Student review [#4595]
at University of Birmingham

I graduated in International Relations with Spanish from the University of Birmingham in July 2017. I believe that the University of Birmingham is without doubt one of the best Universities in the UK in terms of student life, employability and academic preparation. My experience in Birmingham was unique: I was blessed to have some of the most inspiring lecturers and seminar tutors, and to meet fellow students from different parts of the world, who have become some of my closest friends. I enjoyed studying modules such as European Politics, International Relations, Security, International Law just to name a few, although I wish that the University had offered a foundational module in economics in the first year, which I believe would have been extremely useful as we would have been provided with the building blocks needed to understand modules such as Political Economy and International Political Economy, which were compulsory modules in the first and second year respectively.
Nevertheless, I greatly value my experience as an undergraduate in Birmingham as it enabled me to study what I have always been passionate about whilst gaining invaluable practical experience. Indeed, I was able to join many societies such as the UN Society and volunteering organisations such as STAR, the UK’s charity Student Action for Refugees, through which I worked as a volunteer in a refugee centre in Birmingham. In July 2015 the University gave me the opportunity to work as a volunteer for the Council for European Studies Conference at Sciences Po Paris. I also spent a year in Madrid where I was enrolled at Universidad Complutense. It was an invaluable part of my degree course as I perfected my Spanish language skills and gained insight into life in Spain. During this period I was accepted onto the Study China Programme which was organised by the University of Manchester, the British Council and Beijing Normal University. In January 2017 I participated in UBIMUN, the University of Birmingham International Model United Nations Conference as a delegate of the United Kingdom in the UNDP and I also had the opportunity to participate in the 63rd Session of the Harvard National Model United Nations in Boston along with nine other delegates from the University of Birmingham.
The University of Birmingham offers amazing academic experience and they also provide economic support for extracurricular activities. My time at the University has allowed me to grow not only as a student but also as an individual, and it has helped me develop important skills that will undoubtedly stand me in good stead in the future.