University: Here and There

Today I thought I would discuss the differences between my home university and my host university and in general universities in the UK vs. universities in Australia. Specifically: the Design course.

I have noticed quite a big difference between how things work in Britain compared to Australia. First of all the price is triple what I pay at home, the classes and teaching is more intimate, the facilities are fabulous and the students are way more committed than they are at home!

The Price: The price is definitely one of the main differences between the two universities. At home I pay around $5000-6000 a year where as here the students pay almost $15,000 for a year. This is a huge amount for a graphic design course. Each course goes for the same amount of years, you do similar modules and you learn the same things. But it is worth it, as you will find out!

The Classes: In Australia I attend university for around 12 contact hours a week, 3 of those hours being lectures. In the UK I in class almost 20 hours a week. We don't have set weekly lectures here, occasionally we have professionals come in to give us lectures which is good because you pay more attention! The class sizes are a lot different, there are 60 students in second year and we all get taught by the same 4 teachers. At home there are 350 students and we all have lectures together and then are split up into groups of 25. I really like my host universities way. You get to know your tutors and your class mates a lot better and you are with them for the entire year unlike at home where you are only in a class for 13 weeks and you get changed. I guess the cons of the Australian way make it hard for shy people like me to make friends because you are constantly getting changed about.

The Teaching: Even though there are only 2 tutors for a class of 60 students each lesson, I definitely feel like the amount of time you spend in each class makes up for this. Maybe its just because I'm an exchange student but I feel like the tutors put more effort into getting to know you and helping you out than they do at home.

The Facilities:All I can say for this one is, oh my gosh Australia needs to pick up their game! The amount of facilities here actually blew my mind when I saw them. Laser cutting, wood work rooms, metal work rooms, 3D workshops, letterpress, screen printing, jewellery workshop, ceramics...Just to name a few! This is obviously why the fees are so high!

The Students: It seems like the students here really want to get their (parents) moneys worth here, they don't leave class early, they stay till way after class is done, they come in on weekends and they just generally seem more committed. I can totally understand that since they are paying this huge sum of money to be here. At home students can't even stay three hours without wanting to leave!


I sound very Pro-UK in this post. Its true I really do like university better here, maybe its because I have fully immersed myself in university culture, I don't know. If I could stay here for the rest of my degree I would! If you ever get the opportunity to go on exchange, do it. You get to receive this amazing education for a fraction of the price. If you think that you can't afford exchange, you are wrong. Fee-wise it is cheaper for me to do a year abroad than it is to study at home. But seriously do it, get a OS Help Loan, put everything on HECS let your future self deal with it because this is an experience that you will never get again so do it!



PS. My host uni has Bee Hives on the roof! How cool is that? extra points for you MDX!