What Students Say
Likes
- Freedom to make choices independently
- No hierarchy between teacher and student (eg: addressing professor with their name instead of Sir/Ma'am)
- Exposure to latest curriculum
Dislikes
- Extremely competitive (given that universities survive on grants, everyone including the professors are placed in an extremely competitive environment with a lot of pressure)
- Although there is a holistic approach to academia, it felt that there was a greater depth of knowledge particularly of Western ideas in comparison to a more balanced approach which takes a more moderate approach including both western and eastern ideas
- Cultural difference (not particularly a dislike but rather that it takes time to adjust to the prevailing culture of the location)
Course Curriculum
4
- The course was quite theoretical and it was moderately difficult, in the initial few months the difficulty was quite high but then once you get the hang of how to write assignments and what is expected of you from the course, it gets relatively easier.
- Most positive aspect would be that I was exposed to a way of teaching which was not available in India along with a faculty that includes leading figures from this field of study; a negative aspect would be that the course did not embrace eastern ideas as well as it did western ideas to the course curriculum.
Admission Experience
- Goldsmiths University: Admitted
- University of Edinburgh: Rejected; I don't know why I was rejected, if I could guess, it would probably be that I was unable to project myself to my best ability through my SoP.
- University of Warwick: Admitted
- The University of Manchester: Admitted; I confirmed my admission here eventually after careful deliberation.
- Got accepted my admission at The University of Manchester since I felt that the department of sociology here was much more diverse and accomplished in this field of study and thus I would be able to have access to a better academic environment here.
- For the admission process, I had to provide my official transcript of my Bachelors degree, my SoP and my 10th boards marksheet.
- I found the entire admission process to be really simple and straightforward without any confusion and thus I could do all the processes by myself instead of requiring any external help.
- I applied for the fall intake which usually joins the course in September
- The admission process did not take a long while especially since I had all the documents required ready, in total it would have taken not more than 3 days considering that all my documents were prepared and I just required to make some minor adjustments to them depending on the course and university I was applying to.
Class Schedule
4
- Typically maybe 2-3 classes a day which would be for 2 hrs each so in total about 6 hrs of teaching in a day. Usually the timings were from 10 AM- 4PM with classes happening between this.
- Total students were around 28/32
- I was the only Indian student in the course.
Faculty
5
- There were around 12-15 members in the faculty in total so the ratio was quite good where individual attention and guidance was provided whenever required.
- I would say that the teaching methodology was exceptional with an approach which give you the freedom to make the most of the class and class work. It definitely was sufficient to prepare you for securing a job in your field.
- Yes some students did get help from the faculty members in finding part time work, I don't think they helped in finding full-time jobs though.
- Mr. Nicholas Thoburn, Mr. Peter McMylore & Ms. Simin Fadaee; all three of them had a very approachable personality with a very interesting way of teaching and interacting with the class.
Campus Life
5
- The university has 2 campuses which were not too far away from each other (max. 15 minute walk from each other)
- All facilities were available on campus like an indoor swimming pool, gym, sport facilities, multiple libraries and reading rooms
- A 24 hour common area where you can study and prepare for assignments/ exams, cafes and pubs as well as grocery stores.
- The university had multiple auditoriums which had many music concerts taking place so one could always book tickets for the bands performing there
Part Time Jobs
- I'm not sure of the pay for TA, RA or DA but the position would usually be paid 6.50 pounds an hour. Other on campus jobs were you could work part time as the library staff etc. The pay would be minimum wage.
- Maximum hours allowed a week were 20.
- It was slightly difficult to secure on-campus part time jobs as there was a lot of demand for these jobs.
- Most places give minimum wage so students would earn minimum wage. It is relatively easy to secure part time jobs as there are plenty of part time jobs available across the city, to apply for jobs it depends on whether you work at a shop.
- Most of them advertise it right at the window of the shop and you can go inside and ask to join otherwise you can use job sites like indeed and others to look for part time jobs near you which suit your requirements and apply for them and enrol.
Placement
4
- Most students didn't take up a job directly after graduating but some who did get a job did so within 6 months from completing the course.
- Average salary range depends from 30000 pounds to 36000 pounds for jobs within the UK
- Most students usually find jobs through online job portals
- I have a few friends who are working with social development organisations like Chatham House in the UK otherwise the other friends have decided to continue further with their academic studies by pursuing a PhD.
Accommodation
Off Campus
3
- I was living on campus which I found-out later is slightly more expensive than living off campus by renting a place.
- The monthly rent was about 560 pounds while living on campus and the facilities includes, a pub and sports complex (gym, squash and table tennis area) as well as a laundromat.
- Since this was on-campus, I didn't face any challenges in finding the accommodation.
- Future students should check sites like sparerooms and similar such sites because living off-campus is way more economical and would also expose you to a regular life in the country rather than living on campus which in a way shields you from it.
- Since I was living on campus the accommodation was right next to the university and was 3-4 minutes walking distance; most Indian students were living in the same campus accommodation.
Exams
- No exams were required for the admission to my university, although this was the case for Indian students, for some nationalities there were TOEFL exams which were required.
- The documents that were necessary for my admission were: SoP, official transcript of Bachelor's degree, letter of recommendation and the official 10th standard marksheet
- No, an interview was not part of the application process.
Fees
- The total tuition fees was approximately 36000 (18000 +18000) pounds (including tuition and residence), the tuition can be paid one time, or semester wise and I chose the semester wise option.
- Monthly expense would be around 450 pounds which would include around 200 pounds for groceries, about 100 pounds for regular expenses, 100 pounds for miscellaneous expenses and 50 pounds for travel costs.
Scholarship
- No, I did not receive any scholarship for my course and I don't know if there are scholarships for this course.
- None of my batch mates received any scholarships although students from China were funded by the Chinese Government which they had to pay back later once they start earning and same was the case with a lot of the native British students who were being funded by the state sponsored program which covers their tuition fees but they have to pay that back after they start earning.
