135 University of West London reviews

Seems to be helpful

Just started so can’t really answer that right now

20

Not sure

Facilities are really really good

Love it

Quite interesting

Really good

not much

16

As part of the course, we're given time off to do an internship or placement at a company. Some people on my course did multiple short placements, however I decided to do a longer one. I worked for Paines Plough, who are a theatre company to tour new writing, as their Administration Placement. I learnt so much from this role and it gave me the chance to contextualise everything I'd learnt from my degree. It also boosted my CV massively and gave me more than just my degree, and I was even lucky enough to be offered a job there when I left!

Each lecturer I had works in the industry, which is great because they can tell you about what they're up too and learn from real life experiences. They also were able to offer us opportunities both on projects that they were working on, but also from their connections. These experiences can then be used to boost your coursework and as contacts for future opportunities. Also, as the university was paired with Questors Theatre, it meant that a lot of our teaching took place in the theatre. Questors was a great accompaniment to the course because it had both studio space, and a 350 seat theatre, and we're actively encouraged to help on these shows in whichever way we want. We all helped in Stage Management, Set Design, Construction, Costume, Sound, Lighting etc! It also has a great workshop!

25

I've never seen a more dedicated and caring bunch of people! They were always organising events, especially for Freshers and Refreshers, and would always be there if you had a problem or a query. And there were also so many different societies that there was always something for everyone!

They've recently had a huge revamp of the university, which means that it now had a beautiful huge library, with everything you could ever want in it, a new performance space called Weston Hall and loads of communal spaces to hang out between lectures, such as the Heart Space. They also have a shuttlebus between the two campuses which made getting around a lot cheaper, and a very cheap gym!

Ealing is a beautiful place, and we have such easy links to central London (which is very handy for seeing shows in the West End!) Ealing itself has a great shopping centre with everything you could want in it.

The course involves you spending a lot of your spare time working on productions both at the University, Questors, and in the industry to boost your coursework and CV, so I personally didn't get much of a chance to join a club or society. The extra shows we did outside of the class though felt like we were part of a club! At Freshers I got to speak to a lot of the societies, and there was always a huge variety. So if I had the time, I might have joined one!

I had to delay my start date for my course due to unforeseen circumstances beyond my control and the university were so understanding and supportive of this. We had a tutor as part of our course, and we got to see them regularly to check in about how everything was going, and if we had any problems. Also, since it's a small course (compared to others that have at least 60 students), it meant that if we asked for feedback on drafts for our coursework, we got it really quickly! Also, the tutors could spend more time giving the feedback, so it was always useful and constructive.

A great place to study with teaching staff who are as enthusiastic and engaged as the university is ambitious and forward thinking.

Every question I had or challenge I was faced with there was somebody to support or assist. I always found everybody to be very eager to help and to do as much as they possibly could. It really was noticeable how caring the staff

In many ways I don't feel the uni has done enough. The university boasts of its high employment rates after finishing, but in my case, I haven't had a lot of reassurance. They often post jobs on via email, these jobs are normally catering related or IT. These jobs seemed to be aimed at students either wanting to work part time whilst at uni. The layout to apply for jobs on their website is sometimes confusing also. With different passwords for different sections it often became confusing. The module tutors did their best at encouraging you to be professional at all times and understand what most employers are looking for. Although this never really went in depth and was skimmed over with no emphasis on what else you could do to raise the likely hood of employment.

The best thing was having industry professionals and high spec equipment. The equipment at the university is to a very high standard, with great mixing consoles such as the Audient in line mixing consoles, stacks of rack equipment and microphones. A number of tutors also stood out as being very engaging with students, which brought out the best and gave you a lift when studying.

Not great at all. Did nothing to engage me. I often saw posters for the elections but thats when I was leaving.

When applying for accommodation, me and my girlfriend were faced with two options; to live in smaller, more hall like housing; the Paragon campus ( known for being more lively and expensive for what you actually get) the student village provided by Nottinghill housing and the university. UWL's website states - "Student Village Housing offers high quality accommodation with a collection of houses and flats which are home to University of West London students in South Ealing." The student village seemed an appealing option, so we decided to do some research. The first thing we noticed was how expensive it was:£1250.00 a month for a one bedroom flat (without any bills).At the time we were naive enough to think that most places in Ealing were around this price and didn't want to risk living in an area that was dangerous or far away from the university. The photos on the website looked good; clean rooms, nice kitchen and bedroom. We thought to ourselves "We might as well go for it, its a safe bet and its close to the uni, even though its expensive our student loan will cover it and we'll be careful with our money". We signed the first contracts at the University with Andrew (student housing official)as he took our £500.00 deposits (£1000 in total from both of us). At this point, we had be told no information about our actual flat and had no viewing. On the day of the move we were faced with the students who were leaving their apartments ( old mattresses and tatty sofas being discarded and carried out to the bins). This seemed odd, why were old students only just moving out on the day the new batch of students were moving in? It felt like a last minute rush, or from the agencies perspective, the last squeeze of money from students pockets. Once they were out, we were given the lengthy contracts to look at (for about 30 seconds as everything was one big rush with other students waiting their turn to sign). We looked at it, not really knowing the full weight of what we were signing. It was downhill from this point. The flat itself was reasonably nice, fairly clean with cheap microwave, kettle, sofa and bed. As time went on we were faced with problems; no hot water (this lasted for 2 - 3 weeks until they fixed it) which meant having cold showers, not nice in the winter. The windows that overlooked the cemetery were steamed up, with damp and water in between the panes of glass (the wooden window frames also showed signs of rot). The shower screen in the bathroom fell numerous times as it wasn't correctly fitted or had been broken. So, for £1250.00 a month it was clear that we weren't getting much for our money. Other students in the village complained of damp and rats with mould in their rooms (with many pictures on the student village Facebook page supporting this). Someone also posted a photo of their ceiling caving in. This was obviously a cause of concern, but where was the uni? Where was the voice of the student union? Where was the apology? At this point (about 5 months in, me and my girlfriend wanted out, we contacted the uni who told us; "Its not our problem, its Notting Hill housing's" so we contacted the them and they told us "Its not our problem, its the universitys". We were frustrated and found out we could sell it privately if we found new tenants, we tried on Gumtree, Spareroom and many others with no luck. Our student loans weren't covering the amount of rent either, even with part time jobs that ran alongside our demanding courses. I'm writing this review now, still in my apartment. We still haven't sold it, nor have we had any help or guidance from the pathetic people that exploit students. After reading the complex contracts, we are now faced with the burden of paying the last two months of rent with money we don't have. The university needs to rethink its housing agreement. A word of warning to anyone who wants to move to the student village; DONT. There are better places to live.

Very good. The library has a vast array of books. The Mac labs are great for just turning up and using Pro tools or working on a mix or essay. The studio equipment is also very good.

Not very good. Academic support is better, as most tutors do try and help you when you raise your concern. Some however take a while to reply to their emails. Personal support is something the university really needs to work on. As mentioned in the accommodation section, we felt like we were completely on our own when it came to our financial trouble. Although we did speak to someone at the uni, she offered no help.

They seem to have a good focus on employability here.

The best thing about the lectures is probably the module leaders. They're friendly and seem to care about the success of each student.

Mediocre. The student bar is terrible. I stopped attending student union parties because they're not very good.

Paragon housing is okay. The staff is very friendly. The facilities aren't too bad. The laundry system isn't very good though. There are obviously a lot of parties happening around here, good luck getting quiet time or sleep.

Everything at St. Mary's campus is new. Paragon facilities aren't too bad either. They're clean. The printing system is frustrating though.

It's London, of course city life is awesome. However, UWL is located in an awkward place with little to do.

Clubs and societies are available but you have to seek them out rather than them coming to recruit.

This is where it gets complicated. Course and module leaders try to be as helpful as they can, but the rest of the staff has no idea what they're doing. It takes a long time to receive help when you ask multiple times for it. Everyone is very disorganized and uninformed.

Not at all. I feel like I have had no support in finding future jobs.

The SU seems to be very pro the university. It has got better in the last few years, with things being advertised more, but it was still very much off my radar.

For what you pay, not good enough. There are universities with 1000% better facilities.

Obviously this is one thing the university can't screw up, and you are living very close to central London. this however is nothing to do with the uni.

At the freshers fair at the start of the year there was always a handful of stalls and such but after that you never heard from them for the rest of the year

Minimal. This is a problem of the LCM faculty. Communication is as low as it can go and staff say they are listening but don't appear to act on anything you have said.

Some lecturers take time to reply back to their emails (sometimes even after a month), not very hands on and more sitting down and writing, the course is really good but would be lovely to have some external speakers to tell us more about their jobs, one lecturer (including me) failed over 30 students, one assignment which was submitted in nov 2013 was not marked and had to re do it again and failed that too!

Does not really represent the students at all. I have never seen anything relating to culture or anything that would involve everyone.