By Penelope Pinder

As a postgraduate student doing the MA in Social Work at BUs Lansdowne Campus, I would recommend the course to anyone who has a good work ethic!

Postgraduate study is certainly more intense than an undergraduate degree, but personally, I’m enjoying every second. Sometimes I get a little behind on work or find something hard to understand, but the academic support is fantastic and so are the other students on my course, so I never feel overwhelmed for long.

Lansdowne campus is the location of the HSC (Health and Social Care) courses, as well as postgraduate Business courses. It’s only a five minute walk from the town centre and about a ten minutes’ walk from the beach, so it’s great for having a study break between lectures. The library is small compared to the Michael Cobham library at Talbot campus, but university buses run from outside Lansdowne BU buildings every 10 minutes on weekdays. There are plenty of spaces to study at the Lansdowne campus though, including the open access centre in Studland House which is open 24/7, 365 days a year (for those oddballs who want to go into University at 2am on Xmas day you can do!).

The majority of events hosted for BU students are aimed at Undergraduates, but there is plenty of opportunity for postgraduates to get involved where they want to and the two week welcome period holds events specific to postgraduates and/or mature students. I’ve never felt that I’m missing out on any of the social aspects of University that I want to get involved in.

There are plenty of societies to suit all tastes at BU; I’m part of the Bournemouth University Big Band and the Girl Guiding and Scouting society, but other societies range from various sports, the Doctor Who society and societies associated with courses. One thing I really like about BU is how integrated it is with the local community, for instance, student ambassadors do mentoring and fun science in local schools and the Big Band is for both students and local people. This helps to avoid the ‘us and them’ mentality that I found at my last University.

I am definitely enjoying my MA in Social Work at BU, even though it is very hard work. I know I can do my best because I feel well supported by the University.