The University of Manchester
speciality: History

As a student of the UOM, I feel that my school is really paying attention to the students’ well-being. And almost all teachers from my course have a passion for teaching. They really care about us, not only in an academic way but also our life as an international student.

Overall my experience at this University was positive. However, I want to focus on the fact that my experience was as a Post Graduate doing a Masters.
My first impression of being a Post Grad at The University of Manchester was that 90% of the focus from the university was on Under Graduates. Post Graduates did not really have much attention from the university and I, therefore, felt very overlooked and left out in that aspect.
I would have appreciated more opportunities from the University to meet other Post Grads and have more events as there is a large gap between students doing a BA and those doing further study.

I enjoyed the content of the MA and I believe there was a lot of option to tailor your qualification to your own interests. The course was far more independent than I imagined and often did feel as though you had been chucked into the deep end with no guidance. The opportunity of taking a placement semester was the best part of the course for me. As with most industries, the experience is valued higher than education.

A module that I rated the least was Cultural Policy. The module was very complex and should have been interesting however the teaching of this module was not the best. Nor enough time or guidance was given. Trying to reach the lecturer and have a meeting was always difficult and you forever felt as though you were chasing for a simple answer.
As with most lecturers, they have their own field of research to focus on alongside their teaching, but It often came across that their research took precedence over the teaching and you as a student were an inconvenience. This, however, is most likely down to a very heavy workload and not enough time which I do recognise and appreciate.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to go to Amsterdam as part of the Creative Learning module. The trip is an opportunity they offer each year and do offer a small contribution of £100 towards which can be used against travel/ accom. This was definitely a highlight of the course.

The library facilitates were good however not enough computers at all and could definitely do with an upgrade.

The University of Manchester is a great University and I had a positive time there. However, I do think they overlook their Postgrad students as we are only at the university for a year, as opposed to three. The MA Arts Management and Policy course was a good course and I would recommend it. It could be improved by lecturers being able to allocate a bit more time to students, It did feel very much as though you were being churned out of the system.

The course was great and my professors provided me with stimulating reading, essay questions and lectures. Living in Manchester was amazing, the city offers so much to every individual and I met wonderful people, both fellow students and residents of Manchester.

I think entering a new environment can be nerve-racking,at least that’s what I felt entering the archaic, halls immersed with different voices and faces. At first I wasn’t a fan of the isolation with other year groups.But I found my footing and entered societies where I met people from all walks of life, year groups and courses. Ultimately it’s a cultural melting pot in the best way
Adillah

opinion like dislike would you recommend

The University of Manchester is a fantastic university, with plentiful resources for its students to enjoy. I found this to be especially apparent on my program, American Studies. The lecturers and seminar leaders all aim to help you progress to being the best possible writer by diligently organising 1-on-1 time with students and ensuring you are able to grasp the content. The only aspect that I feel the University has been less helpful in, is life after graduating and the process of finding a career path that is unique to yourself and aiding you in the transition of post-university life. I would still recommend the University for its high calibre of research and helpfulness in other aspects, especially if you have a clear and diligent sense of your future pathway.

Being the University with the largest student population in the country, The University of Manchester is a hugely diverse and accommodating for all kinds of people. I have enjoyed the busy atmosphere in many of the social spaces such as University place and the Alan Gilbert building not to mention the Student Union which always has some interesting on. One area where I believe the University is falling behind is organisation and efficiency. Living in the age of technology especially after the impact of COVID 19, most of the modern student life is spent online. The university’s online system is outdated, often incoherent and difficult to navigate. I believe if this were to be redeveloped student life in Manchester would be a lot more enjoyable. Overall however im enjoying my time at the University of Manchester due largely to the quality of the education and the community feeling the Uni creates.

I completed a Master’s in Arts Management, Policy and Practice at the university. It was a great experience and certainly one I’ll never forget. The staff were really nice, classes were interesting but sometimes lacked focus. Studies included Cultural Policy (my least favourite, and most confusing class in my opinion), arts management, work placement and business in the arts. Business in the arts was the most useful thing to date. Funnily enough, the masters itself wasn’t the most useful thing to come out of it, but the work placement was. For my work placement, it landed me a job whilst I was still studying that I then went on to work in the following summer whilst doing the dissertation, then that was the most useful thing in getting me my current job. I don’t regret studying here, but I think the Masters could’ve been a lot more hands-on, I kind of felt that for the amount I paid for the course, the staff would be more hands-on and there would be more useful job skills included, a lot of it was still just theory.

Campus life in Manchester was a great experience, I made a lot of new friends. The course I studied was also very informative and the tutors and lecturers were very helpful when needed. Lastly, the facilities were also of a solid standard.

My perspective of the university may differ from others’ because I began my time in college during the pandemic. I frequently wondered if I still wanted to do this course after the first year because it was so challenging. My year group missed out on a lot of educational and social opportunities, and now that we are in our second year, there is a glaring difference between what we learnt in the hurriedly put together first year and the second year, which is returning to normal.