2,358 Aberystwyth University reviews

The course during COVID had been online and blended but this will change to in person lectures by October 2022. The in person lectures are usually every day in the morning for the period of your first year and that will slightly change in the years after. There might be block sessions of 3-4 hours from some modules as well (depending on your course). Lecturers are responsive, social and you can contact them in email or just find them in their office during work hours.

Course is excellent. Awesome modules most of the time. Staff are outstanding. Overly large seminar groups are a serious limitation, as is the generally low contact time with staff, but this is an issue derived from there being too many students at university and not enough teaching staff. I know for a fact that staff are overworked. Nevertheless, all tutors in my experience are willing to give up their time to support you, without hesitation, and this is to their absolute credit. In fact, the department should be really proud of the staff quality. Having said that, small group tutorials would be of a massive benefit and would seriously improve learning and student satisfaction. Unfortunately, the uni would either have to cut student numbers or double their staff to achieve this. One improvement which should be made in how staff operate, is the office hours system. This should be scrapped as two hours of out-of-class availability a week is a bit naff. As I said above, most staff are very happy to help at anytime and many operate an informal open-door policy, but I think extending this would be excellent. Staff shouldn’t be glued to their offices, but if they’re in and not busy, it should be policy that students can go and talk with them, as this can be enormously beneficial for students, especially those struggling. Apart from the aforementioned, the only thing the department building is lacking is a really good communal workspace for students to use. The department is close to the library, etc, but I think a proper, good-sized work space in the department building for students to use would be excellent.

Go to the beach!

Absolutely excellent, great value for money and very supportive maintenance and welfare team. Always felt safe. It would really benefit from more communal space. There is a hub, but a communal area for every 3 or 4 blocks would really enhance the experience of living at Fferm. Could also use more parking and better windows for fresh air.

A mix of online and in person content, but more in person lectures which is better for face to face contact with lecturers and to meet others on the course. I am able to contact my supervisor as and when needed. I have a good amount of practical time as well as lectures which mean I get to see more of the IBERS facilities. The MRes course has modules which are setup to give you a taste of what real world work looks and feels like in environmental consulting. Which gives a refreshing contrast to purely academic work.

Best aspects of my course would include learning about crime in more depth and in different areas and how psychology comes into crime. Worst aspects is the amount of work that is required and essays are always due in

The academics and lecturers are all wonderful people who are very passionate about what they are teaching and that really shines through during lessons. They offer incredible support and are always available when you need them. The department building is quite old, and not as modern as the ones for some of the other departments.

The town is a wonderful place to live, with everything you need within walking distance and plenty of friendly faces around to ensure that you never get lonely. On a good sunny day, it feels like you're on top of the world. At times, it can feel a bit too quiet because it is such a small town. That being said, your social life will not be affected by this as everyone is so welcoming.

The halls are well-managed with plenty of support available for people when appliances break and things need fixing. Any and all problems are resolved quickly and the accommodation team are very nice. The convenience and affordability of living in halls makes it a very attractive option and I do not regret my choice one bit. Some of the flats are very old and would do kindly to refurbishment of some sort, but the overall experience is really nice.

The course is outstanding. Plenty of resources are available online, using blackboard, and in person, with classrooms, the library workspaces as well as the National Library of Wales being on the doorstep of the university.

Aberystwyth is a very affordable and safe place to life. However, it can lack diversity in people and things to do. The public transport links if you wish to travel within Aberystwyth are fine, however travelling out of town is very difficult without a car.

I cannot fault Fferm Penglais. It is clean and modern, with all the facilities you need to live comfortably, have a good work and social space, as well as well kitted kitchen and nice en-suite bathroom.

There are not many contact hours, that is probably the single drawback. The lectures themselves are interesting and not desperately taxing. With that said there could be more student participation, but then that begs the question at what point does the student cohort impact the teaching. I think I am becoming a stronger writer on this course.

I have no contact or need of career or work placement services.

Wifi goes out a lot. Sufficient room size.

The building for the department is fantastic, historical which is perfect for artistic inspiration. The facilities are fantastic and the university is very accommodating in allocating studio spaces as you progress further into your education. In the MA the studio spaces are fantastic and you are very much made a priority. The art practice teachers are fantastic and are all artists themselves which helps when getting advice on real-world art practice. I have always felt very supported by my personal tutor and art practice teacher and have been helped immensely during some very difficult times. I love the art-shop available at the university as it is great to get art materials at discounted prices. During my first year BA I had a lot of practical time in university, throughout the rest of my education Covid limited this to online learning, however the university and specific staff made it as great as they could for students to still create artwork to the best of their ability. Overall I think the department is great!

The town is great, fairly small for a university town but adequate. I love the scenery and it is brilliant for art practice. The locals are lovely and you really feel part of a community.

Fantastic halls of residence, very new when I stayed but very cheap in comparison to rival university’s. Very clean on arrival, lots of great additions such as on suites and dishwashers. Fantastic for the cost. If I had one big bear it would be that there should be more communal spaces for all the different flats to meet, as it was hard to get to know people living around you, isolating to the flat

So far I have enjoyed the course, I’ve learnt things I never thought I would learn about, discussed relevant issues and how you can relate them back to documentaries and used brand new camera equipment including 16mm film cameras and processing equipment. I’m grateful for the opportunities this course has given me and for the way it has changed the way I view the world and it’s environmental issues however I feel that as this is still a “new” course with this being it’s second year running, the lectures are still trying to come to terms with what they want for us out of the course. This year two of the main lecturers on the course were on research leave during semester 1 & 2, this meant we didn’t really get the full experience of the course. I understand they need to go away and do research but as this is the first year the course is running in person due to Covid last year, I would have liked them to be there for us. The contact hours are great and we get enough time off to be able to film and read the readings however one of the courses modules is with the geography department. The module is to help us understand key ecological terms that we will be dealing with on the course however that module is badly run, this isn’t the fault of this MA, that is down to the geography department. Thankfully, the lecturers on our MA listened to our problems with the geography module and got it sorted out. That’s one of the good parts of the lecturers on this MA, they listen to you and will do what you want so you can get the best out of this MA. I love how hands on the MA is, you can get a lot of experience out of all the different cameras and equipment during contact hours but if you want to be better you have to put in the effort and take equipment out during your free time… I highly recommend doing this. Aberystwyth is a great location with so much beautiful nature surrounding it!!! USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE The course focuses more on experimental documentaries and documentaries that don’t fit the normal standard of what we see on television. This was a bit of a shock to us at first as the description made it sound like we were doing all types of documentary studies but despite the shock we have learnt so much and have been able to see ways in which we can film outside of the norm. Overall I love this MA and I’m going to be sad to leave it, I just think the one thing this MA needs is time and it won’t work if the students won’t put the effort in. Use your time at this MA wisely and make use of everything around you!

Aberystwyth is one of those places where once you come here you will never want to leave. The area is beautiful with so many hike trails, mountains and beaches around us. Plus Aberystwyth has around 52 pubs… meaning night life is great here too. They’re is plenty of places to get your shopping and if you drive you can easily go away for the weekend but if not don’t worry because with the free weekend bus you can go anywhere for free around Aberystwyth… even Cardiff!!!

I stayed in Cwrt Mawr in my first year about four years ago, it wasn’t the best accommodation with it being the cheapest option I knew not to expect much but when I first moved in my room was dirty. However the accommodation team quickly sorted it when I complained. I don’t know what that accommodation is like now because I’ve lived private in town for 3 years but I’ve heard it hasn’t changed much. I know the other accommodation options are great such as fferm and pjm.