For MSc Finance & Investment
Edinburgh or
Durham

my friend is considering these two options.........help

They are both very good business schools..
In my opinion Durham is slight better

Thanx dear,
but will you tell me basis for your answer

They are both very good universities with equal business schools.Personally I chose Durham , mainly because of its better name as a university.

Edinburgh has a much better name than Durham at least it is what i know. Edinburgh is a very old and respected university. It is the model for several research universities in the United States.

Durham is fairly old and a good university but never near the reputation of Edinburgh.

Durham business school has been in the business school industry longer though and the finance course even though in decline is fairly respected and is among top 20 in the UK if not top-10.

I dont know Edinburgh University business school personally but they invested alot in the business school recently.

Edinburgh is a very lively city capital city of Scotland. Great architecture, great atmosphere, second largest financial district in the whole UK after London so there is no shortage of jobs. Edinburgh also manage to secure some internships for their finance students. At Durham there is no internship at all.

Durham is located in a very small and isolated town in the North of England. Full of unemployed people. And there is no jobs in finance around.

Therefore I would say probably it is very closed choice between the two with me tend to say that Edinburgh is slightly better. Even though i dont believe that in terms of teaching quality Edinburgh is any better, the overall prestige the experience of living in Edinburgh, the opportunity to do internship as plus marks.

Think twice, Edinburgh is in Scotland so you may have some image problem but serious recruiters and academic would really bow to Edinburgh brand.

Who said that you must work in the same city you studied???Internship is a big matter I agree , but I doubt that Edinburgh guarantees an internship..

Also,the thread starter chose Durham for himself ,he must make the same for his friend too!!

nobody where did u get that from?

Dear donho,

you said in your previous post that Durham is an isolated place without work opportunities,full of unemployed people etc.But who cares for that?You can easily move to London for a job or an internship.

I saw in another thread that you are too mean against Durham.Why?
Where did you study?

well, i always say both sides of the argument, why dont you read into the bits saying that edinburgh is in fact in scotland and you have image problem. this is not very politically correct and to say things like that against a country is wrong. if it is not for the good intention of telling you the truth then why bother?

This is somebody else career and the master is not like a job or an internship you cant change it and nobody goes for 2 masters to overwrite the other one. You can do that for a degree but not the master.

For durham, it is a very small town in the north of england. it is fact, full of unemployed ppl which is true because the unemployment rate is much higher than other areas and there is almost no good jobs around and no jobs/internship in finance at all.

Anyone knows that you can move to different states to find jobs partners but location location location and location does play a role.

And last why shouldnt i be mean to one specific thing? Are we all biased? Against racist thugs for example which i am? Against criminals which i am

I have no idea about Edinburgh but I have some thoughts about Durham MSc Finance programme


I have waited for one year to come to Durham University for my MSc masters in Finance, and right now, after 2 months I am withdrawing from the programme. I also know there are other people who left before me!

The MSc Finance programmes in Durham University is not even close to what's written on their website. For example, before I came here, I was told that MSc Finance programmes were covering 70 percent of the CFA exams. Yes, you have courses which have the same name with the subject titles that you have in CFA examination.

The courses are superficial, nothing detailed! On the other hand, you have a lot to do as you have at least 4 courses for one semester. However, putting too much work on students, who generally do not have background on Finance, does not increase the quality of education!!!

MSc programme have lots of students who are coming from overseas and especially from China. We were having our courses in Calman Learning Center with more than 200 students together. We had seminars in groups which was just about reading the slides and no discussion about the issues!

There is a mismatch between the courses and the work that you're given. You need to read lots of material usually academical works of others which you have no background!! Lecturers go over the slides and do not expect to learn much from the lecturers or from the courses.

I had chosen MSc taught programme of Durham but it was, in general, not even close to my expectations. I was told that " I was taught the courses so no need for a FINANCE background.However, the reality is totally different.

Actually, I believe that Durhamm Business School, responsible for MSc Finance programmes, is using the reputation of Durham University. This university is really well known with its Chemistry and Middle Eastern- Islamic Studies.

Even if you are coming to Durham for your MSc studies on Finance, do not expect too much, and do not care what's written on website!

Edinburgh is better University overall!
However, Durham has a better business school & that matters!
I will suggest - Durham over Edinburgh!