Strathclyde Uncovered - Insights from an International Student

Aston University

7.5(10 Reviews)

Reason for choosing my college

• University is second in Scotland for pharmacy. And I found the exact course content I was looking for only in strathclyde. Joining CMAC is one of the great things that is a part of prestigious strathclyde university, if you are really looking forward to continuing your education further.

University of Bradford

3.5(1 Reviews)

Reason for Rejection

• The day I paid my strathclyde's tuition fees, on the same day I got an offer letter from Bradford. But then the decision was already made so I just decided to move forward with strathclyde. I think their response time to your application is really longer than other universities.

• The SOP should be well designed and self explanatory highlighting relevant coursework, projects or research you have carried out during your bachelor's. Be honest and specific, no matter what and whichever document you are preparing to submit, submit it to any universities abroad. Please make sure grammar and spelling are correct in all the documents.

• I chose the UK because of its world-class education system, internationally recognised universities and strong emphasis on work-life balance. It ranks second in the sector of Pharmacy, in Scotland and is ranked 281st globally according to QS world ranking and ranked 17th in the UK. Basically, I have a pharmacy background and wanted to select the particular course that will allow me to work in the industry after completion of my course. So I was particularly looking for Manufacturing related course content and luckily I found the Course named "Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing " at the "University of Strathclyde"; the course content was really amazingly designed.
• Glasgow is the heart of scotland , one of the largest cities in Scotland. Very quiet and pleasant and a safe city to stay. Scottish people are really warm and welcoming.
• Career opportunities are really good, as CMAC is one of the globally leading centers for innovation in Pharma and it's part of Strathclyde university. So continuing education further after a master's is a bit easier when you are already part of Strathclyde. Fully funded scholarships are often available for PhD candidates (especially for International Student ). Overall experience during the master's at the strathclyde university was really awesome. Campus is huge and you can join different societies and meet people easily.

• 4 classes per week. Generally, first class was used at 9 am and then in the afternoon another one. For my course, around 15-20 students were there. Almost 50% were Indians.  2-3 hours per day on average is more than enough to understand the topic and prepare your own notes. While submission stuff may take longer than this estimated time,

• My professors were so helpful and were easy to communicate with. In the beginning I personally found mathematical calculations, which are necessary to carry out during science experiments, to be the difficult part of the course content, of course. But then when I had my first meeting with my mentor , I explained my problem thoroughly and they took an effort to resolve that quickly. They changed the method of explanation and that was a game changer for my good score in that particular subject.
• Faculties generally don't intervene much in finding part-time jobs for students. So major jobs are available on campus; you need to go to the campus website and apply for it on your own.

• The University of Strathclyde has many buildings, mainly different buildings for different departments. But all the buildings are not under one roof. So basically, the university is just scattered over a really huge area. We have 24-hour library access during exams. The library also has separate discussion rooms , which students can easily book for group study/discussion rather than making noise in the quiet parts of the library.
• Strath union is the official student association specially designated to strathclyde students. It offers a range of services , events and support systems to enhance the university experience. Strathclyde Indian Society Association (SISA) is a part of Strath union and helps indian students to enjoy every festival, same like home , but away from home, including Ganapati, diwali , Holi celebrations, Garba etc.

• There are different websites like Indeed, FlexJobs, and Glassdoor where you can upload the simple one-page resume and apply it with one click. On-campus jobs can easily be found on the campus website. Or you can directly contact the Strath union; they would easily help you to figure this out. It's not very easy or even not very difficult, to get one part-time job. You should be just patient enough to understand the job requirements and need to modify your resume accordingly.
• Very useful way of getting faster jobs here in the UK is to walk in, which means you just go to the city and, while exploring different parts of the city, try to communicate with people and hand over your resume to them. They will call you and email you whenever they need you.

• Very limited spaces for on-campus job opportunity which include librarian, work in cafeteria, etc.  So in 2024, it was 11.44 £ / week and now in 2025, it is £12.25/week. Rate keeps changing every year in the month of April. All the wages are according to the National Minimum Wages Pay rule. Students are allowed to work for 20 hours in a week when they are engaged in studies. And during holidays (Christmas break), they can work for 40 hours.

• To be honest, out of 15 students, only 2-3 students managed to get one fine, full-time job that was also related to the same course background. For full-time job applications, references and job experience really do matter here in the UK.
• We need to visit the websites of different companies, fill out the form and apply there. Or else you can visit the UK Government Job website to get more ideas about the job hunting process in the UK. Average fresher salary in 2024 was £35000 / year. And then again it depends on field and work experience.

• My agent actually suggested the accommodation where I did stay for one year during my master's. And that was pretty good and the manager and staff were really welcoming. Choose sharing flats rather than studios or en suites, which are a bit costlier. But again, finding compatible roommates can be tough. Accommodation near to university campuses is costlier, so prefer staying a bit away and use transport or even one can prefer to walk.