Having just finished my final class for the semester, I now have a one month break before exams and so, I decided to let you all know what the studies here at Leeds have been like.
To get an idea of where I’m coming from, I did the following three modules this semester:
- Understanding the Audience
- Beginners French
- Career Development
Here are some of the differences I’ve experienced between studying at QUT and the University of Leeds:
1. I received a lot of handouts at Leeds
- For every class I received at least one piece of paper per lesson, which rarely happens at QUT
- Buy yourself a display folder before leaving because they are extremely hard to come by in Leeds for some unknown reason
- They’re also handy to keep your travel documents in while travelling
2. Referencing is different to QUT
- I recommend downloading EndNote (A free referencing software) because Leeds has their preferred referencing method available to be downloaded and it makes referencing so much faster and easier
- QUT has this available too if you didn’t know!
3. Most classes take attendance
- The amount of times you can miss class depends on your course but for media, missing 5 classes resulted in being contacted and questioned
- Be careful with planning big trips during class time; I recommend travelling before the semester starts or during December before the exams
4. Not all lectures are recorded
- None of mine were, which meant I had to actually pay attention
- It was definitely difficult not being able to go back and rewatch lectures, but this just made me listen harder and take more notes
5. A passing grade is 40/100
- This changes depending on what you study but this is the passing grade for most courses
- It’s definitely a lot easier to pass at Leeds, but from my experience, it’s a little more difficult to do well
6. For all my media students out there, be aware that media at QUT is a lot more modern and practical whereas at Leeds it’s a little more traditional
- You’ll most likely find powerpoint slides with plain black text on white background and no pictures or videos
- For the assignments, Leeds wanted a lot of academic study examples, whereas QUT usually prefers that students find their own examples from tv shows, articles or other media
- With that being said, Axel Bruns who works at QUT did make an appearance in my reading list one week for his work on convergence, so the content isn’t that different from QUT, it’s just a little more bland
7. Finally, less of a difference but a great recommendation, if you have a free elective, do Career Development
- Career development is a 20 credit module (60 credits makes up 48 QUT credits) so I only had to do 3 units to get a full study load (this left me with time to travel on weekends!)
- It was pretty much a big reflection unit on what I want to do in the future
- Along with it being quite easy it was actually pretty useful in helping improve my resume and my interview skills
Even though it’s been different here in Leeds, it’s definitely been a worthwhile experience, mainly because I get to study in buildings such as this:
So, I highly recommend you come to the University of Leeds to experience studying here yourself.
