UU Study Abroad Report Form

Transcription

1 UU Study Abroad Report Form Faculty/college: Humanities Level: bachelor master PhD other Name degree programme: Liberal Arts and Sciences Destination city & country Belfast, United Kingdom Name host institution and/or company/organisation Queen s University Belfast Purpose of exchange study/courses work placement field work other Departure date (dd/mm/yyyy) 14/09/2015 Return date (dd/mm/yyyy) 26/01/2016 Preparation Exchange/placement application process: Do as told, start on time it s not a lot of work but sending, scanning and forwarding signatures can take a while. Counselling/support at home university: Fine. Academic preparation: I took all level 3 modules in politics (which I had not studied before) and this was fine. Language preparation: My English was fine before I left and the UU has a standard letter confirming your English is good enough. Finances: Belfast is expensive! Especially Queens accommodation. If you want to spend a little less, I recommend looking for a regular place to stay near the university. It was fun staying in Queens accommodation because you re surrounded by internationals but you ll befriend internationals without staying in Queens too. Study/placement abroad period Study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues): The first two weeks the classes are trials; in the first week professors shortly introduce the intention and plan of the module and in the second week they give their first real lecture. I realised during these weeks I wanted to change one of my modules. I could attend other modules to figure out which one I liked more and changing my learning agreement was no problem. Academic quality of education/placement activities: I thought the quality of education was very good, although I have heard complaints from friends

2 that their faculties are less challenging than at home. The classes are really small (max 15 students) and because of the small size, you are forced to participate: instead of lectures all classes automatically became more like a seminar. It took some getting used to that the timeline of classes differ a lot from the UU you do three modules in one semester and in the school of politics you get one lecture a week per module. Half way through the semester there is a reading week : one week off to catch up on reading and write some essays. This means there is more free time to study than you re used to, especially during the exams the exams are three weeks of free time to study. The library is close to all Queens accommodation and there are always (unlike the UBB) places to study. Counselling/support at host institution/organisation: At the start of the semester you are informed on various institutions that can help you when you have a difficult time, fortunately I did not have to use these facilities. Transfer of credits: Is supposed to happen automatically but at this moment I am still waiting for the transfer. Student life Welcome/orientation programme: There is no ESN in Belfast, but all international students find each other very easily due to the introduction week with many free food events. During the Freshers week (a week later) all clubs and societies present themselves, if you decide to become a member of one of those you are more likely to also make local friends. I participated in the Student Action Group for Refugees and was part of a basketball team. Accommodation: As I indicated before I am not crazy happy about Queens accommodation because it is very expensive. However it is the easiest way to find accommodation and once you get over the fact that its expensive and slightly frustrating (you cannot even change a fuse yourself during a power out or turn of the fire alarm when it goes off for no reason) it s really nice. The price is included a bunch of international friends and a cleaner every week. You get to choose from various options: college garden is the best, but as the most popular place unlikely that you ll get in. Grant house has an official no-alcohol policy but we threw parties and drank enough so don t worry about this. Guthrie house is okay too, just like 76 malone road. Make sure you don t end up in Elms village: its further away from uni and meant for freshmen. If you live there you have to sign in guests that you want to take home after 11pm. One last complaint for all Queens accomodation: to do laundry you pay Leisure/culture: Belfast has many clubs and pubs that you d best discover on your own/with friends. To name a few: cuckoo s, dirty onion, students union (pub on first floor, club in the basement), lavery s, parlour, duke of York, Hudson s yard, limelight, alibi s, filthy mcnasty, botanic inn, kremlin, boombox and all the house parties that you and your friends will organise. Beware though: the culture is different from in the Netherlands, you drink pints and the club/pubs close at 1 or 2am. Suggestions/tips: Don t hesitate to ask staff if they have beers on offer, this will save you money and force you to try

3 different types of beers. You re in Ireland (okay technically the UK but still) and therefore you also have to drink whiskey. The QFT is a film house that screens great movies for a good deal. The first or second week there s culture night and this is a great time to discover the city centre. There are performances on every street corner and in every bar. Conclusions Would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? Please explain: Yes, Belfast is nice. It is not the prettiest, cheapest location but nature is gorgeous so make sure you get out of the city whenever it doesn t rain. I choose to come to Belfast for the political history if it hadn t been for the troubles I would personally recommend another destination. To see true Irish culture you should go to Galway, Cork or Dublin. But if you re interested in a divided society that despite a history of violence is developing an interesting cultural and fun society, come to Belfast. Do you have any additional advice or comments?: I have had a great time here, Belfast is an amazing city. Don t hesitate to contact before or during your stay with any questions on Julia.matser@gmail.com.

4 ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report e mail address faculty/college optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly i.bolle@students.uu.nl Humanities level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme History destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Belfast, Northern Ireland Queen's University Belfast 15 / 09 / 2014 (dd/mm/yyyy) 26 / 02 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION I applied for three universities, with Queen's as my first choice. There were quite a lot of documents to fill out, signatures to get, and s sent, so I'd reccomend starting as soon as you can. The International office in Belfast was very helpful and quite quick to respond. I had some small problems with the international office at Utrecht when I needed certain documents signed. A few times I got the wrong document sent back, or one without the signatures I needed. It wasn't bad, but a bit stressful because the deadlines were so close so better get it done soon, just in case something doesn't work out the way you think it will. counselling & support at Utrecht University The international office was very helpful, it tried answering the questions I had, which was helpful in the application process. If something is unclear, get in touch with them. academic preparation I didn't have any extra academic preparation, as the courses I would take would be around the same level as the ones I would have taken in Utrecht. language preparation I had no extra language preparation. I sent the results of an English exam I had done a few years earlier, which was sufficient. finances I received my basisbeurs (government grant) and took out a maximum loan. I also received the Erasmus+ grant in October, which was around 700 euros. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD The year is made up of two semesters, and it is usual to take 3 courses in one semester, which I did. Queen's has a good online course catalogue where there is detailed information what the course is about, and how you UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 3

5 will be marked. For my degree (3 rd year history) there was a lot of choice in what courses I could take. academic quality of education activities The quality of the courses I took were excellent. Tutorial groups were very small (my smallest was around 7 people, largest around 15). The lecturers were very involved and willing to help out in any case. In my opinion the quality was higher than Utrecht, but I have also heard of people with experiences less good, so I think it really depends on your subject and the teachers you come in contact with. counselling & support at receiving university abroad Every Erasmus student was assigned a lecturer in their faculty they could contact. Before the academic year starts they help you sign up for your courses, and pretty much explain how the system works, which is very helpful. transfer of credits They will be sent to Utrecht, though the process for mine is not completed yet at this moment. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE There was a special introduction and orientation week for international students a week before classes started, where there were the expected talks about the university, the grading system, life in Northern Ireland, and taking care of yourself. We were also put in groups and were taken on tours to the library and around the city, with some free dinners in the evenings. It was a good way to get a sense of the university before the freshers arrived for their orientation in the following week. accommodation Before you arrive you can register for accommodation and enter a top three of where you would want to be placed. In my case, and for a lot of people that ended up in the same house, the list was ignored and I was placed in Grant house, next to the students village. It is a non alcoholic house, but this isn't something that should put you off, as long as you're not really stupid, you can drink plenty. There were just international students, which was a lot of fun though it makes it harder to get to know Northern Irish and from the night I arrived people started to hang out and friend groups were made pretty instantly. If you have a choice I'd reccommend not being placed in Elms Village, a lot of fresher's live there, and it is pretty much a closed compound, with a lot of rules, and the idea of you being babysat. People who don't live there aren't allowed in after 11pm, unless registered beforehand, which seems a bit ridiculous for students. Houses outside the compound, where rules are a lot more flexible are Grant, Guthrie, and College Gardens. University accommodation is expensive, though it saves the trouble of finding a private home in a short time period, and it makes it a lot easier to make great friends that live with you. leisure & culture Belfast has built up a great night life but keep in mind people start drinking and going out a lot earier here, as most pubs close at 1am, though some stay open a little longer. There are good deals at the Student's Union, and usually some free pool tables. Other nice places are Lavery's and Filthy's, as well as some pubs in Cathedral's Quarter, though definitely go explore for yourself, there are a lot of places. Cinema tickets are a lot cheaper than Utrecht, and the QFT has a good programme. For lunch there are some affordable places on Botanic Avenue for a break from the library, such as Boojum's and Build a Burger. At the beginning of the year there is also Culture NIght, where there is all sorts of entertainment on the streets of the city centre, which is definitely worth it. suggestions/tips UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 3

6 On a clear day, take a bus to the outsirts of the city and go climb Cave Hill with a few friends. Great view over all of Belfast, as well as the sea. If you have the time, definitely travel to Ireland too, the nature is incredible. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Yes, definitely. Courses are great, the city grows on you quickly, though the most impactful are the people you meet and befriend there. do you have any additional advice or comments? no. Save this UU report for your own records and send it as attachment to verslagen.internationaloffice@uu.nl within 30 days after finishing your study abroad period and in ANY case before the final deadline! UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 3 of 3

7 UU Report form ~ Erasmus Every student receiving an Erasmus grant has to submit a UU report as well. Writing the UU report is one of the university s conditions to receive and keep the grant. Only after submitting this report your Erasmus grant will be awarded definitively. SEE UU ERASMUS REPORT FILE FOR INSTRUCTIONS! Your report will be made available to UU students preparing an exchange, placement or research period abroad. Not all of them are Dutch-speaking, therefore we prefer to receive reports written in English. Please use Tab to go to the next (text) box. faculty/college University College Utrecht level bachelor master PhD other name degree programme University College Utrecht, Liberal Arts & Sciences destination city & country Belfast, United Kingdom name host institution and/or Queen's University Belfast company/organization purpose Erasmus grant study/courses work placement departure date (dd/mm/yyyy) 24 / 01 / 2013 return date (dd/mm/yyyy) 26 / 05 / 2013 You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! preparation exchange/placement application process Queen's University Belfast was my second choice for a year abroad. Somehow, I was not selected for my first option, for which I had written a motivation letter etc. Nevertheless, the application process mainly meant filling out some forms and cycling up to the Uithof several times. It was not much work. counselling/support at home university The people at the Erasmus desk here at the Uithof were helpful. However, I do have to say that for a student of UCU, the bureaucratic difference between UU and UCU erasmus can sometimes be annoying. It would be better if our own exchange officer could also deal with UU exchanges in case students would want to go to a University that is not a partner of UCU, but is a partner of UU. academic preparation I did not really have to prepare anything. language preparation Since the university's language is English, and UCU is too, there was no language preparation needed. finances I got the Erasmus grant, which covered about 1000 euro's and was given before even leaving, in December. However, due to the DUO finances being montly and the payment for accomodation having to be paid in one go before arrival, I had to borrow about another 1000 from my family. I was hoping I would over time collect more money again, but I had to spend more on other things than I had thought before going. Still, there was never really UU Erasmus report deadlines: 1 March 2013 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2013 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange/placement page 1 of 3

8 much trouble with the finances. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) I went to study at the School of History & Anthropology. Eventually, I ended up taking two history courses (American South and 'Nationalism and Liberation in 20 th Century Africa') and one politics course (International Organisations). The university was very well organised and everything was nearby. I especially loved the library, which I found to be amazing. I spent a lot of time being on the computers there, or even working, writing essays and studying for exams. academic quality of education/placement activities The academic quality is alright, but the bars are a lot lower than at UCU. There is more independence at Queen's University. The quality can be very good, even execelent, when the student himself decides to use the potential that is there to the fullest. The staff is of high quality and so are the readings. However, it is also a lot easier to not do anything and lay back. Therefore, the average quality seems to be lower. counselling/support at host institution/organisation At Queen's University, there is a special International Students Support office which will help erasmus students with any problems they might have. The guidance for international students is very good, and much effort is put into making sure the students are all alright. Every students is appointed an erasmus officer at the department of study. This officer, which could often also be one of your teachers at the same time, as was the case for me, acts like a personal mentor. He has helped me a great deal and has always made sure that any questions that were there would be asked and dealt with. transfer of credits I am not sure how this will go, since I do not have my official grades yet. student life welcome/orientation programme The welcome and orientation programme was rather weak. Compared to our at least seven days of partying, Queen's just gave us 3 days of quite boring presentations and a dinner night. Overall, it was hard to get to know people well through this introduction. I found it hard to meet people through the semester, and blame the orientation programme for not enabling students to build good connections before the semester starts. accommodation Because I was quite late with the accommodation application, there was no space anymore in any of the regular Queen's accommodations. Therefore I stayed at the Stranmillis University College, located some 5 minutes from Queen's main accommodation complex, Elms Village. The social life at Stranmillis was not really there, since I found it hard to hang out with students that I did not have much in common with. The advantage of Stranmillis was the catered service, meaning that there was a dining hall included in the price, where one could go for breakfast and dinner. The design of the halls at Stranmillis was rather anti-social. On the brighter side, the rooms were not too small, and in any case larger than those at Elms or other Queen's accommodations. Overall, my accommodation was alright, but I wouldn't know much about the REAL Queen's accommodations. leisure/culture UU Erasmus report deadlines: 1 March 2013 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2013 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange/placement page 2 of 3

9 I didn't do much outside of school while being in Belfast. Usually, I would walk around Belfast itself, which is a lovely city, trying out all the cafés and just discovering the area. It was nice to see how I started building a pattern of places where I would go often, such as Cinnamon Coffee café, Maggie Mays or the Centra shop. I went to the movies a few times, since the cinema only costs about 4 pounds; basically half of the Dutch price. When you do want to go outside of Belfast, there are many options, of which especially the bus tours are nice and not too costly. You can go to Dublin, Giant's Causeway and many other places in well-organised and usually well-guided day tours. suggestions/tips I recommend being on time for the accommodation application, since being in another college makes making friends quite hard. Moreover, most of the accommodations are 15 to 20 minutes walking from the actual University, so be prepared to walk a lot in this city. Bikes are not common, and most people prefer walking throughout the whole city instead of taking public transport. Also, if you go shopping, try to go to the Tesco, which will save you a lot of money compared to supermarkets like Centra or the Spar. conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain I would definitely recommend going to Belfast. For me, it was a good experience, that gave me a lot of rest compared to the busy and hyper-social times at UCU (which I love, don't get me wrong). It was just nice having a semester where I could do my own thing, relax with courses that were not so hard, still get A's and have a lot of time to walk around etc. Also, it is perfect for anyone who does not want to be too far apart from other responsibilities in the Netherlands (family, boy/girlfriend, friends, whatever) since the flights between Belfast and Amsterdam are not too expensive (Easyjet) and last between 1 and 1,5 hours. do you have any additional advice or comments? Belfast is a very nice city to live in. It might not look all that great, but the people are super friendly and the whole atmosphere is good. The last advice would be, wherever you're going (in Europe), start on time with all the erasmus papers and have a good look at what you need to hand in later, so you do not get any surprises (unlike me right now). Good luck! Please save this UU report for your own records and send it to verslagen.internationaloffice@uu.nl within 30 days after finishing your study/placement abroad period and in ANY case before the final deadline! If you fail to submit the UU report in time, we have to claim back the Erasmus grant. UU Erasmus report deadlines: 1 March 2013 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2013 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange/placement page 3 of 3

10 UU Report form ~ Erasmus optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly address leah@hecknet.com faculty/college Sociology/Roosvelt Academy level bachelor master PhD other name degree programme Bachelor of Arts destination city & country Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK name host institution and/or Queens University Belfast company/organization purpose Erasmus grant study/courses work placement departure date (dd/mm/yyyy) 30 / 8 / 2011 return date (dd/mm/yyyy) 22 / 1 / 2012 You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! preparation exchange/placement application process This process was a bit stressful because there were some problems with my application, however in the end everything worked out. counselling/support at home university They were very supportive at Utrecht and quickly answered any questions I had. academic preparation I was prepared academically for exchange at Queens. There were some differences in expectations of essays and presentations, however by talking with my professors I was able to understand these expectations and be able to succeed. language preparation As English is my native language there were no lingual dificulties. finances It was helpful to fill out the financial plan because it made me realize the amount of money I would need for the exchange in advance. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) The study programme was great. I took three courses each with 10 ETCS and I enjoyed all of them. The semester is quite short only 12 weeks which includes one week of vacation. After the semester ends there is a short break. Then finals begin which is when final papers are due or exams take place. I really liked the structure because I was able to focus on the final papers without also having to attend courses and such. UU report deadlines! 1 March 2012 for 1 st semester exchange ~ 1 July 2012 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange/placement page 1 of 3

11 academic quality of education/placement activities The quality of education was really good. Queens is a member of the Russell Group, an association of leading UK research-intesive Universities including Oxford and Cambridge. counselling/support at host institution/organisation The International Office at Queens was very helpful and always answered questions. They even helped me figure out where to buy a Christmas Tree in the winter holidays. transfer of credits My credits have not been transfered yet, as my transcript has not arrived as of now. student life welcome/orientation programme There were two welcome programmes. Two weeks before the semester was the international student orientation which was when I was able to officially register for classes and get my student card. The second week was for first years. Although the orientation programme that week was not applicable, there were many activities happening that I participated in. There were pub crawls, a hockey match, excursions around Northern Ireland, and a great Irish Ceili dinner and dance. accommodation I lived in campus housing. There were about 45 people in the building and 16 on the floor. The kitchen was large eough for everyone although a little crowded if we were all cooking. We shared 4 showers and 4 toilets. It was great fun to getting know 15 other people. Most were also erasmus students. It was nice always having someone around to go to a party or watch a movie with. If you wanted to live with mainly Irish or Northern Irish students I would recommend asking for Elms Village, although most will be first years. leisure/culture There was always something going on. In October there was the Queens Festival with many bands and art shows around the city. Queens also has their own cinema where you can watch independent films for a reasonable price. Tickets to musicals or shows are decent. We went to many shows for under 20 pounds with good seats. Queens also has many clubs you can join if you are interested in art of fencing or rock climbing or humanitarian efforts. suggestions/tips Have Fun! conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain Yes I would recommend Queens. I had a super awesome semester where I met great people, had great courses, and generally had a fun and fantastic time. do you have any additional advice or comments? UU report deadlines! 1 March 2012 for 1 st semester exchange ~ 1 July 2012 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange/placement page 2 of 3

12 UU Report form ~ Erasmus faculty/college Humanities level bachelor master PhD other name degree programme Engelse Taal & Cultuur destination city & country Belfast, United Kingdom name host institution and/or Queen's University Belfast company/organization purpose Erasmus grant study/courses work placement departure date (dd/mm/yyyy) 26 / 01 / 2011 return date (dd/mm/yyyy) 08 / 06 / 2011 You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! preparation exchange/placement application process Once I got to the relevant documents for application, I was within 2 weeks of the application deadline. Luckily, my supervisor at UU was very fast with signing everything, so I got everything in on time. The documents are hard to find, so it is crucial to get a good supervisor who knows what they're doing. counselling/support at home university No experience with this whatsoever. academic preparation As I had already completed the full BA, save for a thesis, my preparation was more than complete. language preparation I study English and I went to an English speaking country, the UK, so no additional preparation was needed. finances I maxed out my student loans, in order to be able to pay the rent in Belfast. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) The study program is something to pay close attention to when putting together: the initial learning agreement has to filled in using the old course lists, so some of the classes may be replaced. I ran into this when I wanted to finalise my application for a course on Yeats: it had been replaced by a course on a different writer, in whom I had no interest. academic quality of education/placement activities Queen's University Belfast has many teachers with their own ways of teaching. Out of the three teachers I had, one was really bad (only taught in rhetoric questions and such), the other two were superb teachers. The grading system and assessment are quite weird; be sure to collect as much information on this as possible. UU report deadlines! 1 March 2011 for 1 st semester exchange ~ 1 July 2011 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange/placement page 1 of 2

13 counselling/support at host institution/organisation I have no experience with this. transfer of credits I am currently struggling to get my transcript of records, Queen's is not the fastest or clearest when it comes to answering s. student life welcome/orientation programme The welcome programme was diverse, although it lacked an in-depth introduction to the actual university buildings (it was more about the system of the university and Belfast itself). This made finding my way around university hard for the first couple of weeks. accommodation Elms Village is like a detention camp when you purely look at the quality of living: security is a nuisance, the internet is bad and so on. However, it is the ideal place to get to know the locals, so unless you already have local friends at whose house you can stay, go with Elms. leisure/culture Belfast is a vibrant city in a region of Europe that was, and still is, fairly unstable in political terms. This has influenced local culture, but the people are very nice, the country is beautiful, the culture is rich and there's lots of things to do (clubbing, shopping, sightseeing etc.). suggestions/tips For clubbing, go to Stiff Kitten (best bass in Belfast), for a drink with friends, or to make new ones, check out Lavery's. Be sure to check out the northern cost of the island as well, it is breathtaking. Derry is also worth a visit. conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain Yes, but only if the support for this destination is increased from Utrecht. There is not a lot of advice that UU can give you, even though it is much needed as QUB is not that well organised. do you have any additional advice or comments? Don't resist, but go with the flow; it's the easiest way to integrate, make friends for life and get the most out of your Erasmus period. Reminder: for the purpose of future correspondence on the final awarding of your Erasmus grant, please make sure you update your telephone number(s), postal and addresses in Steun in case of any changes after your return! UU report deadlines! 1 March 2011 for 1 st semester exchange ~ 1 July 2011 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange/placement page 2 of 2

14 UU Report form ~ Erasmus faculty/college Faculty of Humanities level bachelor master PhD other name degree programme Liberal Arts & Sciences destination city & country Belfast, Northern Ireland name host institution and/or Queens University Belfast company/organization purpose Erasmus grant study/courses Erasmus Mundus master s programme work placement field work other, departure date (dd/mm/yyyy) 27 / 01 / 2010 return date (dd/mm/yyyy) 12 / 05 / 2010 preparation You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing. exchange/placement application process It took quite a lot of time to get all the paper work done. But there were no other people who applied, so getting into the program was easy. counselling/support at home university There went a lot of things wrong in the first contact with Queens University. But the people at the international office in Utrecht were really helpful in this process. academic preparation The level of education is, at least for Sociology, lower in Belfast as it is in Utrecht. So my academic preparation during 3,5 year of studying in Utrecht was absolutely enough. language preparation I am dyslectic, so I was not really sure about my English. But it was definitely easier than I expected it to be. Beside of that there is a lot of help for foreign students, teachers understood me really good, and you can do a free language course. finances Northern Ireland is an expensive country. Espessially going out is expensive. But with a erasmus grant, it is not a problem. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) At queens you do normally 3 courses during one semester. I did one extra one: - Sociology of Drugs: This course is in my opinion not really good. Lectures are basic and boring, and tutorial are really less structured. I would not recommend this course. - Sociology of Childhood: This is a nice, quite easy course. UU report deadlines! March 1, 2010 for 1 st semester exchange ~ July 1, 2010 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 2

15 - Issues in Contemporary Irish Society: By far the most interesting course I did! It was hard sometimes, because I missed a lot of background knowledge. But everybody was really helpful! Lectures were most of the time really good, and tutorials helped a lot to understand everything. I learned a lot about a topic I had no clue about before! - World religions: Totally different topic, but I liked it a lot. Lectures were full of new knowledge. academic quality of education/placement activities Not always that good. Differences between teachers were enormous! counselling/support at host institution/organisation Really good. The international office, as well as the teachers from different courses understood my problems and liked to help me. Sometimes they even invited me for a special meeting to get things more clear! transfer of credits Will take place after the deadline (1th of July), so I do not know yet. student life welcome/orientation programme Most organized one I have ever seen! They were totally taking care of us for two whole days. In the end it made me even a bit crazy. accommodation I lived in grant house (university accommodation), an international house which is a great place to stay. It is quite expensive compared to private rented houses, but it is really easy to fix when you are home, and living with 50 other international students is great. But, there is also 'Elms Village', a small neighbourhood full of student houses (also owned by the University). This place is really much secured. Good is you want to feel save, but bad if you want to have fun. I would not recommend it. leisure/culture It is not easy to get in contact with 'real Irish people'. Especially in classes people are quite focused on their own group of friends, not always interested in a random international student. But in other situation, like the pub, or mountaineering club, it is much easier. suggestions/tips If you really think about studying in Belfast, try to get in contact with people who have been there (like me). They can tell you so much more then the thinks you can ever think about when you are home. conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain Yes, if 'having a great experience', or practicing your English, is your reason for studying abroad, I would definitely recommend Queens. Maybe if you are looking for the highest level education, you should choose another university (at least for Sociology). do you have any additional advice or comments? UU report deadlines! March 1, 2010 for 1 st semester exchange ~ July 1, 2010 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 2

16 UU Report form ~ Erasmus faculty/college Faculty of Humanities (English Language and Culture) level bachelor master PhD other name degree programme English Language and Culture destination city & country Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom name host institution and/or Queens University Belfast company/organization purpose Erasmus grant study/courses Erasmus Mundus master s programme work placement field work other, departure date (dd/mm/yyyy) 27 / 01 / 2010 return date (dd/mm/yyyy) 12 / 06 / 2010 You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing. preparation exchange/placement application process In order to apply for an Erasmus grant, I had to first go to the International Office of the University of Utrecht. Since I was rather late with applying, there were only a few spots and cities left for me to enrol. After deciding my first, second and third choice, I had to fill in a lot of paper work: e.g. application forms for the host universities in question, my financial situation, my reasons for willing to go on an exchange project. After all this was done, my work also was done, and it was time to wait and see if one of the three universities wanted me as an exchange student. Luckily, I soon heard that my first choice, Queens University Belfast was willing to enrol me in their programme, which they sent me an about. After this approval, I had to fill in all the application forms for Queens University, my Erasmus grant and for accommodation. After filling in all these forms, everything was arranged: Queens contacted me that I was enrolled into their programme and that they had a room available for me in University accommodation and I also received an from the Erasmus committee that told me that I was about to receive my grant. counselling/support at home university The International Office of the University of Utrecht was very helpful in the process of applying for Erasmus. Initially I received good to see which universities were still available and which were suitable for my study. Secondly, I also got good help with all my queries about the application forms that had to be handed in, and to conclude, they also helped me with making sure all the right forms were filled out, and that the forms also were send to my host instituion. academic preparation In the process of applying, I initially enrolled for two literature courses (both about Irish literature) and one language oriented course. Since I never took a course in Irish literature, I did not have any study material of my own already which I could take with me, and just decided to go to Queens, and see what was offered to me. In the case of the language course, I took my 'Little Brown Handbook' with me, a book that I used in Utrecht, which could come in handy in my courses in Belfast. Other than that, I did not have any other preperation. UU report deadlines! March 1, 2010 for 1 st semester exchange ~ July 1, 2010 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 4

17 language preparation For my time abroad, I went to Belfast in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The language spoken here is English. Since I study English Language and Literature, and almost finished my bachelor (three years) before my departure, I thought this was enough preparation of the language. On top of that, my father is British, and we made it a habit to speak English at home. This made me feel that my English was proficient enough for me to survive in an English speaking country. finances Besides the Erasmus grant, the 'studiefinanciering' and the 'ov-vergoeding', I saved a lot of money beforehand. I had a good parttime job, and before my departure, I approximately worked 20 hours a week, which resulted in earning 500 euros a month. I put this all aside on a special account, in order for me to use it when I was in Belfast. Live in Belfast was a bit more expensive than in Utrecht, however, with the Erasmus grant, studiefinanciering, my personal savings, and the occasional loans, I had no difficulties in 'surviving'. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) In my period at QUB, I took three courses, namely 'Language and Power', 'Sounds of the City: Belfast and Beyond', and 'Irish Modern Fiction.' Initially, I opted for 'Irish Literature' instead of 'Irish Modern Fiction', however, I could easily switch courses in my enrol appointment during the introduction. These three courses only give me 6 hours a week in lectures, however, I had to read two novels a week, and a lot of additional reading, so my total work load was about hours a week. Each course lasted for ten weeks, and ended with resp. final essays and minor exams. For two courses, "Language and Power' and 'Sounds of the City: Belfast and Beyond', I had to do some formative work during the semester, as part of my overall mark. academic quality of education/placement activities After taking a few lectures at QUB, it was immediately clear that some things are very different from what I was used to in Utrecht. For example, lectures only lasted for 50 minutes, which for me, seemed really short, too short to teach a proper subject. However, these lectures were complemented by 50 minute tutorials, which offered a deeper and broader perspective of the material from the lectures. It has to be said though, that the overall level of teaching in Belfast was lower than what I was used to in Utrecht. Even the third year's course I took, seemed like a level one course for me. For example, in the seminars of Irish Modern Fiction, we got instructions over and over again about how to write a proper essay, via the guidelines. All these information seemed rather superfluous for me, since I had this in my own first year. Other than that, the tutors seemed rather pleased with unimpressive work. However, all the tutors knew what they were talking about, they were masters of their subjects which still made it worthwhile in the end. counselling/support at host institution/organisation Since I did not need much support or counselling during my stay in Belfast, I cannot really say something about this. However, what I can stress is that everybody of the QUB was very helpful, and whenever a question was asked, the answers were given almost straight away. When I need my learning agreement signed, it was done within a minute. When I wrote the Erasmus Programme Director of English whether or not I could come by for an appointment, she replied me right away, telling me it was not even necessary to make an appointment, and that I should just take the form to the School Office of English, and that she'll sign it straight away. Perfect! UU report deadlines! March 1, 2010 for 1 st semester exchange ~ July 1, 2010 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 4

18 transfer of credits At the point of writing this, I did not yet receive my marks for the courses I took at Queens, however, their system works a bit different. For every course I took, I could receive 20 study points, which is equivalent to 10 ECTS. student life welcome/orientation programme I have nothing but good words for the orientation programme that Queens had for their international students. At my arrival, I was collected from the airport by Queens staff, and was taken to my accommodation immediately. The introduction programme consisted of two days full of organised activities: we received personal letters, with individual appointments for us to enrol in our courses, we got tours through the university, the library and the Queens physical education centre (PEC). We took a bus tour of the entire city of Belfast, went to an ice-hockey match, saw the city hall and met the Lord Mayor. To conclude these two elaborate days of meeting new people, we had an 'international dinner'. It was perfect. Queens did really well. accommodation I applied for a room in an international house, Grant House, and thankfully, I got a room in that house. Grant House was part of University housing, and the residence housed fifty residents divided over three floors. I shared a floor with 16 other students. We had to share a kitchen, common room, toilet and shower. I really loved living here, since it was such a mixed crowd. I made good friends with people from all over the world (Canada, USA, Sweden, Germany etc). The residence was situated approx. 10 minutes (walking) from the University, library and PEC), and about 25 minutes from the city centre. It was a good neighbourhood, and the public transport also serviced frequently. Supermarkets and other convenience stores were all close by. We had a security team that made sure nothing bad could happen, so I also feld very safe! leisure/culture For culture, you are in the right place in Belfast. With the Troubles still very visible in West-Belfast, you can still see very good what happened thirty years ago - with all the murals and rundown areas. On top of that, Belfast is the city where the Titanic was build, and the 'Belfastards' are very proud of it. There is a lot to see in Belfast. However, if you go outside of Belfast, it is even more beautiful. If you take a coastal route, up to the north, you can see one of Unesco's world wonders: amazing cliffs and weird stones - The Giant's Causeway. Definitely a mustsee!! Other than that, Derry is also very interesting to see, especially the Free Derry area, in which the "Bloody Sunday' riots were held in However, getting back to Belfast: the pub life is also very nice to see. Belfast offers a couple of pubs that are very special: the Crown Liquor Saloon for example, a pub that is held by National Trust, in which rich guests used to hide, in order to not show their drinking behaviour to the 'normal' crowd. Another pub with a rich history is Kelly's Cellars. This is Belfast's oldest pub, and has live music every single night of the week; I don't think it can get more Irish! suggestions/tips It is very important to arrange all the forms and papers for your grant as soon as possible. It is rather difficult to arrange everything at home, so try to do everything while you are still in your host country! conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain I would definitely recommend Queens University Belfast to other people. The University is placed in a lively city UU report deadlines! March 1, 2010 for 1 st semester exchange ~ July 1, 2010 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 3 of 4

19 with a rich history. The main building, the Lanyon building, can be considered as the biggest attraction of QUB, but also the friendliness of the staff and students surrounding the university is a major attraction. The study environment is perfect, with the big library and the botanic gardens next to each other, behind the university, which is also attributive for a positive atmosphere. do you have any additional advice or comments? UU report deadlines! March 1, 2010 for 1 st semester exchange ~ July 1, 2010 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 4 of 4

20 UU Report form ~ Erasmus faculty/college Faculty of Humanities level bachelor master PhD other name degree programme English Language and Culture destination city & country Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK name host institution and/or Queens University company/organization purpose Erasmus grant study/courses Erasmus Mundus master s programme work placement field work other, departure date (dd/mm/yyyy) 28 / 01 / 2010 return date (dd/mm/yyyy) 09 / 06 / 2010 You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing. preparation exchange/placement application process When I first considered studying abroad I applied for a place at a university of London. Unfortunately, I could not get a place at the university there. The international office in Utrecht told me that there were a few places left in Belfast, so I applied for a place there and I got it. There were no major problems during the application only that I received the information from Queens University quite late (two weeks before I was about to leave). counselling/support at home university The international office arranged my application and helped me answer my questions beforehand. I think everything was handled very well. academic preparation I did not expect that my studies abroad would be different than in Utrecht and I was right. The courses that I took were rather the same as they are in Utrecht. language preparation I did not need any language preparation since I study English. I took English literature courses so no problems there. finances Finances were a bit low because I could not work in Belfast. The accommodation was rather expensive, 360 pounds a month for a room which is a lot more than I pay in Utrecht. I had to loan money from the IBG. Besides that, because you're in another country you tend to do more stuff, such as visiting other cities and making tours in your weekends, which obviously costs money. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) The study program at Queens University is almost the same as in Utrecht for the study of English language. The UU report deadlines! March 1, 2010 for 1 st semester exchange ~ July 1, 2010 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 3

21 courses are comparable. The literature courses I took could have easily been given in Utrecht. They consisted of one or two classes a week, analysing literature. We all had to give a presentation and write a final essay. academic quality of education/placement activities The quality of the courses was good, but I had hoped for a little bit more of a challenge. It made me realise that the University of Utrecht is quite good, especially when you consider that English is a foreign language here, but obviously not in Belfast. I expected a bit more of the students, but they had almost the same level of knowledge about english literature as I have. counselling/support at host institution/organisation The teachers were very friendly, they had office hours for the benefit of the students and could als be reached via . We only had a few classes a week, but they managed to explainn everything during that time. transfer of credits student life welcome/orientation programme The orientation programme was very good. We all felt very welcome; they were really friendly. They gave us a lot of information. Whenever we had questions there were students from Queens who helped us with everything. accommodation I was not very happy about the accommodation. I stayed in Elms Village, a university campus. It was very noisy at night, during the day the heating was off (which I found very strange considering it was rather cold) and my bathroom flooded everytime I used the shower. Besides that, you had to show your studentcard and keycard every night after 11 (sometimes even after 9!) which I did not like because it does not make you feel really welcome. I realise this was all for security reasons, but friends who stayed in other places in Belfast could not come over to my place after 11. They were very strict about that. The guest policy was terrible. You were allowed to have one guest over per month for only three nights. When you're an international students, you're likely to have visitors (family, friends, boy/girlfriend) coming over. I actually had to let my friends sleep in a hostel because they could not stay at my place which was crazy because I had a room that was big enough to let them sleep over. Besides that, they tended to 'check' rooms, which means that they just walk in to your room to make sure it is not too messy. Very annoying, because they walk into your room even when you're under the shower and it made me feel as if I had no privacy at all. Considering I paid 360 pound per month for this room, I was not happy about all these things. I have to say though that the security and receptionists were all very friendly. I would suggest however for any other student to stay in either Mount Charles, Grant House or Malone Road 76. (Just outside reception so you can bring home guests and don't have to think about bringing your ID eveytime you go grocery shopping) leisure/culture There's enough to do in Belfast! There's a lot of shops, musea and other things. Belfast is at it's best at night, there are a lot of pubs, bars and clubs that are worth visiting. The Botanic Gardens (next to the library) are very popular in the summertime. Even if there's only a tiny bit of sunshine, people run to the park to relax there. suggestions/tips UU report deadlines! March 1, 2010 for 1 st semester exchange ~ July 1, 2010 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 3