Northumbria University (reviews)

I’m really enjoying studying Forensic Science at Northumbria University. The course combines academic learning with practical experience, which makes it much more engaging and helps you understand how the knowledge from lectures can be applied in real situations.

The course is ranked among the top 25 Forensic Science courses in the UK, and I think the practical focus is one of its biggest strengths. We learn the theory through lectures and then have opportunities to put that knowledge into practice through laboratory practicals and case re-enactments. This helps develop both technical skills and problem-solving abilities while giving a better understanding of how forensic science is applied in real cases.

I also appreciate the variety of topics covered throughout the degree, which has allowed me to explore different areas of forensic science and develop a broad scientific foundation.

Overall, I would recommend Northumbria to students interested in Forensic Science, particularly those who enjoy learning through a combination of theory and hands-on practical work.

Firstly, the attentiveness and social settings of the university are accommodating, patient and welcoming. I was primarily based on the City Centre Campus in Newcastle in the Business and Law building although on occasion I would train at Coach Lane grounds for football.

Regarding the academics, I had the unfortunate timing of the Covid 19 pandemic that forced the 2nd semester of my first year at the university to resort to an online structure. This limited one on one mentorship and challenged self motivations greatly. My efforts in participation were met with silence from the course mates that could hide behind muted screens or bad wifi service.

My Business with International Management course was chosen to align with a future career path in working globally but that led to a more general grasp using theoretical frameworks rather than real world application of accounting, marketing and more. However, the programme leaders, module and personal tutors that I had the pleasure of meeting between 2019 to 2023 were incredibly helpful from assignments to comprehension.

Notable staff include Ziad Elsahn and Arrian Cornwell. There was one of my module tutors who I cannot remember his name who absolutely humbled me when I thought I had created a fantastic presentation describing the company Amazon as a monopoly by creating an interactive game board similar to the actual game Monopoly but utilizing Amazon’s growth strategies and a SWOT analysis. However, I failed to impress the tutor as he had never heard of the game at all before and marked me as inadequate at presenting the company as a monopoly.

This made me realize how diverse Northumbria University was; not just in its international student population but also the various backgrounds and perspectives it can host. Newcastle upon Tyne, the city itself was rich with history and large enough to be attractive to international students yet small enough to have mutuals easily. You could tuck away into the library, sightsee on the weekends to experience the NorthEast’s raw, natural beauty, and also party hard with Newcastle’s renowned nightlife.

Why is my overall rating a 4 out of 5? I genuinely believe there is always room for improvement. I became a programme rep for a couple years, mostly because of a lack of competition for the role and responsibility. The fact that my course mates felt no desire nor excitement to be an integral part of the classes or uni that we went to felt like there could be more attractive parts to their degrees. It could have felt less theoretical. Less essay writing, more real-world prompts. However, everything else was so lovely, from the diverse community at Northumbria, to the POLY sports culture, to the windy cold city that felt warm to my heart from the start.

The University is good, although some of the courses are underfunded and forgotten about if they are not the more popular ones like business studies. There was also some misleading information about the course I studied when I applied for it. However, the Uni is good, the student support is excellent.

I really enjoyed my time at Northumbria University. As an International Student I felt very welcome and appreciated a lot of initiatives that the school put in the place to allow students to get to know each other and create their friends groups (clubs, activities, sports). Classes were very unique, focused heavily on hands-on activities and contemporary case studies.