Liverpool And Its Universities

Liverpool John Moores

I never actually realised just how many Universities are based in the city of Liverpool!

So, there is the University of Liverpool (UoL), Liverpool John Moores (LJMU), Liverpool Hope (LH), Edge Hill (EH) and Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).

All of these Universities vary in course offering, entry requirements and have different fields of expertise. I am currently studying at LJMU, which I have to say has been an amazing University to be a part of.

Above: John Lennon Art and Design Building at LJMU in the Mount Pleasant campus.

During my time here, I have been given many great opportunities to undertake, which have opened some doors for me and allowed me to meet some amazing new people.

During my UCAS application process, it was a tough decision to figure out which University would be the best place for me. After careful consideration and some amazing trips to all of my desired locations, I concluded the Liverpool was the place for me.

I also received note on results day that I had been awarded with the Academic Excellence Scholarship from LJMU, for achieving 360 UCAS points or 3 A’s at A level. This was an immense achievement and has meant that I have been able to be a little bit more comfortable money wise as Student Finance England did not leave me much to work with after paying my rent.

As I have mentioned before, I come from a small village that is surrounded by countryside and not much hustle bustle. Very much unlike the city of Liverpool.

So, the choice to move to such a big city was one that was undoubtedly daunting, but one that I knew I would not regret.

I originally opted for an undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Forensics, which I later realise was not the course for me.

I decided to stick with the course for the full year, to fully ensure that my original plan was one that I no longer wanted to pursue. The support I was given at LJMU was incredible. They were very understanding, and various people met with me on different occasions to discuss my future with LJMU.

Above: The Redmonds building at LJMU

I knew that I wanted my future to be at LJMU, but I didn’t quite know what I wanted that future to entail and how I would go about applying for another course. I looked at the 2016 prospectus for English subjects. English has always been a passion of mine, but I love exploring all areas of English Literature and Language, so that meant that I would need a course that would in essence, give me the best of both worlds.

That is when I found English, Media and Cultural studies that I would be starting in the following academic year.

My University building changed from the Byrom Street campus, to Mount Pleasant. I was actually quite glad of this change, as the Mount Pleasant campus had a lot more history to be explored and the area of the city was much nicer than that of Byrom street.

The John Foster building is one of my favourite buildings to study in and it also has the LJMU Aldham Robarts Library situated just behind it, meaning that one can visit the library whenever the choose after a lecture.

Above: John Foster building at LJMU in the Mount Pleasant campus

The John Foster building is probably one of the most complicated buildings I have been in however, as the layout of its rooms was not (in my opinion) done logically.

Despite this, one quickly comes to terms with the room layout and how to navigate their way around pretty easily.

The lecturing quality at LJMU has always been of a very high standard, which has recently become even better through the new implementation of the new Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) - Canvas.

Canvas has allowed lecturers to produce higher quality lecturing content and use alternative methods to marking and teaching.

LJMU is always striving to achieve more, something that it really aims to instill into its students.

After falling in love with the University, I decided that it was time to give something back. I would always advise students to give something back to their University and LJMU has numerous ways of doing so. I began by undertaking the role of course rep, back when I began my new course in 2016. I have been part of this role for two years now and it has been a pleasure to be able to put forth student feedback to peers and also be a part of the board of study meetings at LJMU. These meetings allow you to meet members of stuff who you might not have had the chance to do so before hand and has allowed me to make some great contacts within my department.

I wanted to take this role further and I was able to do so by becoming a Faculty Rep. This meant that I would have greater responsibility as a Representative of LJMU and I have thoroughly enjoyed having this role. It meant that I was able to attend Faculty of Education meetings, Awards ceremonies and various other events to do with my University.

My course has also allowed me to be a part of various field trips and exercises that would benefit our module knowledge or aid in an assignment.

The opportunities at LJMU are endless and I am thankful that I have been given the opportunities that I have done whilst studying here.

Not only is the lecturing and the university itself amazing, but also the student welfare services. The Thomas Aquinas building is located behind the John Foster building and it houses the Student Advice and Wellbeing services, which I have found to be an amazing service that all students should utilise. 

Above: Night time view of the John Lennon Art and Design building

I have used many different areas of the Student Advice and Wellbeing service, which has heightened and greatened my student experience greatly.

They have helped me with problems such as; money, housing, academia, mental health etc. The advisers there are incredibly helpful and will offer its students some of the best impartial and anonymous help. Should they think that the problems need scaling further, then they will get in touch with your personal tutor and liase with them, so that you do not have to.

All round, the lecturing, facilities, services and general ethos of LJMU is one to be admired by, by other universities in the UK.

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