 By Graham Trickey, Editor, Prospects. When the would-be undergraduate chooses a university various factors and conflicting influences may be brought to bear to narrow down the list of 100-or-so institutions. ‘Manchester University is near to some great clubs’ is the sort of reasoning that has been heard of. Three, four or more years later would-be postgraduates’ choices should be more sophisticated. The crucial decisions should concern the choice of course, which will already start to narrow the field. Alternatively some graduates, sometimes ill advisedly, may want to stay at their undergraduate institution, and build their course choices on that premise. Selecting somewhere where living and studying will be agreeable is certainly important, along as academic and vocational considerations also are given due weight. Cities where there is plenty happening, like London or Leeds, are popular, but some postgraduates may favour a smaller city, a coastal location or a campus environment. The accessibility of friends and family, either through proximity or good transport links, is also likely to be relevant. With postgraduate study so poorly funded, finance will also exert a powerful pull. Any institution that is able to offer funding will go to the top of the list. The level of fees is another tie-breaker. Money will also play a part through the cost of available accommodation, the expense of any commuting and the possibilities for employment of some sort, if this is necessary. The lifestyle reasons for deciding on a place of study should complement the academic factors. Determining the quality of an institution and its relevant department can be done most effectively by obtaining the opinions of people with direct knowledge of the place and preferably other departments in the field. Views will be available from members of staff at the would-be postgraduate’s undergraduate institution, but it is best to go beyond this and do a bit of networking to obtain more than one opinion. Helpful information will include the quality of the facilities such as libraries, laboratories and the availability of computers. Even more to the point will be accounts of the reputation of the staff academically as well as their competence as teachers, their enthusiasm and supportiveness. For research study, it is essential to find out the quality of the supervision that is on offer as a working relationship lasting several years will be involved. Hard facts about departments can be obtained in the form of their records. Where did their postgraduates go after the course and what proportion gained the sort of employment that would justify going into further study? The numbers managing to complete the programme of study can also be a significant variable. Final sources of supporting information include the published ‘league tables’ and official reports. The tables first published by newspapers and more recently by the funding council HEFCE identify the leaders in a range of factors such as research, teaching and resources. Official reports cover the Research Assessment Exercise and the audits of university work carried out by the Quality Assurance Agency. Although the RAE findings concern the work of staff, they highlight distinctions between departments of concern to research students in particular. With so much information around, serious study and research may be required just to find the right institution, department and programme. Or else it could be a matter of returning to some of the more random selection methods employed at undergraduate level. Related topics
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