What Students Say
Likes
- The timings for lectures are flexible. There are hardly 3-5 lectures in a week for 2-3 hrs / day. This gives you time to work part-time and prepare well for the lectures.
- During my course, a lot of emphasis was on research. The essay topics were neutral and there was no right or wrong answer. The marking was dependent on your research, clarity of thoughts, style of argument etc., The feedback by lecturer was also transparent.
- Durham is very cheap in terms of accommodation costs. When you compare with QMUL, you will easily save 8-10 lakhs in terms of accommodation expenses.
Dislikes
- Nothing much really. However, now when you consider the cost, they become a huge factor. A lot of my friends were not able to land a job, which made them come back to India and with the salaries which were offered not much of the fees could be recovered. However, I did manage to crack at a law firm, where I could easily repay my education loan.
- Lastly, the system is quite liberal so if you expect very difficult studies, examinations or passing then you will be under the wrong presumption.
Course Curriculum
- The difficulty was very less. The positive aspect is that it is practical and research based. You need not mug up.
- You are given a PPT by the professor which you need to read before the lectures. The lectures are more of a discussion type.
- The negative aspect is that the difficulty level is very less. As a masters programme I thought it would be more complex. Since its open to graduates from other fields. They keep the difficulty level low.
- The average no. of students in a lecture depends on how many students have enrolled for the subject. It is typically 25-30 students but some common subjects may even have 60 students.
Admission Experience
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I had a clear communication from the respective colleges. The ideal tip for being admitted would be to write a customised SOP and not have a copy paste SOP. You need to show that you are willing to study and that you want to return back to your home country after getting the education.
I was admitted to: Warwick, Queen Mary, Nottingham.
I was rejected by Kings and LSE mainly because I did not have prior work experience.
Durham is a very good ranked university for law. It is a substitute to Ox-Bridge University. So it was a pretty obvious choice. - The admission process was quite simple. You need to have 7.5 overall band in IELTS. It was on my SOP and my graduation percentage. You need to have a first class or distinction to get an offer.
- The were not any hurdles in my admission process.
- It took me 6-7 months for admission. My admission was delayed mainly because I graduated in the same year and the final marksheets were not readily available.
- I also had to take letter of recommendation from 2 professors. Some universities ask the professor to upload the letter of recommendation onto the portal.
- The good thing about UK is that they accept your marksheets and they do not require the transcripts. Please plan well if your university asks for transcripts. Some US and other Universities want the transcripts to be couriered by the University, which is a task as Indian universities are not much co-operative.
Faculty
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It is approx 30 students / professors. The methodology is discussion based. There is a PPT which is uploaded by the professor before the lectures.
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Students need to read the PPT and come prepared for the lectures. It is a democratic discussion and practical scenarios are considered. The faculties are approachable and highly qualified. They are also very responsive on email. You can also discuss your dissertation with them and they will guide on how is it going.
Campus Life
- Durham University follows a collegiate system. We had 14 colleges. Every college had its own fest, bar, library, gym. There were lot of events where one could participate.
- You can also apply for a part time job at the bar. This takes care of job and ensures that its nearby. However, it was quite competitive to get the job as most of the students would apply for it.
Part Time Jobs
- There are teaching positions available. But most of the students who are pursuing PHD do take up teaching opportunities for under grad students. I am not available for about the pay range.
- During my time we were allowed to work 20hrs / week during term time. However, the term time is barely 6-7 months which means you can work full time for the remaining time.
- You get paid on hourly rate. It is quite easy to get a job. I approached a Pakistani and asian guy who immediately hired me. There are lot of websites where you can apply. During christmas there are more job opportunities available. I was determined to come back to India. Masters in corporate law is not a qualifying law degree so chances of job in the UK are very grim, especially after Brexit. So students to be sure that they are not doing masters to get a job and settle overseas. This is a blunder. So please be very clear with the mindset with which you are applying to an overseas university.
Placement
- I was determined to come back to India. Masters in corporate law is not a qualifying law degree so chances of finding a job in the UK are very grim, especially after Brexit.
- So students to be sure that they are not doing masters to get a job and settle overseas. This is a blunder. So please be very clear with the mindset with which you are applying to an overseas university.
Accommodation
- I was staying in a university accommodation. The total rent payable for the year was 8000 pounds. The university accommodation is generally expensive.
- The challenges was cooking and since Durham being an english town you do not have access to basics like vegetables, wheat flour, dal etc.,
- If you have roommates you can pick a bungalow and stay on sharing basis. This would be a cheaper alternative. My accommodation was 10-15 mins walk away.
Exams
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I gave IELTS and submitted LOR and SOP. The typical documents would be marksheet, transcripts, LOR, SOP etc.,
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There was no interview for my admission process. However, during your visa process you need to give an interview but that is for your visa and not for your admission. Apart from this there are no documents required. You need to have a medical check up done from hospitals or labs which are approved by the University.
Fees
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The total expense was roughly 25 Lakhs. The Break-up would be:
Tuition Fee: 13 lakhs
Accommodation (excluding food): 8-10 lakhs -
Monthly expense would be around 300-400 pounds. Since I had a job from a beginning I could easily manage my finances. If you are staying anywhere in London rent would a huge expense. There was no travelling expense as everything was at a walking distance.
For eg. Renting cost in east London would be 150-200 pounds / week. The same rent in a small city like Durham would be 80-120 pounds / week
Scholarship
- No, I did not have any scholarship. I had taken an education loan of 16 lakhs from Bank of India with a moratorium of 16 months. ROI was 11%. My monthly Emi was 18,500 payable for a tenure of 15 years.
