I've been expected at both universities of Manchester and Newcastle for Masters in International development (U of M) and International politics (U of N). ¨
I think Manchester has better visibility, but for some reasons (financial matters, details of courses), I am considering going to Newcastle.
Would this be "stupid", considering the reputation of Manchester and its teachers? Is Newcastle known beyond the north-east and internationally, as this fields gives a lot of importance to reputation?

Anyone?

Um, this is all a bit anecdotal but here goes. I did my MA at Manchester - international relations not Int Dev. However I took quite a few courses with the Int Dev people (democratisation, human rights) and they - each and every one - adored their course. I also thought Manchester was a fantastic Uni with amazing facilities.
Once I dated a lecturer in Int Dev at Newcastle (I've dated more lecturers than I care to remember). He was unimpressed with Newcastle's admissions policy at MA level where people with 2:2s were allowed straight onto MAs. As far as I remember at Mcr the policy was that with a 2:2 you were signed up to the PG diploma and if your marks were good enough you were allowed to do the MA diss (which encouraged those with "lesser" backgrounds to really put the effort in during taught courses). I definitely got the impression that Mcr was a tougher, and much more highly respected course.

Thanks, this is great help.
Good luck with those lecturers.