UU Report form - Erasmus PREPARATION STUDY ABROAD PERIOD. level bachelor s master s PhD. 24 / 01 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy)

Transcription

1 UU Report form - Erasmus faculty/college Social sciences level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Psychology destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton 17 / 09 / 2014 (dd/mm/yyyy) 24 / 01 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION It took some time and stress to collect all the forms needed. I was really afraid that I didn't made it on time, but after sending some forms back and forward I was very happy when I collected everything I needed. counselling & support at Utrecht University I received some information about the whole process and what to expected when you are in your Erasmus country and they signed my forms when needed. academic preparation I didn't do much academic preparation before going to Southampton, just following my courses to get enough credits. language preparation I didn't do any language preparation. I only had some doubts about my English speaking, but I didn't practice before leaving. finances I fixed all the scholarships I could receive and I've saved some money to pay the first month rent. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD The study programme was good. It was very clear what to expected and the lessons where very compareable to the lessons I receive in Holland. But they combine the worksessions and lectures, so you have the combination at one time. academic quality of education activities The lectures and assignments were very compareable to the ones I receive in Holland, they were of good quality. Only the exams were very different, you received a essay exam, so you had to write a exam about one question in a hour. I thougt the courses where good to follow and they had a good quality. counselling & support at receiving university abroad We had our personal tutor we could see for all questions and advices. Besides that you had a students services for all the questions in and around the university. page 1 of 6

2 transfer of credits I didn't received my credits yet. My grades I received on the 19 th of Febraury so I hope the university recieve them soon. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE The welcome programme was very well organised. In the first weeks they organised a lot of activities for new students (freshers) but also activities only for Erasmusstudents. It was really nice to have so many opportunities to meet new people and to get to know the University and city better. The ESN organisation was very good, they prepared a lot of parties and citytrips during the semester. accommodation I rent a room in a familyhouse. I was living most of the time with a French woman, only in some weekends also with her kids and husband. The house was a little far from the university and city, but it was easy to travel by bus. The house itself was very clean compareable to the studenthouses I saw and the people I lived with were very friendly and always helping me out when needed. leisure & culture Southampton it self isn't a typical beautiful city, but the areas around the city were beautiful. Especially the New Forest and Isle of Wight are very nice places to visit. London was not that far away so you can visit London a couple of times when you are in Southampton. The daytrips and parties ESN had organised were very nice and it was a cheap way to visit a lot of places. The nightlife in Southampton was also nice, you have a lot of places to go to. suggestions/tips CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Yes, I would recommend the University of Southampton to others. The city itself is not that beautifull but it is a nice places to live as a student. The area around Southampton is very beautifull and you have a lot of cities and places to visit nearby. The travel time to London is not that long, so you can easily visit this very nice city. The university is well organised and I didn't had any trouble there. The lessons are compareable to the lessons in Utrecht, but different type of exams. I think it's a great place to go and with meeting the right people you have a really nice time. The English people are very kind and always prepared to help you out. do you have any additional advice or comments? page 2 of 6

3 UU Report form - Erasmus faculty/college Social sciences level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Sociology destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton 20 / 01 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) 21 / 06 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION The application process was quite hard. The university was very unclear and did not respond to my s quickly. In hindsight, it would have been better to have arranged it all upon arrival. counselling & support at Utrecht University Support from the UU was pretty good, because it was easy to just go to the international office hours and ask questions. academic preparation N/a. language preparation I already lived in the US for 6 monhts, so the language was not a problem for me. finances The UK is quite expensive - I didn't expect it to be that expensive. However, with Stufi, Erasmus grant and some savings you should be allright. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD I followed courses in Sociology, Economics and Philosophy. At first, Southampton University was not too enthusiastic about following 3 different fields. But when I stressed I really wanted to follow those courses, it was allright. academic quality of education activities About the same as in Utrecht. counselling & support at receiving university abroad Iok, but not fantastic. transfer of credits Credits were easily transferred, because they were just ECTS multiplied by 2. page 3 of 6

4 welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE The first week was quite hard and a bit boring. The welcoming event was not really big. In general, I advise you to go in the first semester instead of the second - because everybody is new by then. accommodation I lived in University halls because I expected that all the exchange students would live in halls. Truth was that most students just rented a house in the city, which is a lot cheaper and a lot more fun! leisure & culture Southampton is not a pretty city itself, but it is close to a lot of great places and sites: Oxford, London, Stonehenge, Brighton, Bath, Isle of Wight etc. It is a good place to see some nice stuff in the UK. suggestions/tips Don't stay in halls, but rent a house in Portswood. And buy a bike;) CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Not really. Southampton is ugly and there is not much to do. Of course, there are still nice people, but I would recommend other cities (Sheffield, York, Oxford, Cambrigde etc.) do you have any additional advice or comments? page 4 of 6

5 UU Report form - Erasmus faculty/college Faculty of Social Sciences level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Psychology BSc destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Southampton, UK University of Southampton 17 / 09 / 2014 (dd/mm/yyyy) 21 / 01 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION This was a lot of work because of all the forms I had to fill in and because everything had to be signed at the International Office. Something went wrong with scanning those forms, so I received my Erasmus grant later than planned. counselling & support at Utrecht University The members of the International Office were very friendly and helpful. academic preparation I searched for some background information on the topics biology and cancer, because I signed up for psychooncology module and a biomedical module. language preparation None, because everything was in English. finances Saving and working, and I bought flight tikcets in advance so it would be cheaper. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD I had 2 interesting modules, and I regretted choosing the other 2, because I thought those were quite boring. I really liked psycho-oncology and pain research, and pathological mechanisms of disease. The other ones were human-animal interactions, which sounds promising but in fact it was about vegetarians and animal-neglect. The other module I didn t really like was self and identity; it was a bit like social psychology, and the exams were difficult. academic quality of education activities I think it was a good quality of education, especially because there were small rooms for lectures, and not a lot of students. So there was interaction, and possiblity to ask questions. The professors prepared us well for exams. counselling & support at receiving university abroad page 5 of 6

6 This was really good. Everyone was very helpful and it was clear were you could go for advice. I usually went to the student desk in the psychology building. transfer of credits The grading system is different from the grading system in Holland. So the first time I saw I had a 50, I thought it was in percentages and I thought I failed the module. In fact it was just a different system, and 40 was the minimum to pass. Each module was 7.5 credits, so that was the same as at Utrecht University. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE There was a welcome party, and all the Erasmus students got to know eachother. Actually the best way to get to know other students was social media; facebookgroups where we created meetings ourselves. The Erasmus organisation made this semester the best time of my life. accommodation At first I was a bit stressed out because I was not guaranteed accomodation at campus and I had to search for a room myself. I ended up having a private rented room; subletting a room of a girl who was on exchange to Canada. I found this via a friend living in Southampton who helped me searching for rooms- on facebook. leisure & culture There was not much to do in Southampton itself as in cultural things, but the nightlife was amazing. I think it is a boring city itself, but because it is a studentcity it is really good because of the societies provided by the University. I had a gym membership, had polefitness lessons and joined a classic ballet class. Going out and clubbing was possible every single day- and it was good. There are so many pubs and clubs. There was also a shopping centre. And I went to London often- because it was only 2 hours away by coach. suggestions/tips Use more social media! Especially facebook. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Yes! Because I've had an amazing time there. There is good quality of education, and the campus is great- there are restaurants, starbucks, and cafes for example. SUSU is the student's union which is amazing! They provide so many societies, from specific dance societies to music societies and even societies as cupcake-decorating and skydiving. This is seriously so good organized; everything is run by students and it is for students. People are so friendly in general and it is easy to make friends. Another positive thing is that it is so close to Holland- so the flight tickets are cheap and people can come visit you. My best friend visisted me in December, and I went home for my mother's birthday and again to spend Christmas with my family. do you have any additional advice or comments? I am so thankful for the amazing time I've had. It really was the best time of my life- and I made some good friends. One girl from Utrecht University I didn't know her before, but she became a good friend and now we're even writing our dissertation together. And I made friends living in Iceland, Finland and Germany and we're going to travel together. And yesterday I came back from a weekend in Southampton- I missed it so much that I visited a friend there, and it felt like coming home. I wish I could stay. page 6 of 6