Job Discussion Forums

[Jim Bigelow]

A friend of mine asked me a question which I don't have the answer for...but I know some people that may....

He's been teaching for a good few years now (inside and outside the Middle East). He's now going to do an MA in Linguistics but here's the question.

He's been accepted to Cambridge/Oxford/Birmingham but all the MA's are strictly theory based and a real turn off. The one course that interests him is from Luton University.

There's the dilemma! Luton does not carry anywhere near the same name/prestige as Cambridge and Co. In University rankings (as they relate to language degrees) Luton is about 30/100.

So after he completes the MA then how much difference will it make in landing a good job? Will people look at a MA from Luton much differently than an MA from UCL or Cambridge?

That's the question that needs your help!

[Truth Hurts]

Jim

My take on this is that it really doesn't matter at all. In the ME, all people want to really see is an accredited degree. That seems reasonable to me. I mean the idea that you got your MA at Oxford and that this somehow establishes you in a class of your own is pure nonsense.

What really matters is if you can walk the talk. A lot of people get MA's and PhD's and still don't have a clue about TESL/applied linguistics. Worse still, many embarrassingly are still stumped by the most basic of grammar questions.

To an expert interviewer, flaws such as these are easily detected.

If you're sad and desperate and want to be extremely pragmatic about it, well then just go for the cheapest and easiest one.

TH

[Jim Bigelow]

VS:

That's pretty much what I told him but I don't have the interview experiences to share with him.
I figured that the fact that you're saying that the other courses bore you and the Luton Uni. excites you then story over?

I'll pass on your comments with appreciation.