Publishing BA at Plymouth - who's done it/doing it/knows someone on the course?

Hi all!

I'm really stuck on choosing a uni for next year - I've already deferred and eventually withdrew my placement at Birmingham Uni for 2016 entry so that I could really think about what I want to do with my studies for 2017.

That being said, I'm hoping to study Publishing. However, I'm really caught between Oxford Brookes' course: Publishing Media, and Plymouth's course: Publishing.

I LOVE the idea of living in a city campus, but I know Plymouth isn't so high on the old league tables :erm:

. They both cover similar aspects on the publishing course, but is that all I consider when attending a uni? League table stats and course content?

Plymouth looks and sounds amazing, with great reviews from students so I was wondering if there's any information people have about the actual course, itself, rather than what's on the main website, and what living in and around Plymouth is like. :smile:

Thank you for any and all your help!
Sarah

Reply 1

student228

Hi Sarah,

Have you looked at Loughborough University's course 'Publishing with English?'
It covers a range of topics including marketing, magazines, history and contemporary publishing, editing, graphic/web design & academic publishing along with regular English modules such as language, poetry, critical studies, (a range of others in years 2 and 3 that you can chose - e.g victorian literature, british drama, film adaptations of novels, feminist writings etc)

The campus experience is good too, with all halls on one campus!

University of Plymouth

Plymouth

Visit website

Reply 2

mcgreevy1993

I think the course is new for this year. So I doubt you'll find anything on here just yet.

One of my course mates went on to do the publishing masters after English. She's done pretty well for herself and got a job at a publishing house in London.

Reply 3

Numero Uno

Original post by sarhz

Thank you for any and all your help!
Sarah

I know someone doing publishing she enjoys it but its a lot of work doing sketches and storyboards etc. I like plymouth because its not so constrictive compared to inner urban cities you have the seafront which is quite a nice area the city shops are decent, the buildings look quite old these days but shopping is great for me. Any other q's just ask. :smile:

Reply 4

University of Plymouth

Official Rep

Original post by sarhz

Thank you for any and all your help!
Sarah

Hi Sarah!

I hope you're well. Firstly, it's really great that you have given yourself all the time you need to make a thorough decision about what you want to study. :smile:

Secondly, in answer to your question: you’re right, there is so so much more than league tables when it comes to applying to uni. You need to find a university and a city that could feel like home for you, yes the course content is very important but that’s just one part of what will make your university experience happy and memorable.

Mcgreevy1999 is right, this is a new degree course that will be in its first year in 2017, but the MA in Publishing is well established and successful, and the teaching staff from that course are responsible for putting this course together.

As it happens, I actually met Miranda Spicer the other day (who’ll be a lecturer on the course), she was so excited about this new degree and we spoke a bit about the content it sounds like a brilliant mix of modules. I also took a little peek at her staff profile, and if you’re looking for insider knowledge and post-degree employability then you’re in luck, she’s had a really impressive career.

‘With over 29 years in mainstream publishing, Miranda brings commercial business experience and industry contacts to the Publishing MA at Plymouth. Miranda has worked for a variety of publishers including HarperCollins, Dorling Kindersley, Marshall Cavendish, Jarrold and BBC Magazines. She moved from London to the West Country and was recruited by Element Books in Shaftesbury to reorganise their illustrated Mind. Body& Spirit list. She relocated to Devon and became Editorial Director of David & Charles. Here she launched a military history list, which continues to be successful. Her publishing career spans editing, commissioning, production, training, consultancy and senior management. She ran her own independent, non-fiction company, publishing art, history and nature titles.

Publishing training has included courses at Book House; Women in Publishing; London School of Publishing and Capita, with one-to-one senior coaching.’

She is also currently a careers advisor for those looking to go into publishing. So all looking good there!

As for the city, Plymouth is really amazing. I came here from the North West 5 years ago, finished my undergrad, finished my masters and then got an internship because I really didn’t want to leave! There’s a thriving indie culture here, people get up, get together and make things happen, from craft fairs, music, art to papers and zines, people in Plymouth come together and make the culture that they want in the city. The city is big enough for there to always be something going on, but not so big that you can’t make a big splash if you want to.

Everything is walking distance away too, you will rarely have to jump on a bus or get a taxi anywhere, which is super handy because it leaves money for more fun things like food (speaking of which there’s loads of really tasty food on campus and food markets on in the city and on campus throughout the year).

And if you don’t want to be in the city at the weekend you can make a big splash elsewhere, the gorgeous blue seas of Cornwall are a bus ride away, the Hoe is an amazing city park that sits on the seafront and the rolling moorlands of Dartmoor and the English Rivera aren’t too far either. Most stuff is pretty accessible by bus or bike if you don’t have a car. I’ve loved exploring around Plymouth.

We’re really highly rated by the student reviews on whatuni, and came out 27^th out of 124 universities in the Student Choice Awards, so it seems other students have really enjoyed studying here too!

I hope some of this helps you make a decision, feel free to pop us another message if you want to know more and good luck making your final decision!

:smile:

Georgia

Plym Uni Student Rep

Reply 5

sarhz

Original post by Plymouth University

Hi Sarah!

I hope you're well. Firstly, it's really great that you have given yourself all the time you need to make a thorough decision about what you want to study. :smile:

(...)

Mcgreevy1999 is right, this is a new degree course that will be in its first year in 2017, but the MA in Publishing is well established and successful, and the teaching staff from that course are responsible for putting this course together.

Hi Georgia! Wow, thank you for all of this! I had no idea it was a new course for 2017 - that's exciting! I'm very much leaning towards Plymouth Uni and hopefully soon my UCAS will agree with me :smile:

If I may ask: car parking? There's two sort of conflicting bits of info on the website:

So here ^^^^ it's saying that you can apply for parking (as much as it's unlikely that you'll get it!); however, here I then feel like you can't have a car at all if you're in halls of accommodation:
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/services/accommodation/permit-information
"Halls of residence
If you intend to live in halls, parking permits are not available and you should carefully reconsider whether you need your vehicle, as alternative parking can be very costly (e.g.: £150 per month at Regent Street car park). Although we understand that you may wish to contest this on the basis of need, unfortunately we are unable to make any exceptions."

Any thoughts? I'd love to have my car with me, and it was a real positive factor for when I was applying that I thought there was a chance I could have it at uni - compared to Oxford Brookes where it's straight-up not allowed.

Thanks again!

Sarah

Reply 6

University of Plymouth

Official Rep

Hello again Sarah!

Hope you had a lovely weekend.

Yes, parking in halls is a tricky one. Most of my friends in halls left their cars at home, and it never really affected them in terms of the city because everything is so accessible by foot. However, it is handy to have a car for weekend trips! There is permit free parking about 10/15 minutes walk out of the city, and there are small sections of it around the city too but they're not guaranteed to be free.

I got a car in third year when I was living in private accommodation and got a permit for the area I was living in, but when I've been working or staying with friends I've parked around town in the spots shown on this map, they're roughly where the permit areas end and I've left my car quite happily in all these spots during the day and overnight.

I still have my car here now and it's only really the odd time I do a 'big shop' mid week and the weekends I use it, otherwise it just sits there so it wouldn't really bother me if the car was a ten minute walk away.

So, there is an option to have your car here but you might not be able to park it just outside.

Halls are a really great option to make friends and put you in the heart of the city, so it depends what you think you'd need the car for!

Hope all this helps and thanks for your message!

:smile:

Georgia
Plym Uni Student Rep