Hello,

I've been offered a place at both Msc Genetics of Human disease and Msc Cancer both at UCL.I was wondering whether if I take the more general Genetics of Humandisease that might hinder my applications for a PhD application, as Ihaven't really specified and maybe not show commitment to a particulararea of science. The more general one offers a chance to do both Cancerand Neurodegenerative diseases, both I find interesting. I i find after the year that I want to do a Phd in Neurodegeneration then a Msc in Cancer won't help too much.


I would really appreciate any help offered.

Thanks.

If you're uncertain that you want to do research in cancer specifically then I would personally recommend the more general course. I'd doubt that it should put you at a disadvantage in any PhD application. Also wouldn't there be some potential specialism in a dissertation component of the MSc where you could demonstrate your key interests?

As someone with a neurological disease it's also very nice to hear from someone who might want to do research in that area in future. Good luck with whatever you decide.

What's your BSc in? That might guide which course would best complement your existing skills and knowledge.

Having said that, if you're not sure at the moment whether you definitely want to do a cancer based PhD, I would go for the Genetics MSc. Genetics is highly pertinent to cancer research, but has other applications as well. I can't see why that would hinder a PhD application - I was doing a cancer-oriented PhD and none of my fellow PhD students had an MSc in Cancer science - in fact a number of us only had Bachelors degrees. Ditto people I know who have done neuroscience PhDs. I cannot imagine that a Genetics MSc would weaken your application in any way.