The University of Birmingham is a great place to study Materials Science and Engineering. The school has a real community feel with a lot of academics developing a good rapport with students. The cohorts are small which only adds to this and it means that a lot of one on one support is available, whether it be academic support or pastoral - there is always someone to go to. Within the school there are also some state of the art facilities and equipment that students can hands on experience using during lab sessions. The university is a campus so has a real student family feel to it and is only a short train journey away from the busy city centre. The campus is a good mix of old traditional red brick and modern new buildings which I really like.

The content is delivered almost exclusively through in person lectures. Labs, tutorials and computer practicals are also used to develop understanding and reinforce content delivered in the lectures. Course hours are good - about 4 hours a week for a 20 credit module. Lecturers encourage interaction in lectures by asking questions and allowing the students to raise questions on the spot. They are always available and happy to support you whether by email, or going to see them. Some lecturers put on additional tutorial sessions depending on the nature of the module to go through problems and worked examples. There are weekly meeting with your personal tutor. There are generally 4 students per tutor group. These meetings can be used for anything - problems with the course, extra help with things that you don't understand, pastoral support, career advice or just a general chat. There is lots of support available to help you secure internships or year in industry placements.

I lived in Oak Brook Park in my first year which is a Unite student accommodation. It is right in the middle of Selly Oak - the main student area around the university. This meant that shops, takeaways, pubs, clubs and the train station were all on the door step and campus was just a road away. It had a very intimate feel which meant that you could develop friendships and bonds with people from all different courses and from different flats too. I didn't really click with my flat mates but developed strong bonds with people from many different flats who I now live with in a second year house . The halls were very safe. they were gated off with a key card needed to get in and out and there was always someone on the front desk no matter what the time. The staff also fixed any maintenance problems quite promptly with the odd exception. However, the wifi could be a bit unreliable and I know people who had problems with mould and silverfish. The rooms are also in desperate need of a refurb but I know that this is currently being done.

Very nice campus, with excellent facilities in the metallurgy and materials facility. Could be improved by improving the student union by making it more affordable and running more events there.

Some lecturers aren't the best but on the whole they are very good. My tutor has been extremely helpful throughout my four years here and has helped me with careers advice and advice with my course. The course content covers a broad range of subjects which allows the possibility of many career prospects.

The kitchen layout wasn't very social, and the ensuite wetrooms caused many issues due to flooding frequently.