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Hi i'm conflicted on York, Leeds and Sheffield for university, im applying to BioMed.

Cgchshxtnsc9vmwm

If anyone has any thoughts on the course and life at these unis please let me know!
thank you so much x

Reply 1

University of York

Official Rep

Original post by Cgchshxtnsc9vmwm

If anyone has any thoughts on the course and life at these unis please let me know!
thank you so much x

Hi there,

It's great to hear you're considering studying at York!

I'm not a current student, but I did study Biology at York between 2018 and 2022, and as Biomed sits within the Department of Biology, a quick overview of my experience could be helpful!

To start with, I personally chose Biology at York for a couple of reasons:

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Varied modules

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Impressive teaching and laboratory facilities

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Current research

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Love of the city and the campus

Modules and teaching

I found the modules available to be extremely varied, I was usually stuck between a few when it came to picking my modules for second and third year! In my experience, the teaching was always good, and I liked that there was a variety of teaching formats across my modules:

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Tutorials - small group teaching where you develop your academic skills such as analysing papers, critical thinking, presentations and writing essays.

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Workshops - a chance to work through problems related to the lecture material to help you apply the theory learnt in lectures and prepare for exams.

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Practical lab sessions - to begin with, this is taught in larger groups with support from PhD student demonstrators. You are often in pairs, which helps you meet students from across the cohort. In final year(s), these practical lab sessions may take place in a research lab with a supervisor as part of your dissertation.

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Lectures

Facilities

The Department of Biology has some great study spaces specifically for students within the Department, my favourite is the Creative Lounge as it has really cosy sofas and desks which are perfect for group or independent work. When I was a student, many of our lecturers had offices around the Creative Lounge, making it super easy to catch them for a chat with any questions I had about an assignment or “homework” for the module. The teaching block for the Department (including seminar rooms, teaching labs, computer rooms and study spaces) was built in 2016, so it remains very modern and an incredibly pleasant teaching and learning environment.

Industry connections / employability

At the end of the second year of your Biology/Biomed course at York, you'll have the opportunity to undertake a Year in Industry or a Placement Year (a Year in Industry is supported by the Department of Biology, while a Placement Year is supported by the Careers Department). Finding this year in industry / placement will be largely down to the student during the second year of the course, but the Department of Biology does support with this process by:

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Holding practice interviews and practice assessment centres

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Sharing opportunities as the Department becomes aware of them

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Offering in-house years in industry, when possible

After your degree, you become a York alum and you can access careers support from us through our York for Life scheme.

Making friends

I found meeting people on my course to be so easy. From tutorial groups and workshops, to practical lab sessions and group projects, it was virtually impossible not to meet other students I shared common ground with. Two years on from graduating, two of my closest friends were made through my course.

Life in York

I loved living in York, it's such a safe student city which is small enough to quickly feel like home, but large enough that there's always something to do, a new restaurant to visit or a festival going on! The buses from campus run regularly into town, and are affordable. I regularly would pop into town just to wander, especially in my first year when I was starting to explore the city. We're also well-connected to the rest of the UK, only two and a half hours from London, and short trains / buses to more local towns like Harrogate, Scarborough and Knaresborough.

College and life on campus

In my first year, I lived on Campus West in Derwent College. I loved how close it was to my department and the library, it was incredibly convenient! Derwent College put on lots of fun events to help us integrate and meet new friends, and the pastoral support felt like a safety-net while I adjusted to living away from home.

Overall, I hugely enjoyed studying Biology at York and I'm certain I made the right decision for me. To help you make the right decision, I would definitely recommend that you join us for one of our open days this summer, the dates haven't been confirmed yet, but you can sign up for email updates. Or, if you already have an offer to study at York, you might be invited to a Visit day for offer holders.

If you have got any specific questions about studying Biomed at York, or about life as a student in York, just drop us a reply and we'll do our best to answer 😊I hope this helps - Hannah 🙂