Cambridge/Oxford/LSE Mphil/MSc Programs

[GrosvenorBlack]

How selective are these programs (More or less so than top 20 US econ)? Also, does obtaining an Mphil/MSc boost your profile a great deal? How difficult is it to be accepted into a Dphil program upon completion of the Mphil?

I am interested in these programs because they seem to have a style very different from most American programs. They seem to teach economics from a more philosophical perspective, basing theories more on Keynes than Friedman and the neoliberal movement which is presently dominating US thought. Are these invalid assumptions about the programs (In this example, I am referring to Cambridge/Oxford)?

[Karina 07]

How selective are these programs (More or less so than top 20 US econ)? Also, does obtaining an Mphil/MSc boost your profile a great deal? How difficult is it to be accepted into a Dphil program upon completion of the Mphil?

I am interested in these programs because they seem to have a style very different from most American programs. They seem to teach economics from a more philosophical perspective, basing theories more on Keynes than Friedman and the neoliberal movement which is presently dominating US thought. Are these invalid assumptions about the programs (In this example, I am referring to Cambridge/Oxford)?

I think you're about right on the style.

Someone else can speak to the selectivity....

I think (but could be wrong) that it's relatively easy to continue on to the DPhil from the MPhil, where "relatively easy" means that if you're already working your buns off to try to end up at a good Ph.D. program afterwards, they'll tend to like you, and even if you miss out on a distinction you can still have a strong chance if you've overall done pretty well and your professors give you good recommendations.

[brotherbear]

Generally speaking, the Oxford/Cambridge/LSE programs are less difficult to get into than, say, the top 10-15 US programs. For the LSE, it depends largely on which program you are applying to. The 1-year Econometrics & Mathematical Economics (Research) course is probably the hardest to get into at the LSE, and is approximately as difficult to get into as the Oxbridge programs. I'd say that admission standards for these courses are roughly equivalent to the US programs around the 20 mark. I can't really speak to the difficulty in staying on for a DPhil/PhD at the aformentioned schools, but I have heard that it's not terribly difficult to stay on at Oxford/Cambridge. To be quite honest, in my opinion, because the Oxford program is two years long, I feel you can learn more from their program, though you have to be willing to spend that extra year in school. They have some very good people, however, in Nuffield College, and it may be worth going there for a DPhil if you can enroll in Nuffield.