Anglia Ruskin University - ARU Speciality : Computer Science
programme: Applied Computer Science

The university is in a central location. It has a train station 15 minutes away and bus routes less than 5 minutes away. The university has paid onsite parking, however this often fills up during the day.

The university is quite small. I started in 2022 and I was the first group to attend. The smaller size made it easier to work and chill out. Furthermore, the smaller groups allowed for more 1-1 time with the lecturers and to feel more involved in the lessons.

The lecturers are very knowledgeable, many are always willing to help and are very friendly. There was some disorganisation, which I most credited to teething issues at the new university.

The course workload was heavy, but not overwhelming. If you planned ahead you’ll be fine, but lack of planning will catch you out. At times I did feel like some of the work was too easy, the majority of my course achieved a 1st class w/ honours, though this could be due to excellent classmates.

Regarding community. There are many communities and groups, I didn’t really engage with these so I cannot comment on how they are. I do know that they often did events.

There are plenty of computers on site, places to relax, and games available. There’s rental laptops available and lockers too. Although, there is no onsite library, it is completely digital. Getting a hard copy is a pain and requires waiting a few days.

A major concern and bother I’ve had with ARU is that it gives the impression that the uni exists to give student visas. It is no secret that the majority of students are foreign, and the uni openly leans towards this publicly and internally.

This has often led to myself and other English students feeling neglected and swept to the side. In many cases the university has openly discriminated against native students, this is clear in the messaging by the uni and many of their policies and initiatives. For example, in my 2nd year the university offered 1-1 employment coaches to students, the only requirement was that you’re non-White. I raised concerns about this, however I was quickly ignored and told to be quiet.

Myself and other English students have not engaged socially with the uni due to this. This university, in my opinion, should focus its efforts on the local native working class, it has a fantastic opportunity to uplift local communities and to provide long term careers.

Objectively the actual content of the course and the lecturers deserve a 4/5. However, due to these other issues I cannot rate the uni more than a 2/5.