Queen Mary University of London - QMUL (reviews)

Under NO circumstances should you apply to this uni – my experience has been beyond appalling. I attended QM as a part timer over 2 years, here as some of the awful highlights:

– was not informed at all about MSc projects, despite asking tutor. Ended up starting my project 4 (!) months late through no fault of my own
– my course decided to remove all extra-curricular modules on offer without telling students, and I only found out by chance days before the new term started
– staff have very often completely ignored my emails, whether it’s requesting for feedback on an exam, background textbooks for a module or asking whether I can do the MSc project they have on offer
– admin charged me the wrong fees twice, and neglect to tell students important information
– staff consistently messing up the recording of lecturers, resulting in no sound, no video, etc
– zero social interaction between students in the course

I enjoy attending this university. I have always found the support and admin to be great and have always felt safe and comfortable here. I would say that there could be more terms of teaching quality and overall campus facilities but in general I find that I utilise what is there effectively and I am pretty happy with the resources. My particular programme tends to strike a lot, meaning that a lot of valuable contact hours is missed but I stand in solidarity with the faculty and only blame the wider university executives for the disruption to my studies.

As a first year student at Queen Mary having completed my first semester, I can confidently say that this university facilitates a healthy and supportive environment to learn and develop my respective skills used within my area of study. The staff are highly repsonsive and always willing to help with my queries regarding both assessments and general concerns regarding my degree. Located near central London, the university is ideal for students hungry for job experience and work internships. In a city rich with history and culture, Queen Mary’s diverse and supportive atmosphere builds up their students’ repertoire, readying them for the real world.

Modules are interesting and the university provides other courses that you can enrol in to improve academically likewise, the location of the university is great and easily accessible for commuting. However, from what I’ve noticed is that they aren’t that considerate of students’ mental health and lack adequate facilities to support such students so this is something that could be improved.

My experience at Queen Mary has been underwhelming, to say the least. It is a decent facility that gives you a pretty basic education. It’s not a bad institution, I just personally think I want more out of the University experience than the blandness of it all.

I really enjoyed the teaching and lectures, and the professors’ insights were very practical and applicable in real life. The content of the lectures aligned with the core readings, making for interesting classroom discussions. In addition to being a Russell group uni, it is also the only campus-based uni in central London and is ranked as the most diverse RG uni. Cannot recommend this enough 🙂

The University provides many opportunities for its students regarding both social and academic aspects of student life. A highly accessible VLE with an array of student forums to discuss and / or ask questions about each law module being studied are accompanied by a careers support website geared to provide students with a wide scope of events / work experience in the area of law they are interested in pursuing. A weekly fair at the start of the semester ensures students can explore all the societies they can join whether they are cultural, academic or social and the students union website is dedicated to providing up to date information regarding all these events. More specific events for students to meet people within their courses are timetabled during ‘freshers week’ which allows for plenty of time to become comfortable in the environment one will study in for the next 3/4 years!

However one shortcoming is that the School of Law may seem overwhelming in terms of pushing the ‘Commercial Awareness’ agenda and events / work experience only relating to solicitors or those interested in more commercial / corporate sectors, sometimes dauntingly so. This could be seen as a positive as well though as with an ever-growing commercial world, even if you are only interested in being a barrister who is involved in criminal or family advocacy etc, it is good that the University provides opportunities for there to be some commercial awareness present on everyone’s CVs. Overall, the programme provides immense support for students and takes on feedback after module evaluations to ensure that students can improve their learning environment.

I have attended Queen Mary for a couple of months and so far I can say I have had a very welcoming experience.

Coming into university, I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to study or really what I wanted to do at Queen Mary, I was able to switch my courses around, and experience taking different classes before settling upon Accounting and Finance. As someone who was torn between what to study, having that opportunity and guidance really helped me make the best and most informed decision.

I am giving Queen Mary a 4/5 because I am still fairly new and in my first year, which most people say is a lot better and easier than the second year. By the end of my second year, I will be more able to give a much more accurate encapsulation of the holistic university experience and QMUL may gain the final star.