Hello Duncan, Ralph and other respected board members.

I have received an offer for M.Sc Management program from Bradford University.

What is your view regarding the University's Management Department as a whole and the M.Sc Management course in particular? Should I take the offer or drop/deffer it? My aim is to maybe get into academia or research in the Management/business field in the same university where I would be doing my M.Sc.

I am also awaiting response from UCD Smurfit School, Ireland.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you.

These are good schools. They are ranked quite fairly at http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-management-2012

If you want to option to get into academia, then I would certainly put UCD before Bradford.

But I am not sure if the degree from UCD will be recognized in other parts of Europe as compared to a UK degree, if I happen to look out for a job after my degree?

What is your view on it. Because I guess i will have to maybe work for a while after my degree just to payback a bit of loan that i would be taking.


And also I have around 3 years of work experience but MBA is quite expensive so i am opting for M.Sc

What would be your view on it?

I don't think people in Europe think that education in Ireland is that much different from the UK. UCD is older and more prestigious than Bradford, and it does better in rankings, so I think anyone who puts them into Google will see that too. The rankings show that UCD students have better outcomes from Bradford students.

The MBA will give you a better return on investment. The difference in fees is tiny compared to the difference in outcomes.

The key things are your own motivation, career goals and interests. I can't help you to make those choices.

I'm not sure what you mean by "top firm". The Lancaster programme looks excellent, but it's a route into industry rather than into consulting. Around 25% of the graduates end up as consultants, and these are with IBM or the big accounting firm, rather than with specialist management consultancies.

Thank you for your comments Duncan.

I just stumbled on this link

Job prospects there will be broadly in line with the FT's Masters in Management ranking.

I'm not sure there will really be much "programming" on these courses. Surely the main tools with Excel, SAS and SPSS. However, OR is an operations and analytical process which software is central to.

I think some familiarity with maths is more important than IT. Before you start the course, I'd suggest you use part of the summer to take a look at http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/15-053-optimization-methods-in-management-science-spring-2007/

These are great sources with solid skills. I would imagine the employment prospects would be excellent.

Many thanks Duncan for that link.

I will go through the site and I guess it would given me a better understanding about the course. I guess the course would be better than some general M.Sc in Management or IB, with respect to employment opportunities for non-EUs in UK.

Another thing is that, if I am looking into MIM course, should I go for the FT rankings for MIM strictly coz I guess out of the top 50, 35 to 40 schools are in European area, requiring another additional language, creating another hindrance for an international student like myself wrt job prospects? So i was thinking about sticking to UK and Ireland.

As for instance if i get into schools like Vlerick, Kozminski, Rouen which are ranked above Warwick for MIM in FT ranking, the market value and its international reputation of the school would still not be as much as someone getting an MIM from say Warwick?

Thanks again.

That's quite a complex set of variables. You'd really need to find out about the outcomes for international students for the individual courses at the schools you are looking for. For example, I think it would be very easy to work at a Swiss bank or a Swedish software company with only English. You'd need to out in a lot of your spare time to learning the local language so you can enjoy your life there. On the other hand, you could not easily have a customer-facing role, like a management consultant in Spain, without the local language.

Using the FT ranking, look for schools with a high employment rate and a high number of international students. Also consider http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_in_Europe

Thanks Duncan.

Sorry for the late reply.

I think you'll find the best outcomes from schools that perform well in the MIM ranking. Look for programmes in schools with larger OR programmes, with more electives and a great stress on skills.

I am basically looking at English speaking countries. So that leaves me with Aston Business School, University of Strathclyde, UCD, Bath, Bradford, Lancaster, Durham and


Which one has better employment opportunities for M.Sc graduates as Aston is placed above the rest of the lot of really good univs in MIM rankings?

Thanks again.

The FT rankings show that Strathclyde is better for employment, salary and career progress. Comparing the websites, it does seem much better. I like its apprenticeship scheme.

Thanks Duncan.

One final question to bother you again, sorry.


Thanks again.

Regards.

Thanks Duncan.

One final question to bother you again, sorry.

I have admits for Strathclyde's MBM course as well as M.Sc Operational Research course and Lancaster's M.Sc Operational Research and Management Science.

Now Strathclyde is ranked way above Lancaster for M.Sc in Management in FT ranking, but when I compare the specific Lancaster's M.Sc Operational Research and Management Science course alongside Strathclyde's M.Sc Operational Research, I find Lancaster to be really impressive with a compulsory four month client based project which could pave a way into employment in the UK in the current scenario, considering I am a non-EU student.
http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/masters/management-science/projects/
What would be your take on it?

And one other thing that's bothering me is that this could be the last degree that I could be going for, so with 3 plus years experience I am confused whether I should be going for an MBA or an MSc in OR. I am not sure how far on the ladder will the MSc degree take me as compared to an MBA.

So I have two options as I have not given my GMAT;

1. Take up M.Sc OR degree at Lancaster/Strathclyde or go for an MBA from a non-GMAT B school like bradford, Birmingham, Durham or others, this year itself.

2. Defer my admission for next year, work for another year, score well in GMAT, improvise my profile and get into a really good B school.

I know I am too confused about my goals, but I just don't want to realize halfway down the M.Sc course that its too computational or filled with programming, and that I should have gone for an MBA instead. I had earlier gotten into an M.Sc in Physics program but dropped out looking at all the programming and heavy computational stuff. So i don't want to repeat anything like that and am really apprehensive about it.

I am really sorry for the long post and a lot of questions.

Hope you can address them all.

Thanks again.

Regards.

Yes, I think you know the answer. Defer for a year and do the MBA.

Yes, I think you know the answer. Defer for a year and do the MBA.