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Latest comment: 7 months ago2 comments2 people in discussion
The Wiki page states: "After receiving top grades in science A levels, he secured a place at Newcastle University, where he received a BSc degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 1975. Atkinson briefly embarked on a PhD study at The Queen's College, Oxford, where his father had studied in 1935, before devoting his full attention to acting. He graduated with an MSc degree in Electrical Engineering and was made an Honorary Fellow of the college in 2006." When did Atkinson work on the Ph. D. at Oxford? Before or after the M.Sc.? The placement suggests the MSc came after the Ph.D (attempted), but since it says after starting the PhD he devoted "his full attention to acting" which implies the PhD came after the Ph.D. (that would also make more sense as a PhD would likely come after a Master's degree). Secondly, please change "He graduated with an MSc degree in Electrical Engineering and was made an Honorary Fellow of the college in 2006." to "The Queen's College" to be unambiguous. The name of the college can be guessed at from the context, but the odd sequencing (BSc, PhD, MSc) confuses the issue further. So, suggestion is: clearly state year and name for his degrees or attempted degrees, in chronological sequence. Thanks Godostoyke (talk) 04:15, 19 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
Looking through; Dessau, Bruce (2000). Rowan Atkinson (Paperbacked.). Orion Media. ISBN978-0-7528-3380-4. via the internet archive. He start the MSc in Electrical Engineering at Queen's college in 1975 (p. 24) the same page confirms his father was at Oxford in 1930s. As his masters was published in 1978. From his own comments in an interview with theartsdesk, "... I was there to do a DPhil, as they call a PhD at Oxford, and I didn’t do a DPhil, I ended up just with a Masters, with an MSc, which is quite a rare degree at Oxford. I did my thesis on self-tuning control systems and it was good enough for an MSc but not good enough for a DPhil." So the confusion comes from the fact he didn't do a M.Sc and then drop out of a Ph.d, he did a course for a Ph.D but was awarded a M.Sc. The section could use rewording so as to make the course of events clearer. -- LCU ActivelyDisinterested«@» °∆t°18:46, 19 February 2026 (UTC)Reply
level-5 vital article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
Done: whatever the facts, the page cited was nothing like a usable source even if it supported the claim.—Odysseus1479 18:52, 23 April 2026 (UTC)