University of Birmingham
speciality: English Language & Literature

If you are looking to study in a city where you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on bus passes and train tickets, then this is the university for you. One of the biggest things that has always stood out to me about this university, is the accessibility all around campus and surrounding areas. Need to do a food shop? Aldi and Sainsbury’s are no more than a twenty minute walk away. Is it a Friday, Saturday or even a weekday night out? The iconic Circo club is located barely even a 5 minute walk off campus, and the place where you will find everyone every Wednesday night, the guild, found in the centre of campus. You are able to leave your house 10 minutes before your lecture starts and still make it in time. My friends studying in other universities in the UK are sick of a 40 minute commute by bus, while stuck in traffic, staring out the window on a groggy Monday morning, on the way to their 9ams. Wanting to watch the football with your mates, a pint and a pool table? You’ve got The Goose and The Bristol Pear round the corner from your house. Keep an eye out for their weekday deals! Needing a Friday night treat, but you’ve got an empty fridge? Down the road you’ve got takeaway pizzas, chicken burgers, Chinese food, chicken tikka masala’s, offering very good student friendly prices. Overall, if you live in Selly Oak you will never have to leave.
Aside from the location of the campus, the university itself, is very well established. It’s quite refreshing to look forward to my assignments, and to enjoy the work that i am studying, feeling so much support from my professors and care about my progress as an individual. I have found it natural to form relationships with seminar tutors as they are approachable and easy to talk to. There is many opportunities to meet people across campus, through societies, sports, and shared interests. I would recommend jumping on every opportunity you get as personally, I feel like I did not make enough of these events in my first year. Altogether, I very much recommend the University of Birmingham.

Professors in the College of Arts and Law at the University of Birmingham tend to employ a facilitative pedagogical approach in their teaching. They guide students in language analysis through the application of discourse analysis and methods of linguistic research, fostering the students’ ability to analyze various texts. The overarching goal is to maximize the impact of language. The entire process is characterized by a systematic and gradual progression, infused with a sense of humor and engaging elements.

Ultimately, I am incredibly proud to attend UoB. There’s a long list of incredible alumni, a rich history, and a gorgeous campus that I can’t help but swell with pride upon as I walk to my classes. On paper, it’s a perfect institution, and I’d never discourage anyone from applying – it’s honestly one of the best decisions I’ve made.
As an English and Film student though, I can’t help but feel a little like the forgotten middle child. As with a lot of Russell Group Universities, there’s a huge focus (a prioritisation, even) on the more vocational subjects. Law, medicine, finance students etc., seem to have a lot more options open to them in terms of what the university offers. When it comes to work experience for arts students – there isn’t as much help. This isn’t entirely the universities fault – it’s a niche working sector – but there’s definitely a ways to go for students of the Arts.
That being said, I do love my course, and the actual content on the programme is varied and interesting. The course leaves room for the student to stretch their legs and discover what they’re interested in (for me, it’s been film editing!). There’s a huge crossover between practical and theory lessons, and the weighting between both sides of the course is perfect.
There is a real sense of community at the University that is so important to such a big, campus school, and I do love being a student here.

The University of Birmingham is one of the best universities in the world. I enjoy studying at the University of Birmingham so much! In addition, my tutors are so responsive to our studies. I would like to try my best to study and live here.

I adore studying English with creative writing. The course is the balance of the two and each week allows you to do as much writing and research as you want in terms of extra things you want to do outside of the compulsory weekly prep. So many opportunities outside your degree too. Our newspaper, rebrick, is such an amazing thing to be a part of! And a great city to be in.

They have the best modules in my English literature course !! So much variety and the staff bring so much enthusiasm, it’s just amazing 🙂 even through Covid, I found myself enjoying working through things, especially with the support from my professors.

There is loads of support available across the whole university. Edcas was especially helpful in being able to pin point where your academic work needed improvements. The tutors also provide lots of help and support both on and off campus using both canvas and email nearly all staff were easy to reach. There are also a wide variety of events for pupils to attend and get involved in creating a rich campus lifestyle and overall enjoyable experience.

The University of Birmingham offers an exellent high quality education to its students, welcoming thousands of them with different backgrounds, ethnicity, languages etc every single academic year. It somehow manages to bridge the gap between different worldviews and cultural stereotypes, putting great efforts into making people from around the world not feel different, but feel at home!
Birmingham, as a whole, is a very lively and vibrant city. It offers entertainment, as well as being enriched with its cultural importance and beauty. The University of Birmingham is one of its great, secret treasures. Founded in 1900, it still withholds the steps of great minds. Encountering the view of the university itself is a one of a kind experience. You could stand for hours watching the emblematic Old Joe Tower ringing at every 15 minutes and you will not get bored. The new innovated Library is my favourite place to be. Being an English student, i tend to live there during the exam periods (and not only). It is made very thoughtfully and convenient.
The qualified staff has proved its standard by classifying the University of Birmingham at number 5 in the UK. I think that this just speaks for itself!