"Media Education in the Media Captial of the World" Past Review
By Nicole R (Journalism., The University of Texas at Austin) for
Arcadia: London - University of Westminster
I thoroughly enjoyed my time abroad. I plan on making way back to the United Kingdom at some point in my life (hopefully sooner than later). London truly is an international city so no matter where you are coming from you can find something that you will love.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Personally, I liked the British higher education system. There is less emphasis on daily work and more emphasis on a final essay, project, or test. Converting the grades that I received to a format that I could relate to was a little difficult, but manageable. If you prefer self-driven study and discussion over lecture, then you will do well in this education system. Any important difference to point out between American and British grading is that for American grading, you start with 100 and get marked for things you do wrong. For British grading, you start with 0 and then you get points for everything you do correctly. This means that in a 0-100 grading scale, the two aren't directly comparable. For instance, an A in American would be 90-100 and in Britain it would be about a 67 or above. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I think Arcadia did a great job, especially considering the amount of students that they service. They always had time for me and helped me quite a lot. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living in the dorm wasn't that great, but I am glad I did. That's where I met the msot amazing people. |
| * Food: |
Although it tends to be a bit more expensive, food in Britain is pretty good. Their food production quality standards are a lot higher than they are in the States. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I didn't go on any program or university sponsored events, but from what I heard from friends they were pretty great. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The Arcadia program and the University of Westminster were both very adamant about where to turn for health or safety concerns. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Be prepared to spend money on transportation. It's a necessary aspect of getting around London. Although right now the United Kingdom is pretty expensive compared to American costs and transfer rates, if you budget then you will be just fine. Save money by making food at home, walking rather than always hopping on the tube or bus, and haggling in marketplaces. I felt that it would be more worth it to spend money on new experiences than new things. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Be independent. Be adventurous. Be involved. Be cost-effective. Be British! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
New Media Related Theory |
| Course Department: | 2MED522 |
| Instructor: | Chris Fry |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course is very academic and very theory-driven (hence the name.) However, if you are interest in new technologies, media design, or understanding developing media trends then you will still find this course very helpful. I enjoyed it, but I must also say that you must read a lot outside of class and the suggested reading list in order to do well on presentations or essays. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Writing London: Creative Writing |
| Course Department: | 1ENL428 |
| Instructor: | Rowena MacDonald |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | If you are interested in writing and learning about city literature then this will be a great course. You don't need to be an English or writing major to enjoy this. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Media Transformations |
| Course Department: | 2MSF201 |
| Instructor: | Anthony McNicholas |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course is basically a media history. That being said, it is definitely NOT boring. I found it both interesting and relevant to look at the past one hundred years or so of modern media development. The instructor is also really passionate and a great history professor, so I learned a lot from this course. You must do a lot of supplemental reading for the essay but instructors and tutors will assist you in finding the right material. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Music Industries Then and Now |
| Course Department: | MBMU407 |
| Instructor: | Antony Farsides |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | I enjoyed this course a lot. It is a current and historical look at the British music industry. It is catered to music majors so unless you are extremely interested in music as a career or hobby I would not recommend it. However, if you are very passionate about music and want relevant information about industry structure, then this is a great course. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I am still waiting to hear on this one, but I don't think it will be a problem getting a credit. I would suggest trying to transfer early, though. |
