12/10/17
this is my new uni! i haven’t posted on this blog since finishing my a-levels and, even then, wasn’t that consistent with my posting. i’m really hoping to transform this blog into a personal diary so i can keep track of my studies more effectively, and everything else comes secondary for me if this post is an introduction to studyblr, then hi, my name is ryan and i am a first year philosophy BA student at birkbeck, university of london. i moved to london on the 16/09 and started my course last monday (02/10), with my induction on the 29/09. see below for more details about my course and my experience with the uni so far - i’m hoping this could serve as some kind of helpful reference/masterpost for people starting at birkbeck, particularly people starting philosophy :) xx
birkbeck vs other unis (tl;dr older student body compared to other unis, lectures in evening) firstly, there are some key differences with birkbeck when compared to other unis. firstly, it is an evening university, so all lectures & seminars take place in the evening between 6-9pm. as a full time student, my schedule typically has a lecture/seminar combo (2h total) every day through monday-thursday. this means that it is possible to both study and work at birkbeck, which attracts a large variety of different students. for this reason, most of the student body consists of working professional adults who want to get a degree on the side of their full-time job; however, that doesn’t mean that there are no young students fresh out of sixth-form (me, for example!)
social aspect (tl;dr social life here is good, but not as good as other unis) one of my main concerns about going to birkbeck was the social aspect, which i was told is lacking when compared to other unis. after being here a week, i can definitely say this is not the case. meeting people on your course is probably the best way to meet people as you share a common interest and can discuss the work if you don’t understand something. birkbeck also hosts a freshers’ fayre with a number of societies (not as large as other unis) that you can join in the students’ union, has access to multiple student bars (including it’s own), and has student central directly next door to expand upon the social scene. besides, as birkbeck is located in central london, there are an infinite number of things to do socially. i can say with certainty that there is no reason to be alarmed about going to birkbeck if you have heard that the social scene is “dead” - i will admit, it is not as good as other unis will be (as a result of being an evening uni), but there are a lot of chances to make connections with different types of people that you wouldn’t really have the opportunity to at other unis. moreover, as things are more grown-up compared to other unis, things are a bit more subdued and mature, which may suit you more sidenote ~~ i hope this hasn’t turned into an advertisement for birkbeck at this point; don’t get me wrong, sometimes i find myself wishing that there were more of a younger social scene, but with UoL-wide events being hosted all around london (i mainly think of clubbing events, of which there are many - and composed the entirety of my freshers’ week) and it’s proximity to other unis, i can’t really see why the social scene here is slated so much. anyway, that’s enough talk of the social aspects
accommodation (tl;dr birkbeck has places in UoL halls & more but is pricey) birkbeck has no residential halls of it’s own. that’s just something to get used to. however, there are reserved places in many UoL halls, and many alternatives listed on the bbk website. i am privately renting a room in a shared house in canary wharf with a housing agency, which is much cheaper than uni accommodation, however means that it is further out from central and doesn’t have the same student-life oriented household
the facilities (tl;dr excellent with minor complaints) the last thing worth mentioning about the uni itself are the facilities the uni offers. the library is fantastic - it has everything you could possibly need from a library and the computers/printers etc. are all fine. my only complaint is that it closes at 11:45pm, and as my courses are in the evening i am now naturally a lazy (i prefer nocturnal) person, and would wish to use the resources much later into the night. the rooms for the lectures and seminars are all average, and social spaces are good
my course - philosophy BA full-time (tl;dr this is an excellent course with great lecturers, involved-but-casual seminars, and offers lots of opportunities for intellectual growth. this is an excellent department) my modules for 2017/18 are as follows: • introductory ethics and political philosophy • introduction to the history of philosophy • introduction to epistemology and metaphysics • introduction to logic i will start off by saying that i love my course. the induction to the course was what you may expect from any uni, however there was an induction-party afterwards with alcohol and food by which you can meet your classmates and lecturers the lectures themselves are also what you may expect - lecturers walking you through a topic guided by a powerpoint presentation. the lecturers seem genuinely excited about their topic and make the content easy to understand and interesting. sometimes lecture rooms can be crowded depending on which room it is in, but that is the only downside seminar groups usually follow after the lecture (apart from my intro to logic, which it comes before), and is ~1/3 of the students that were in the lecture. seminar tutors ask questions about required reading was set and can help clarify things that you didn’t understand (they also help clarify the lecture if needed). my only criticism about seminars is that sometimes they can get too side-tracked and move too far away from the actual topic under discussion, but it is nice that everyone’s contribution is taken seriously overall the variety of modules is good, however in the first year all 4 are compulsory and there are no optional modules. as a full-time BA student i am assessed mainly by exams (with some exceptions), however part-time and certificate students are assessed differently. my only gripe here is that the course is not as flexible as i would wish in the first year, however that is usually the case with most unis
conclusion i hope this has covered everything i wanted to mention and that new students might want to know about the uni, and that it hasn’t rambled too much. i tried to be as honest as i can about the uni, but really there aren’t many things i don’t like about it. anyway, i hope this post has been helpful for anyone who reads it, and makes people consider birkbeck as an option for their uni!
