Re: why ISI better than DSE? if it is.

Posted by Deepak on
URL: http://discussion-forum.276.s1.nabble.com/why-ISI-better-than-DSE-if-it-is-tp7583421p7583458.html

ISI and DSE both have emphasis on research. However, the environment is where each differs the most. ISI is located near the forests of the Southern part of the rich, away from the city, sheltered in it's little but sufficient campus, providing all the focus a researcher needs. The small class size as mentioned by others, makes interactions with faculty and other students almost unavoidable. The department is pretty strong in Micro economic theory, definitely comparable to departments across the world.
DSE is much more than just a school of economics. For one, it is located right in the North campus, which means you are more in touch with what's happening with the world, even if it is only as small as that of the university. You meet a wide variety of people and not just economists. The class size is massive, very often, a year is not enough to know all your classmates. The profs as far as I have seen, are as approachable as any I have seen, so I wouldn't say you can't talk to them. However, owing to several reasons, professors here don't have as much engagement with students on the research front as one would like. This is not to say MA students aren't involved in research. The interested ones are. But one needs to find ways of doing things here. It is undeniably a stimulating environment though there is not much in terms of critiquing the philosophy of what is being taught to you in class - for the exams, you need to answer the questions, not demonstrate knowledge of economics - and the presence of the sociology and geography department within the same walls is one of the best things about the place. It's got a fantastic library and a placement program that is undeniably impressive. So it's ultimately, a question of what sort of world do you want to inhabit for the next two years, because irrespective of where you go, you can get a job and/or get into a top PhD program.
Long answer, but I can see no shorter way of doing this.