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Daily life at Durham International Study Center

What is it like to live and study at the Durham International Study Center? Approximately how many students study at ISC.
Food: do you need to get your groceries and cook or you can dine at the canteen if there is any?
Do you need permission to go to the city center/ leaving the campus?

Reply 1

Durham Rep Ghala

Official Rep

Original post by NataNatalie

Hiya,

I studied at the ISC in 2021 so I may be able to give some insight 🙂 Durham ISC is quite different from the main University campus in Durham but I would say the difference is good not bad. Firstly, Stockon is comparatively smaller than Durham (since its a town and not a city) so it feels much less hectic and busy and the ISC campus is very small (most students will have their classes in the same building). It means its easier for international students to navigate and walk to campus without feeling lost and stressed (It's only a 10 minute walk to campus). The staff/tutors at the ISC are very supportive and are very easy to reach via email or in person if you have any questions or concerns and class sizes vary but they're generally smaller (10-15 students or less). The coursework depends on which degree program you're studying but its generally not too challenging and you are assigned a tutor that will track your progress and support you academically if needed.

Living in Stockton is alright, it's relavtively safe and Rialto Court accommodation is less than 10 mins from Lidl (Infinity House accommodation is located in front of Sainsburys) and the town has a range of different coffee shops, restaurants, etc. Overall, a good start for students coming to study in the UK for the first time. You don't need permission to leave campus or go to the town centre (you're responsible for yourself) there are security and other staff in rialto court to make sure students are okay and if they need anything but you do not need permission from them to leave or go anywhere. As for food, the campus has a cafeteria (Cafe Aroma) and they serve a range of hot meals, sandwiches, deserts, drinks, etc but that is located in the University campus and closes at 4pm. At your student accommodation (whether its Rialto Court/Infinity House or another accommodation), there is no cafeteria or canteen (vending machines are available tho!), its fully self catered meaning you have to go out and get groceries and cook or order delivery's and takeaways 🙂 Stockton is quite small and can get quite boring so most students come to Durham or Newcastle on the weekends either by the X12 bus or by train.

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions about Durham or the ISC, I'm more than happy to help 🙂

-Ghala