Overall, I really love the University of Leeds. I think a huge appeal to the university is the campus. It’s beautiful, with both modern and older buildings, and it’s based very close to the city centre. The city is a really fun place to live as a student. There are so many universities in Leeds, so the town centre and the student areas really make you feel as though you are part of a greater community.

Regarding the university itself, I am aware that the quality of teaching and experience really varies between courses and faculty. A lot of teaching has been affected recently by the ongoing strikes, leaving many students feeling hard done as a result of this. Studying Liberal Arts and Spanish (as my international language, or my ‘major’ subject) has been a unique experience, as I am often choosing modules which belong to different faculties and schools. The flexibility of Liberal Arts has allowed me to really personalise my degree according to my interests, and I have really enjoyed the variety of modules I have had access to on the Liberal Arts side of my course.

Conversely, it has been evident throughout my university experience that studying a language does not function so well within a Liberal Arts structure. I have actually found the language side of my course to be quite disappointing on occasion: the module catalogue seems to be depleting every year, and I feel as though the modules that are available to us can be a little uninspiring, and often they are not taught in Spanish. I think that the Spanish degree structure could do with a lot of change. After the first year, our weekly speaking classes were reduced from two hours to one hour, and I feel that the course relies too much on the year abroad to increase our Spanish fluency.

I also think that the University of Leeds could improve student access to mobility/Erasmus schemes. Coming to the end of my year abroad, I have met many students from other universities in the UK, many of whom were able to divide their year abroad into six months of study and six months of work experience, or even two study placements in different locations. At Leeds, we are meant to choose either a work or a study placement, with the idea that we will stay there for the whole year. Additionally, I am aware that people who apply for work placements have some really strict deadlines to meet when confirming their year abroad plans with the study abroad office. A friend of mine hadn’t even heard back from employers before she had to decide what she wanted to do to study abroad; there just doesn’t seem to be much flexibility.

In terms of career prospects, I do feel a little lost right now. Liberal Arts do not seem to have a particular career-focused aspect to the degree, whereas I know other degrees (economics, business, sustainability etc.) all have modules dedicated to employability. I have enjoyed being able to explore different pursuits, however, I do feel as though I would like to learn more about how the interdisciplinary element of my course will function and benefit me in the professional world.