I am a joint honours student and I have studied the Spanish language and culture from a beginner’s level as part of my degree. Overall, my course has been great and I have no regrets about choosing it, although it has been difficult learning a language at such a rapid pace especially through the pandemic when we had lessons via Zoom for over a year. However, I can appreciate that the teachers tried hard to provide good lessons and they did succeed as my Spanish level has definitely improved. But one thing that I didn’t expect was for my course to be so structured, for example in my first year I had no optional modules available to me and so I wish that I was given more flexibility. However, I understand that there is a lot of content I needed to know and because my university offers such good courses which are truly engaging, I didn’t find this too much of a problem.

So far during the first year of my Philosophy, Politics, and Economics degree at the University of Leeds, I have had a great time. The degree program is one that really drew me to choose this course due to its range of interesting subjects that would not only give me great career prospects but also help me learn about the complex world we live in. My lectures have been online, something I was disappointed with, to begin with, due to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. However, these online lectures have mostly been informative with an exception of the economics lectures which I will cover in detail later. The teachers have been really helpful and passionate about their respective subjects, with each one being able to deliver great feedback when needed. The university as a whole is huge. This sometimes means you feel like one of a million however I still think the contact hours you get make you feel like you are still an integral part of the university. The one negative I would like to bring up is regarding the economics department. The lectures have been PowerPoint presentations with minimal detail in information. These have been followed up with lacklustre seminars run by PhD students who have sometimes not been fully clued up on the topics at hand. This has been my only negative for what is an internationally renowned university that has a great gym, music, and studying facilities as well as many links to industry. I would overall recommend this university to anyone who enjoys socialising but also anyone that wants to progress into great jobs in the future. My overall experience so far has been a great one with the only drawbacks being in some of the economics modules.

The University of Leeds is the place to be if you want to be integrated in a diverse and inclusive atmosphere. The campus is well-located close to the city centre as well as Hype Park area. What is more, the University Union is ranked in the top 5 in the UK, providing opportunities for everyone. I love my time at Leeds because I had the chance to meet one of my closest friends here as well as enjoy the variety of activities Leeds for Life portal advertises. Staff and academics are of high level and the teaching strategy is very research-based. There are so many venues around campus where you can chill between lectures or catch up with mates.