This university is brilliant for its facilities and teaching. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my course. There’s a lot of emphasis on giving students a clear direction once leaving the uni which is extremely necessary for a subject like music and this university sets you up for careers extremely well. The location is very convenient, it sits in the centre of most places you’d end up living in York. It wouldn’t be more than a 20 minute walk to campus from most locations. The buses are also very convenient, the 67 and 66 leaving straight from campus and into town/train station. The people studying there are by the majority lovely however, I was unfortunate enough to share accommodation with people who were very unpleasant during my lockdown year in first year. This is the only thing I’d criticise the university on. I can’t speak for all colleges, however my college in particular were very unhelpful in times of crisis. They do have support, such as a service called open door, however this service is only good for talking and not much else. There isn’t a stable support system for students who are really struggling. We had a case of someone go manic and the university left us to become her carers for almost two months despite us calling everyday and pleading she be moved or referred to some serious medical help and not much was done despite the numerous witness testimonies. Another thing is to see more diversity within the teaching staff. My lecturers over the past few years have all been white and mostly male so I do believe as a woman of colour, that this is something that needs to be changed. I do think the campus is lovely, there’s the lake and lots of green surrounding it. In most cases, it’s a very safe place to roam about and the majority of people you’ll meet are lovely.

My course is has a great range of topics and modules to delve into. It’s really opened my mind over the course of my degree. There’s a great emphasis on modernity and what’s currently new in music which I used to really dislike however have grown to appreciate over time. Their ensemble groups are plentiful and their practice rooms are well kept and each one has a piano. The course structure has always been thorough and normally, tutors are very happy to see you and guide you through any issues. It’s a very practical course which I enjoy. It allows you to delve into whatever musical aspect you’re looking at. Most of the time, it’ll be open to controversial discourse and criticism of itself. It’s largely transparent about the issues with todays musical climate. You also get 1:1 instrument study during the term with the course which I really like as well. The worst is the lack of diversity. It’s good at calling out the fact that music is a white male dominated field however, their faculty members reinforce that. There are also some occasional tutors who are quite arrogant and slightly closed minded, pretentious and condescending but this is a very select few. Overall, it’s a great course

I really liked the communal aspect of it and my room was quite nice and cosy. However, the heating broke very often during the winter, there was little support for mental and physical health during Covid times where students with covid would be asked to wait an extra minute during a fire to allow everyone else to leave the building. The covid pandemic was not handled well at all within these accommodations. The catering was also not nice most of the time, occasionally giving some students food poisoning.

More student union events

More support for postgraduate studies

Good location for music