Hello,
I find myself in a wonderful but tricky dilema! I have been offered ESRC studentships at all 4 universities, Bristol, Sussex, Exeter and Cardiff! I have under 3 weeks to make a decision, I did my undergrad (dev studies) at Sussex so I know the pro's and con's there, but don't know anything about the others!
I hold 1+3s and My research area is interdisciplinery crossing sustainable development, socio-economics, human geography, science & technology studies.
So if anyone has advice or has studied/studying at any of these Uni's I would love any guidence to help me make this decision like ...
Supportive environment?
Space to work?
Campus pros/cons?
City life / student life?
opportunities?
...etc....??

Any comments muchly appreciated!
Cheers,
Molly

Huge congratulations,Molly.

I did my MA at Exeter.

In terms of the league table stuff, Exeter seems to be ever climbing and in the Humanities especially, world and national rankings are impressive.

I have recently met a PhD student from the Geography dept. and they were very complimentary about their experience thus far (they were in their first year) mentioning positives such as very regular supervisions, excellent support in preparation for the GPC, use of office in the dept for study space and good support from a personal tutor. Although I wasn't a Geography student (which I am presuming you will be?), so I am passing on second hand information. Exeter has a very good Humanities conference in Jan/Feb, which the MAs are invited to and last year another conference was held at Exeter (QERN), but I believe that changes every year. My department frequently offered the chance to submit to journals, both peer review and not - but again, I don't know if this is the same in each dept.

In terms of wider postgraduate life, I can directly comment on that. I lived on Campus (Stretham) in postgrad halls. In terms of the building, it was quite old in comparison to the newer undergrad halls, however this was a minor issue, it is also a small building, which I really liked. The accommodation team did an excellent job in matching the people in my hall and we all got on very well (you are asked to complete a questionnaire re your interests etc so you can be 'matched'). We studied together, talked about our work, and I certainly have learnt huge amounts from my hall mates, who I also consider very good friends and a massive support in Exeter (I moved there knowing no one!).

Contd...

Postgrads arguably have less support than undergrads on campus, however the postgrad soc organise regular social events. There is also a host of societies to get involved with -anything from flute choir to dragon boat racing. Go to the student guild web page and have a look. They all recruit in 'Welcome Week' (fresher's week) and they are well supported.

The campus is beautiful (and very hilly), with ponds, landscaped gardens and big enough to take months to explore. There is a great sports centre, with a good gym and an excellent tennis centre, and an outdoor pool which is open from late Spring to the end of the Summer - prices are reasonable. There are good places to eat on campus, ranging from the very reasonable to the more sophisticated eateries ie Reed Hall, and enough places and variety to not get board!! There is a good shop to get the necessities from in 'The Forum', which again is reasonable but is limited in variety mostly due to its size. A lot of people on campus order supermarket deliveries to halls or go to the city shopping. The latter sounds practical but when I mentioned the campus is hilly, it is VERY hilly and getting a weekly shop up the hill from the city is not fun. There is also a good Print Shop for stationary and computing needs. Campus security patrols all night and will assist anyone in halls if needed.

Contd

In terms of working space, Ph.D's get an office in the dept/college (I believe this is pretty standard). As an MA, I worked in my department computer labs, or the library or the old library. The library has good space, but arguably not enough however the huge benefit is that it is open 24/7 - librarians are there between 8am-8pm and security are there throughout the night. The old library is great but closes comparatively early. My dept's computer labs were also open all night but I don't know if that is the same for all.

The student population seems separated from the city, but may be I felt that because I lived and spent a lot of time on campus and the campus is over a mile away from the city centre. Exeter is a pretty city and has a very good variety of shops and a decent social scene and a few clubs to enjoy. I am not one for clubs so mostly go out to eat with friends - there are the generic Pizza Express type places or individual, often tiny local places to eat - both can be fun. There are little theatres in the city and one decent theatre on campus, as well as the Great Hall which hosts orchestral concerts. Apart from the city, the seaside is very close, as is Dartmoor - which is beautiful.

I loved Exeter, and felt it was the absolute best place for me - campus felt like 'home' and I feel very fortunate to study in a great dept, great uni and in such a beautiful place.. If you've any further questions, please feel free to ask.

Good luck with your decision!
Lizzie

Thankyou so much Lizzie for such an in-depth account, I really appreciate it, very helpful. I visited the Campus for my interview, and you're right it is beautiful!
Good luck with whatever you're doing now!

Bristol is one of the best unis in the country and has a really nice campus too (although more dispersed than Exeter as it is not separated from the city), which is less than 1 mile from the city centre. The city is also great - really compact, nice waterfront, so many things to do and lots of transport links for exploring. Every type of restaurant you can imagine. Pubs, clubs and bars are great. Great music scene. It's a fairly expensive area though and Cardiff is probably cheaper.

Most postgrads don't live in halls. Campus/sports/eating/societies are very similar as listed for Exeter. Desk space for PhD students varies by department - some get their own and some don't. Some get PCs and some don't. Library isn't open 24/7 but offices/labs are.

Exeter sounds good... it's one place I will be keeping my eye on for post doc opportunities...

All of them are world class unis. Besides, Bristol, Exeter and Cardiff are all in the Russell Group. Personally, I don't like the idea of doing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the same university. So, of I were you I'll move elsewhere. That said, choosing between all four, I'll place priority on the supervisors (what kind of person they are; how successful they are in supervising PhD students; how they get along with their students; and how instrumental they are in placing their students) and what quality of supervision you're likely to get. Best of luck.

Thanks Molly!

And yes, Treeoflife - Exeter it really is. I hope that the right post-doc will pop up there for you. It is a great uni and beautiful part of the country.

Thankyou Treeoflife and patseya and lizzie. I am going to check out all 4 next week 24 hours in each place! Although I am leaning toward Exeter at the mo, as the supervisors are great!

Woooop for the Exeter bias. Although, I guess the supervision is the most important factor, wherever it may be..

Have a great time on your trips!

Lizzie

I did my masters in Cardiff. It's a really nice city and it is cheaper compared to London. The uni is very good, (Russell Group). I can only talk about the law library but it was quite good. Postgraduate centre allows you to study quietly, meet other postgrads and attend postgraduate events/trips. Night life is not so bad, since its the capital of Wales there are tons of things to do but at the same time it is not very crowded so it is a perfect combination for a student. The campus is inside the city so Bute Park, City Centre and most of the student accommodation is within walking distance. Everything is easy and people are quite supportive. I would certainly do my PhD there if there was supervision..
Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck