Which master's degree in Bioinformatics? Help me

[gpalou4]

Hello bioinformaticians,

I'm a 4th year student in Genetics degree, in Barcelona (Spain), and next year I want to start a Master in Bioinformatics. I'm hesitating a lot between doing the master here in Barcelona or maybe in another country in Europe. I've been looking at some Masters in Bioinformatics in good universities like ETH Zurich, University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, Imperial College London, and so on... But I don't know if I will be able to be accepted there.
Regarding my situation my questions are:

-Which are the best masters in Bioinformatics in Europe?
-Is it really worth to go to these renowned universities, or is it better to stay?

Thanks a lot,
Guillermo

[GenoMax]

I don't know about Europe specifically but the actual university may matter, only if you are planning to stay in academics long-term.

Long as you have demonstrable bioinformatics skills it may not strictly matter what university your degree is from when you go looking for a job.

Hopefully someone from Europe will offer a first-hand perspective.

[gpalou4]

I don't know about Europe specifically but the actual university may matter, only if you are planning to stay in academics long-term.

Long as you have demonstrable bioinformatics skills it may not strictly matter what university your degree is from when you go looking for a job.

Hopefully someone from Europe will offer a first-hand perspective.

Hi GenoMax! Thanks for the answer. Yes that's true, but as first impression isn't better to have a master in a really good university?

If you know about good masters or PhD programs in USA, I would love to hear them aswell.

[SNPsaurus]

In my experience there are two kinds of masters programs. One is just a degree granted by taking some classes also offered to PhD students--the problem is that these are often not enough to actually do something. The better kind is designed from the start to be a masters program, has classes just for masters students, is focused on gaining skills and real world examples, and has a focus on moving students into career jobs. This is a worthwhile degree to get.

As an example, but there are others out there, is the University of Oregon program (see https://bioinformatics.uoregon.edu/ ) which has a summer intensive program, and an internship program to get students employed in good jobs.