University of Sheffield
speciality: Modern Languages

I have only been studying this course for a year and I have to say, it was one of the best decisions of my life. The course is structured in a way that allows anyone to learn. If you’re finding it hard to get your head around, the wonderful professors are always willing to lend a hand to those in need. Additionally, one of the main reasons the Modern Languages and Cultures curse at Sheffield is so amazing, is the fact that it offers around 10 Languages for you to pick up and it is one of the very few Universities that have the option to choose 3 Languages. Furthermore, the variety of languages is very good too, it even includes learning Czech and Luxembourgish, something again, is very minimal in the university field, which gives you a better offer and another reason to study here.

Studying modern languages and cultures at The University of Sheffield allows you to combine up to 3 languages from an extensive list that the uni has to offer. I loved the fact that I could tailor my degree to what I wanted it to be. I chose to go down the Hispanic studies route in the first year, studying Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. I realised in the second year that three was too much for me, so I dropped Catalan. This is a prime example of how you can personalise this degree programme, and I love the freedom of it. The cultural aspect of the degree is extensive and varied, ranging from history and literature to art and politics, and I thoroughly believe that studying different cultures creates a more well-rounded, open-minded person.

The city itself, and of course I am biased, is a great city to be a student in. I always felt welcome and it soon started to feel like home. Now, when I am away from Sheffield, I miss it, and I cannot wait to go back.

The student’s union is rated the best in the UK, and has been for years, and I completely stand by this. Cafe’s, bars, a nightclub, places to work, pray, shop. It has everything you need! Not to mention the student support teams for wellbeing and careers offices.

The university is incredibly international and diverse, and international students are well-integrated into the campus, and are made to feel like they are at home. There are all sorts of societies that you can join, and I know that many international students found societies for people from their own countries to help them settle in to the new environment. Sheffield has hundreds of societies, all of which are a brilliant way to make friends.

The one problem I have faced at uni that has caused disruption to my degree, aside from Covid, has been the strikes. However, these take place at pretty much every uni in the UK, so this is not something that negatively sets Sheffield apart.

I enjoyed being given the opportunity to study three languages simultaneously – including 2 languages as a beginner! I felt encouraged and motivated throughout my course thanks to the lovely staff in the department. There were many interesting cultural modules offered on various aspects of society, history and linguistics pertaining to the languages I chose.

The university has many buildings and libraries which are all relatively close to each other. The Modern languages and cultures course has a diverse range of interesting modules and the teaching of the languages is excellent especially when learning a language from scratch. A negative would be the amount of strikes this year and how that has impacted the teaching and content.

There are definitely some positives. Student life is amazing, and I’m not surprised that Sheffield has the best student’s union. However, especially with modern languages courses, there is a severe lack of available modules. For example, if you chose to study Russian Studies for example, they do not actually have enough modules to offer this as a degree so you end up having to do very random modules, such as some in the psychology department. I have genuinely received feedback before from one of the sub-departments saying that my essay was too good, therefore it cannot be awarded a higher grade than a 2.2 as it’s beyond my abilities (yet I’ve been getting firsts in this subject for a while). There is a lack of choice of modules, lecturers can either be really nice and helpful or run away the moment they’re not on the clock. I know some people enjoyed the course, especially if they did more oversubscribed languages such as French or Spanish. I did study Spanish, and every year I would miss the opportunity to study modules that interested me due to factors beyond my control and I’d end up in random modules such as gender studies. You spend a lot of time on campus and it mostly didn’t feel worth it.

Overall, studying at the University of Sheffield has been a good experience.
In regards to facilities, the university can provide the right spaces and equipment for everyone.

As for the professors, one thing I’ve noticed is the inconsistency between them. Some are available, others aren’t. Mostly, their inconsistency is found in essays’ feedbacks, with some professors criticizing aspects of an essay that other professors don’t criticize or even praises. In turn, it can make a student who’s not familiar with the British University system very confused.
Two areas should be improved: more guidance for European and International students because our education system is different from the British one, and equal opportunities for both parties.
This is not to say that as students we shouldn’t take our responsibilities and learn by making mistakes, but it would be better if the expectations set on us could be fulfilled with more cooperation between students and the school.

The International experience at the University is positive but needs improvement. You get to meet and familiarise with people from all over the world but some schools lack diversity or do not provide an environment where people from different countries can interact with each other. The school of East Asian studies, more specifically in the postgraduate courses, presents a huge number of international students coming from the same country. It means that although they are studying abroad, it doesn’t feel like it, because they don’t have many chances to interact with home students.

As for student life, the University offers different activities and societies and everyone can find the right group of people with the same passions.

The university provides lots of services and support and luckily it’s not tricky nor hard to sort a problem if any arises.

The study life is good. teachers are nice and responsible. Especially there are lots of help for international students such as writing check and career guide. The buildings and libraries are also good.

1. The student union is excellent to help students to answer their questions and assist them to have their documents.
2. Teachers in my department are patient and experienced, which helps us to learn more.
3. Modules of my course are designed interestingly and reasonably, enabling me to get assess to different cultures and useful business knowledge.
4. Equipment in the campus is advanced and located in different buildings, convenient for students to use.
5. But the department or the school expand the enrollment, leading classes full of people. It might reduce the quality of learning in some extend.

All professors have been very helpful. Both in person and via email. The lectures were question-friendly, interesting and enriching. Some tasks were quite challenging, but everything was doable when learned how to manage time efficiently.
Also, there is a splendid offer of societies you can join – there is literally at least one for what you can think of.

The university offers the best lecturers and teaching services you can get. Professors are always there to help and improve your study. The library is open 24/7 which is useful for exams period and it is also a good place to find new friends and socialize easily. The environment is extremely multicultural and plenty of brilliant people then it is very stimulating. I would definitely recommend to take a Master at this university.