranges for loads of fun stuff and helps students create a solid network. Birmingham too, is a pretty accomodating and friendly city.
Durham is remote and is pretty small. Beautiful landscapes and lesser distractions. Students in Durham MBA are very close knit. The lack of too many options around makes students seek companionship within their batch mates.

2) Aston is upbeat and has good industry contacts. However, career service do not do much for overseas students. They offer the same type of assistance to all students.
Durham career service is very careful of the overseas student needs and has tie ups with legal bodies to help them secure work permits.

3)Aston curriculum is good but not too hectic. Contains a good study tour to a school in Europe.
Durham's course is rigorous - to the extent of being hectic at times. Contains a study trip too but the travel expenses are separate.

4)Both Aston and Durham are not-known names in India. However, recruiters in India consider both these schools as good international business schools.

5) Durham has a better reputation in UK, probably owing to the University name.

6) Getting a job in UK is a challenge for overseas students passing out of any tier 2 B-school. Aston and Durham are both in the top order of the 2nd tier.

7) Aston's career service will be with you for 3 years after you have passed out of the school.
Durham career service will be helping you all through your life. Once in Durham you are always considered a part of it.
During the recession they got in touch with their alumni to help those who had been affected. Unforgettable gesture!

I hope it helps some to decide better. Please share your thoughts too - by this time everyone must have done some research on thse schools.

1.It is true that career service of Birmingham schools i.e.,Aston and Birmingham are average but if you see the placement rate they are fantastic.......Its becoz location factor...When you have a good demand for your MBA then forget about career service.

2.It is true that competition is getting tough to take part in FT rankings.....Last year univ like Leeds and Nottingham took part but this year they are no more..

3.Still so many univ were not picked becoz of lack of accreditation...

4.One indian institute ISB took 12 th position.......Still so many institutes like IIM-A,IIM-B etc were not picked..In reality they were the best.........I think if they take place then UK univ may shrink further..

5.As far as job opportunities are concerned compared with UK tier2 univ ,indian schools are more promising.......

6.The same criteria applies to other schools world wide.......If you compare other rankings you could see univ like Herriot-watt in better position but since they don't have accre it was not picked...Similar to chinese univ.

7.Personally I feel Aston>Durham

Dear all,
Thanks for the precious sharing in this thread, I just want to point out one of my personal preferences of Durham - the student profile pie chart of the Economist. The 1/3 students of Durham MBA came from EU + US, and only roughly 1/7 in Aston. Its hard to say that this could be a somehow criteria to pick one from both, as for me, I would be glad to have more chances to learn from diversified cohorts.

All the best

Hi
I'm in touch with a curent student. He says there are 3 Brits, 5 from US and 2 from China and 30 from India...that doesn't match up much with the EIU data but of course each year has its own share of diversity.
Durham is very well reputed as a University and wins hands down against Aston University but MBA is a different ball game...and in there Aston seems to score a little high on reputation.....probably due to its location and close proximity to business houses.
Both seem to have their own advantages and I don't think you lose on either choice. it might be difficult to find a job in UK but you'll get a good job somewhere...maynot be UK.
Alumni from both schools are mostly well placed. They had to struggle for it but they got it eventually.

Thanks
Anirban