Hi, thanks for the advice. I guess there's no quick fix - I'll have to just trawl through them all looking at all the info I can about their social science departments.

I know league tables are not the be-all and end-all, but... they're fairly useful in terms of getting an idea of what are generally regarded as the best universities. It may be true that if I go to a relatively un-prestigious one, I may not be accepted for a PhD... I just wanted to post here to check how much truth is in this. The last thing I want to do is close doors for myself. So i may have to tread carefully.

Funding is definitely an issue. By September I'd have a few grand saved but i'm aware I'll need much more than that.

Hi, thanks for the advice. I guess there's no quick fix - I'll have to just trawl through them all looking at all the info I can about their social science departments.

I know league tables are not the be-all and end-all, but... they're fairly useful in terms of getting an idea of what are generally regarded as the best universities. It may be true that if I go to a relatively un-prestigious one, I may not be accepted for a PhD... I just wanted to post here to check how much truth is in this. The last thing I want to do is close doors for myself. So i may have to tread carefully.

Funding is definitely an issue. By September I'd have a few grand saved but i'm aware I'll need much more than that.

Hi, thanks for the advice. I guess there's no quick fix - I'll have to just trawl through them all looking at all the info I can about their social science departments.

I know league tables are not the be-all and end-all, but... they're fairly useful in terms of getting an idea of what are generally regarded as the best universities. It may be true that if I go to a relatively un-prestigious one, I may not be accepted for a PhD... I just wanted to post here to check how much truth is in this. The last thing I want to do is close doors for myself. So i may have to tread carefully.

Funding is definitely an issue. By September I'd have a few grand saved but i'm aware I'll need much more than that.

Hi Natassia - thanks for the reply again!

My research interests... I am interested in migration/race, and particularly the media's representation of certain stuff such as immigration, Europe etc (xenophobia, racism etc). On an unrelated note I also am interested in cultural stuff like subcultures (youth studies, mods, rockers, punks etc), though am not sure how far one could take this. In my dissertation at BA level i looked at national identity, and want to take this further.

I'm aware that different universities have different reputations, and I'd love to do a Masters at a uni that has a really good sociology department. But I'm not sure which these are or how to find out?

I definitely want to stay out of London and Oxbridge. I'm in the Midlands (Corby... I did my BA in Northampton) so was thinking of Loughborough, Warwick or Nottingham, but also was considering further afield - Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool.... Any ideas?

======= Date Modified 29 49 2010 19:49:17 =======
Hi guys, I have a couple of questions with regards to choosing the right universities to apply to, for a masters degree in Sociology.

I've got a first in sociology from Northampton. I want to apply soon to do a Masters, but don't know where. Funding is an issue, but also, I do want to keep my options open so I can do a PhD later.

So firstly - what are the best universities for Sociology departments?

Also - I've heard that if I get a Masters from a relatively un-prestigious university (e.g. Northampton) I might not be able to do a PhD cos I'd get rejected - so I should be looking only at really good universities. I know in theory this is unfair, but am aware that HEIs are notoriously elitist, so I suspect there is some truth in this?

As a result, I've been looking up the league tables/Russell Group/RAE etc to work out which universities are the top ones, thinking that I can only really get away with maybe a top 20 institution, otherwise I may be signing away all hope of getting accepted to do a PhD in the future. Am I right to think like this? It's a bit of a dilemma - I don't want to/can't afford to go to Oxbridge or one of the London unis, but don't want to risk choosing a uni deemed "not good enough" and end up closing doors for myself in the future. But am not sure how far down the list I can go, if you see what I mean, and get away with it.

Any advice here?

Thanks guys, that's really useful advice. :)

Perhaps the OU would work out cheaper in terms of living costs though... but I do want to move, so thinking more along those lines in the first instance.

I'll try the ESRC and AHRC, and maybe talk to Barclays and RBS too. Thanks for the ideas.

I'm aware it's going to be tough, but am hoping for the best cos I don't have much money :( I got a 1st at undergrad level and have relevant work experience/references, so I'm not expecting to get rejected, but the cost is the main issue.

I'm not in London and don't fancy going there. The main ones I was thinking of were Warwick, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow... I'm in the midlands though moving further afield does appeal.

One more issue... I do want to keep my options open so I can do a PhD later, and I've heard that if I get a Masters from a relatively un-prestigious university (e.g. Northampton) I might not be able to do a PhD cos I'd get rejected - so I should be looking only at really good universities. I know it's unfair but am aware that HEIs are notoriously elitist, so I suspect there is some truth in this? As a result, I've been looking up the league tables/Russell Group/RAE etc to work out which universities are the top ones, but am not sure how far down I can go. Any advice here?

(I'll post this in the general Masters forum too)

Thanks,
Ian

Cheers, that does sound like useful advice!

At this stage I'd just be looking to get masters fuhding... don't get me wrong, I'd love to do a Ph.D in the future but am not planning it all out just yet. I don't even know what specific course I want to do for my Masters yet (I'm looking into it now). I just know I want to do something sociology-based, probably MA Sociology or something.

Which is a related question - anyone know the best universities for social science? Obviously universities specialise in different departments; I'd imagine there's quite a few that have excellent Sociology departments but I don't know which...

======= Date Modified 26 11 2010 16:11:57 =======
Hi,
I'm thinking about applying to do a Masters in sociology soon, and would need funding. I've got a bit saved but nowhere near enough. And I don't know where to look. What are my options?

I'm aware the research councils may help - I'm planning on calling the ESRC. After this I don't have a clue? I've been working for the last couple of years since uni and don't really know how it works...

And obviously I'd rather look into grants rather than loans. I may be able to get a Career Development Loan but I've still got my SLC loan to pay back and don't really have a career.

Any advice would be MUCH appreciated :)