I am a final year student at a college in India (NIT). My college is very unknown. My CGPA is 8.6/10 (top 12% in my class.) I have much better grades in Pure math subjects. I am very interested in studying pure math masters in one of Imperial, Warwick, Kings, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester etc (Not even thinking of Oxford/Cambridge). Most interested in imperial’s pure math masters.
I have two research experiences in Graduate Topics and participated in two directed Reading Programs. I performed well in couple of National and International mathematics competitions (Dont even know if this is helpful). Looking at these do I have a good chance at the above mentioned schools (especially Imperial). Any advice on what other similar colleges i can apply to with the above profile?
Thank You
Are you able to pay and don’t need financial aid? Because U.K. admissions decouple admission from financial aid, and the former is very much easier than the latter. The equivalent of a UK first class degree is often enough to gain admission except at the very top programs, which will be more stringent.
So it’s hard for me to judge Imperial but some of the others should admit you (FWIW I did a math PhD at Cambridge but never applied elsewhere). I’d be doubtful if any will offer funding though. I don’t know if paying would be wise, it depends on how much money you have and what you want to do afterwards (it isn’t uncommon to pay for a masters in the U.K. or add it as the fourth year of an undergraduate degree and take loans for tuition/pay for room and board).
Most U.K. masters are taught courses, and unlike the US, prior research experience is not assumed. Competitions may be helpful as a way of comparing a less well known school. Will you have references from your current professors?
Thanks for your reply… i want to do PhD after the masters from a reputed university. For the fees part, I would have to take loans but it would be great if the college is able to give maybe 20-30% waiver on tuition fees.
For references the professor who guided me during my internship would be ready to give me reference. Another professor from my university would also be a good reference writer for me.
So if I take loan for my masters (considering the case I get selected somewhere) will I be able to pay it by end of my PhD program? I mean are there opportunities for students to earn during PhD in uk?
I know nothing about the U.K. system, but in the U.S., many students apply and enter a PhD program and simply get their masters as the first or second year of the PhD program. If you know you want to do a PhD, it usually doesn’t make sense to do the Masters degree separately (in the U.S.). Also, in the U.S., many (most?) PhD programs are fully funded (free-ish). The issue here would likely be getting admitted to one of those programs.
The cost of a one year math MSc course at Imperial is 34,000 pounds for tuition, meaning at least 50,000 pounds including living expenses for an overseas student for a one year course. It’s very unlikely you’d be able to repay any of this, even getting funding for a PhD is questionable. Working as a teaching assistant only pays a few thousand pounds a year. Pure math is not really an ideal route to a high paid career.
The U.K. system isn’t great for overseas students who don’t have either their own financial resources or a scholarship from their home country.
Can you get a masters in India then apply directly to a PhD program in the UK (or apply directly to the US if you are sufficiently qualified)? The US generally has more stipends available for PhD students.
I agree, but if you don’t have a very strong undergrad record from a reputable university you will need to strengthen your resume and a one year masters like the U.K. courses might help. UK students applying to US PhDs will often complete their fourth year in the U.K. beforehand giving them a combined BS/MS degree.
I think that in the absence of a strong set of published research, a degree from an unknown Indian university might not be sufficient to get into a reputable funded US program (and pure math is quite elitist about where you did your PhD).
FYI when i was at Cambridge (not doing maths), there were a number of US students doing a masters in maths there to strengthen their applications to top US PhD programs. My understanding is that this still happens.
Back to OP - if funding is an issue I don’t see this as being a particularly viable option. I’ve never heard of tuition waivers in the UK - maybe a partial scholarship at some unis? - but the idea that you’d be able to repay a loan for your masters during your PhD is not realistic. I’m not totally up to date on this but in my recollection a lot of the funded international students in UK masters programs had scholarships from their home countries. Maybe you should start the search by looking at which unis might offer full or partial scholarships for international masters students, and which organizations in your home country do so. Unfortunately, funding is a roadblock that a number of international students just can’t get around. (Funding is more generous for UK PhDs but as noted above, a lot of people also get accepted without funding there.) I think the suggestion to do a masters at home and then apply for PhD (both US and UK) is probably going to be your best hope at getting funding to study abroad.