Preparation

Studying abroad was an obsession when I was doing an internship in Doncaster, England for 4 weeks. Yorkshire is a really great piece of earth in England and the people here are really friendly without exception and you immediately feel at home here. Then I decided to definitely study in Yorkshire. So I looked around the internet to see what options there were and came across MicroEDU. The first contact went without any problems and after a short telephone conversation the matter started rolling. The Sheffield Hallam has then still the TOEFL accepted, now she wants, like most English universities an IELTS test. This is feasible and easy to cope with, as the requirements of the SHU are not that high either. Of course, copies of certificates and transcripts of record are required to guarantee admission. After a successful application you have to wait and then you have to respond to the commitments. This is again going through MicroEDU.

After I was accepted for the SHU, I had to look for an apartment. For this purpose, the SHU has set up an accommodation service that supports you in finding an apartment. I live in Opal 1. This is great from the point of view of the basic location, but the “Corporation” disco is exactly opposite, which makes it impossible to sleep without earplugs. But only in block J, all other blocks are OK.

Thanks to the support, the preparations are no problem at all.

However, I would recommend renting privately to anyone if at all possible. This is usually 50% cheaper. For example, my German friends were here in June and looked for a house in advance and founded a flat share that they could move into in September. You live cheaply and centrally.

Sheffield

Sheffield itself is not necessarily one of the most beautiful cities in England, there are far more beautiful cities, but it is still very easy to endure here. It’s relatively “cheap” compared to the rest of England and the train connections are just great. From Sheffield you can easily get to all closer and more distant cities such as London, Manchester, Leeds, York, Glasgow, Edinburgh etc. In addition, the Peak District, which is well worth seeing, is only a short walk away and is definitely worth a trip for those who love nature . Sheffield also has several cinemas, a beautiful city center and a huge shopping center, Meadowhall, where you can buy anything.

Education

In my MSc International Marketing course 80% are Asians, the rest consists of a colorful mixture and unfortunately only one Englishman. This is a real shame because it doesn’t really give you the opportunity to improve your English, especially in the course. As a German you are ahead of the Asians, but you don’t really get any better. This is also because the lecturers simply do not pay attention to grammar. Nobody cares how good the grammar or vocabulary is here as long as you can understand what you are trying to say. There are therefore no spelling corrections in the assignments and it really hardly affects the grade. For all those who shy away from going abroad because of their grammar, I can reassure them. Nobody cares about them here. It’s more about the ideas and creativity that you can bring in.

The lecturers themselves rarely come from England and it is easy to follow the lessons. The only thing that makes it difficult to pass the assignments is the open task. The task here often offers so much freedom that you simply no longer know what the lecturer expects or demands of you. The support suffers from the fact that the task is not outlined more closely, even when asked. The grades themselves, at least among us Germans, are good and we can’t complain.

I have to say that unfortunately I miscalculated when it comes to the workload. I have heard from friends who have done a semester abroad in Ireland that everything is “totally easy” and that there is very little to do. I let myself be blinded by that. The structure in England and Ireland is just a little different. In addition, in the 1st semester you have to do 4 modules of 15 credits each, in the 2nd semester you have 5 modules of 15 credits and the master’s thesis has 45 credits. Only 3 months effectively remain for the master’s thesis. The last module will be over at the end of May. Submission of the master’s thesis, however, is September 1st, which means that you have to practice effective time management and should start with the master’s thesis at the same time.

The modules themselves are all interesting, but you don’t really learn new theories if you’ve already studied marketing. You rather learn to put the theories into practice, which in my opinion makes sense, but does not correspond to the German university system. I would therefore compare Sheffield Hallam more to a technical college in Germany than to a university.

Most of the courses take place at Sheffield Hallam Business School. This is very renowned and has a very good reputation in England. Most lecturers have worked in a company for years and are therefore able to convey practical knowledge in an appealing way. Everyone is very nice and supports you wherever they can. The lecturers are always happy to take their time and discuss any questions that arise over coffee.

Support

Abbreviated as SHU according to abbreviationfinder, Sheffield Hallam University offers international student support that I have never seen anywhere on this scale. It is unique how many events are organized and there is an excursion at least once a week. It never gets boring and I find that really remarkable.

The Careers and Employability Center also offers incomparable support. They help you to write applications and give you tips and support in your job search. Furthermore, they offer many courses in which you can improve your employability skills.