Study crime by the sea!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at University of Portsmouth because the course content had everything I had ever wanted to study and the faculty were very helpful and encouraging.

The course syllabus is very updated as the university has its independent research centres that feed into what is taught to the students. The same content is taught to professionals in law enforcement and criminal justice system around the world by some of the faculty members. All postgrad students have to lead and conduct their own research for their final thesis for which we are given a total of 8 months including time to prepare the research proposal.

Our course had less students so at a time we had anywhere around 15 students per lecturer, with the maximum going up to 30 students for compulsory research modules and the lowest being 3 students to 1 lecturer. The lecturers are very well-versed and experienced in the field they teach. Some of the professors that had a great impact on me are Prof Francis Pakes, Dr Rebecca Milne, Dr Dion Glass and Dr Karen Shalev Greene. I have learnt directly from each of them and they are all experts in the field they all teach.

Campus life is amazing, the Library has any book you can think of and if it isn't already there, thw university is happy to buy or loan it from somewhere else for its students. There are student gyms, union, clubs, societies, research departments that students can get involved in.

I'm not entirely sure about the statistics of this. In my personal experience, asking for opportunities makes all the difference between getting a role you enjoy and not having the relevant work experience. The university hosts regular career fairs and there's a dedicated team of career advisors who help students navigate their job searching journey.

University halls are available very conveniently and have all services included in rent including gas, electricity, wifi bills. Private accommodations are also available and some landlords have been renting to students for years so they are very open and welcoming towards any new student that is looking for a home during their study in Portsmouth.

My course did not require any additional tests. Requirements included having a 2:1 or equivalent grade of a bachelors degree in a related field.. I had to submit Statement of Purpose, and Letters of Recommendation from previous employers or lecturers. Key points to mention in SoP- • What motivated you to study the subject • Honest personal anecdotes are better appreciated than just mentioning generic academic excellence - SoP provides the university a chance to understand you as a person so write in a way that portrays that - don't get ChatGPT to write it for you, it won't be able to add your personal touch to your description of who you are. • Extra curriculars and what transferrable skills you learned from doing them • Why this particular course and this particular university - be specific, share your honest opinion on what drew you to pick that particular course • End with how doing this course fits in with your future career goals and how it benefits you as an individual/ the society at large. I only had to give one virtual interview where I was asked again why I wanted to do the course and it was checked against what I had written in my SoP

I studied between 2021-2022 when the course fee was £15500 but it has definitely gone up now with the inflation in the country.

I got the Vice Chancellor's Global Development Scholarship 2021 of £1600. There was no special application process.