Reviewed on Sep 12, 2024(Enrolled 2021)
What Students Say
Likes
- There are several reasons why the university is a good choice for someone. I will mention and summarize my overall experience with the university, explaining why I liked it. You may have your reasons for choosing this university, but you will likely agree with at least some of the points mentioned below before making a decision on which university to attend for your master's or higher education.
- Extremely supportive staff, very friendly master thesis supervisors and very well-organised library.
- The fee is affordable. Compared to other UK universities, I found through my research that the fees were significantly more affordable. My other peers who studied in the UK paid almost double the amount in tuition fees that I paid. My tuition fee was around £5,500 in my first year and £7,000 for the following year. I spent around £12,500 on tuition fees, which seems to be significantly cheaper than those of US universities and most British universities.
Dislikes
- Too much racism and politics against people of colour, no proper job guidance, and most of the UK firms will tell you straight no to a position if you do not have a permanent residency or a British Passport. You cannot land a good job on a visa. Needless to say, the chances of them sponsoring your visa are next to impossible.
- Lower QS ranking compared to other universities: Let me be very honest with you in this regard; if you have plans to move into further education after your masters, like I myself did by enrolling in a PhD program, then sometimes during admissions, the QS university ranking does matter while you apply to other universities.
- Limited city life exposure: As I mentioned earlier, if you are a party and booze person, you may miss out on something very significant. Middlesbrough is a village, and it may offer you nature, but not posh nightlife, bars, and late-night party DJs.
Course Curriculum
9
- Well-designed and practical based, with a lot of focus on grad research. Supervisors are very warm hearted people and they help you in case of any need.
- The difficulty level was easy to moderate. It wasn't too hard for those who regularly attended the lectures and made time for their self-study. Positive aspect: The world is moving towards AI-based solutions, whether it's ChatGPT, Grok, or Copilot. Everywhere, in everything, we are heading towards AI. So I was sure that I was doing a good course.
- Typically, as master's level students, we had classes three times a week, with the rest of the time allocated for self-study purposes.
- Regarding Indian students, I am not sure about the exact numbers, but a significant number of students were from India.
Admission Experience
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I applied to 4 universities
1. University of Anglia Ruskin (Shortlisted but didn't proceed with further formalities as I had already received an offer from Teesside University)
2. University of Glasgow (rejected because they accept students with stronger academic profiles)
3. University of Teesside (Admitted)
4. University of Aberdeen (Accepted, but I discovered that Teesside University was in a better position for Computer Science than Aberdeen, which is why I decided to attend Middlesbrough) -
In short, affordability, inclusiveness and cutting-edge technology research, and ease of paperwork with a quick response from the university regarding any admission-related query.
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Interview-Based. Once they shortlist your profile, you will be asked to appear for an interview. Thereafter, you will be notified through registered email about their admission decision. Finally, when they accept you, they will issue you a CAS, a confirmation of acceptance of studies letter, which you can show to immigration authorities to obtain a visa for your stay in the country.
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You will be shortlisted based on your BTECH CGPA and the technical knowledge you possess, accessed by the interviewer during the interview. If the interview performance is good, you may end up receiving a scholarship of up to £2500 each year, which in my case I received.
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Visa process takes time, so please have sufficient time from the day your CAS letter arrives to the day you get your visa to arrive in the UK. If the visa doesn't arrive on time, then chances are there that you will miss out on lectures, and you will be tagged as a latecomer by the university, which may sometimes increase your hardships in the new place, as per my own experience. Overall admission experience was great for me.
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The 2021 autumn intake, given the minimal scope of pure science research in India, which I believe is primarily conducted in top-notch government colleges like the old IITs and IISC Bangalore, and the intense competition, coupled with the reservation system to gain admission to these institutes, is next level. I decided to pursue my higher education in a better nation where research innovation truly matters.
- I chose UK for two reasons, first, it is English-speaking, and the other one is it is basically its reputation as an international study destination. Specific courses offered: MS in game designing, the best game designing program in the world. It is better than Cambridge and Oxford, as per some sources. Career Opportunities- because of the harsh immigration policies of the new UK government, it's better not to keep such high expectations.
- You won't be offered a sponsored position unless you are someone with extraordinary brains, with a bagful of gold medals and dozens of certifications. Student life is pretty good, with a good work-life balance, however, you won't be getting part-time jobs that easily to support yourself during your studies. Please bear that in mind before planning your finances. It is because of so much overcrowding of other nationality students and because of the visa work restrictions of 20 hours paid work per week. The campus is extremely beautiful and good.
Faculty
8
- Best Faculty: Dr Annalisa Occhipinti (Department of digital science and engineering); Dr Alessandro Di stifano (SCEDT), Dr Claudio Angione from the Mathematics Department
- The faculty-to-student ratio was not beyond 10:1 for the final dissertation and research guidance.
- Teaching methodology was practical; they always encouraged us to focus on real-world problem-solving instead of just gathering textbook knowledge.
- No faculty helped to get any part time work, everything was done by me, some job agencies are there, you need to submit your CV to them, once they have a position, they usually give you a callback.
Campus Life
10
- Campus life is pretty nice, and yes it has wonderful facilities like a library, research centres and advanced labs. Main Campus fests are Halloween, freshers Day and Christmas.
- Teesside University currently has two campuses, located in Middlesbrough and London.
- A library, sports club, and facilities including a badminton court, a football ground, a basketball court, and a squash court are present. An excellent rock climbing club is also present.
- Several clubs are there, which include a book club, music club, sports club, etc. Festivals include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc.
- 4Among student organizations, we had the student union club, which was very helpful in solving any issues that international students faced. There is also a free mental health counseling service done by university people to help those who are facing nostalgia for their own home country.
Part Time Jobs
- Most Indian students are usually selected as campus ambassadors, whose main work is to help new students navigate the campus during new admissions.
- Highly skilled individuals usually secure TA or DA positions; for them, the pay is good, ranging from £17 to £20 per hour.
- Other on-campus jobs include serving as a bartender on campus, working as a library assistant, or working as a barista at the local coffee shop.
- Highly difficult to get on campus job, fairly easy to get jobs outside campus due to recruitment agencies.
- In most part time jobs, students get the national minimum wage, which in my time was £11.50 per hour. Given that so many students are applying for jobs, it is fairly challenging now to get a part time role, but then keep hopes because sometimes it depends on luck as well. Steps involved are pretty simple, start early, prepare a UK style CV and then submit to all local pizzerias, shops looking for restaurant waiters and also to nearby job agencies which are free to approach.
Placement
3
- Post-study placements are the worst when it comes to the UK, and it is not only the case with this particular university, but more or less everywhere the case is the same. The UK job market is only for EU nationals and UK local people. This is a bitter pill to swallow, but I have experienced this while my stay over there.So don't keep any high hopes.
- Moreover, my target was to secure a good job; I was looking for a good PhD position. Due to changing geo politics and visa immigration policies, 99% hiring partners won't prefer anyone who is applying under any visa category. Nor they would be sponsoring your visa. Just a small piece of advice: the UK job market, after their new immigration policies implemented by then PM Rishi Sunak , chances of getting a sponsorship is almost next to impossible.
- If post study work visa is the main concern, I would suggest a better move to a non-English speaking country, like Denmark, the Netherlands or Norway, where immigration policies are a bit more liberal towards people from Asia and Africa, compared to English Counterparts. I returned back to India, applied to several reputed NITs and IITs, got selected into one of them, and I moved on in my life.
Accommodation
Off Campus
9
- I booked it from Kexgill, and it was one of the best student accommodation agencies in the UK. The monthly rent was around £330. It included all the bills, such as high-speed Wi-Fi, a good heating facility, and regular maintenance. I didn't have any issues finding my accommodation because the university student association helped me secure a suitable place to stay, allowing me to focus on my work.
- My recommendation for future students is to find accommodation either inside the campus or find accommodation from trusted agencies like Kexgill. You can also go for local landlords, but be careful to arrange for a rental agreement, otherwise, any minor dispute may result in you to thrown out on the streets and you would become homeless.
Exams
- IELTS was not mandatory, but the university had its own internal online English proficiency test to assess communication levels. I appeared in one of those exams and cracked it. I got selected by my BTECH GPA and my Paper publications. - 10th -- 10 CGPA; 12th-- 86%; BTECH--69% in computer science.
- Talking about documents, yes, you have to submit a statement of purpose; you have to submit 2 LORs from your previous institute, and if you have work experience, then one LOR from the previous company. For writing SOP, you need to highlight what made you decide that this college/university is suitable for you. You need to write a detailed SOP, around 1000 words with a proper description of your future career goals.
- The nature of the interview was quite simple; they asked me about my BTECH final year project, they asked me about what my plans were to do after my masters, and some basic questions here and there.
Fees
- The tuition fee was charged yearly.
£7000 per year (without scholarship) - The monthly expenses while I studied were around £800 each month, which includes rent of approximately £330 for a single shared room, £250 for monthly groceries and food, and the remainder for shopping, eating out, and transportation.
- But it also depends heavily on your spending habits and your own personal finance management.
Scholarship
- Teesside University Merit Scholarship (based on your academic profile in previous degree, like in my case, it was a BTECH degree. I received a sum of £2500 in the first year.
- Some did receive.
- Around 10-12 international candidates. But it also depends upon the number of international students who take admission each year. If the number of students are more, then definitely competition is higher in disbursal of grants
