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Is a first class-degree from a highly-ranked university (ex: Lancaster University) equal to a first-class degree from a lowly-ranked University (ex: Central Lancashire) when applying for a Masters degree at a privileged University (ex: Imperial College)?

I'm basing my logic on the fact that according to Imperial College's website, all that's needed is a first regardless of the university's ranking!

Students tend to work harder for a first at top universities than students at lowly-ranked universities.

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    Care to justify the statement in your last paragraph? Seems provocative and insulting unless you have evidence.
    – rhialto
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 0:11
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    Would you please provide the link of according to Imperial College's website that all that's needed is a first regardless of the university's ranking!?
    – Nobody
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 1:03
  • @scaaahu Imperial College states that they only require a first class degree. There's no mention of ranking anywhere.
    – user8618899
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 1:06
  • Please provide the link in your question..
    – Nobody
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 1:42
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    I suspect the requirements you found on the imperial website are minimum requirements. That is, you need a first to be admitted, but a first will not guarantee admission.
    – Thomas Steinke
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 1:58

2 Answers 2

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You are confusing the formal minimal requirements for admission with what is actually required to get admitted. Imperial, similar to most universities, puts a fairly low cap on the formal requirements of admission (having a relevant master's degree from a recognized university), but of course that does not mean that they admit everybody who fulfils these minimal requirements. Instead, the admission committee (or whatever it is called at Imperial) will make a selection from all applicants who fulfil the minimal requirements (typically many more than there are seats in the PhD program), and the criteria of selection will likely also factor in which school the candidate has their master's degree from.

They do this because it leaves the door open to admit a graduate from a low-ranked school who has other qualifications that make them a promising PhD candidate.

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  • This question is about Master's admission, not PhD admission, though much of the answer likely still applies.
    – Michael Homer
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 7:47
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My understanding of Master's degrees in the UK is that they are almost always unpaid so the universities have an incentive to admit as many qualified students as possible, especially international students. They might receive more applications than they can accept, and also some of them might not be acceptable, either because they don't meet the minimum criteria or they don't have a good statement/proposal or references. I don't believe where you did your degree is terribly important. I know people who studied at an ex-polytechnic university and then went to do master's at a Russell group uni, although going to Oxbridge or Imperial from an ex-polytechnic might be rarer.

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