University Of Sunderland

It was such a wonderful experience attending University of Sunderland. After putting up with the constant testing and challenges of US Schooling, University in Sunderland was so nice and easy.
DO not think I am saying the system did not teach. It does. But it taught in a much more relaxed manner than I was used to.
See…I was always told that UK schools were so much harder than US ones.
I found it just the opposite.
Instead of constant tests and shoving tons of information down your throat because it’s written that you must do things that way, England UNI was much more laid back.
They cared more about you learning how to do things than about memorizing 4000 dates per class.
I even got to go drinking with my professors a few times.
I loved my time here. I also loved the local theatre that let exchange students work without permits because it gave me some pocket money and a chance to see the WONDERFUL John Inman before he passed.
It was seriously the most wonderful and memorable time of my life until I moved to New Orleans, US.
Thank you all.

I have a vastly contrasting opinion to the previous writers on the subject of Sunderland University. I graduated in 2009 with a first class honours degree in Business and Marketing Management. I found the course very challenging and hugely interesting and thoroughly enjoyed the programme. The lecturers (notably William Ang’awa and Alan Charlesworth) were fantastic throughout and presented expert points of view. As I live in the local area I found the University easily accessible and the actual facilities were good (such as the Tom Cowie lecture theatre). Regarding a previous post on the Guardian league tables, I, alongside the rest of the class were presented with the student satisfaction surveys at module closure and their was no attempt whatsoever at sabotaging the results to achieve a high ranking (all students gave an honest account of the programme without any staff bias). As I enjoyed the course I am pleased that the University is receiving recognition for their hard work (14^th and 24^th highest ranked Business School in the UK on teaching excellence, Guardian 2011 & 2012). I would certainly recommend any prospective student to consider the University of Sunderland if Business is your preferred specialism.

maybe SJSU worked out a better deal with UoS. maybe i was majoring in the wrong department. either way, i had a horrible time here!
pros: their computer lab/​library on the main campus is pretty up-​to-​date. all of their facilities are pretty new and nice. laptop insurance for flat residents is welcome too.
cons: my flat was broken into 3 days after my arrival. computer, ipod and camera were all stolen. neither campus security nor local police tried that hard to find the thief, even with the knife outside my window and fingerprints taken from the window. classes are not as conducive to learning as i hoped they would be. this is not what i travelled ~12k miles for. way overpriced for foreign exchange students.
all in all i wish it was a good experience for me but it flat out just wasn’t. end of.

My first experience abroad for over a month was because of this university. People would ask, why would I come here all the way from sunny California? SUNderland… don’t be fooled… it hardly is that of Cali. However, there are two campuses (at least) all around the city center. Buildings that are obviously nothing like the 1970’s construction of my Cali alma mater. Manor Quay is awesome! I still don’t remember much of the student union. Your extra curricular activities propelled me to volunteer and try harder and our (American) football team is a bunch of great lads to hang out with. My courses were much more focused on my progress on one or two assignments rather than along the way like in the US. A full computer lab, much less of a bureaucracy than that of SJSU and a wonderful tech debartment. My computer crashed so far away from home and $ 20 worth of calling Dell didn’t work, your masters healed my maching and 4 years later its still running. Oh how I loved my time on this campus! Much love from Cali!

Unfortunately I can’t rate Sunderland University very highly. Although it appears to have been heavily invested in, only the parts they show in the brochures have. The campus within the city is fairly shoddy and even though a new building is being constructed, it still isn’t up to the scratch of other universities in the nearby area.
Freshers week had some events, but most were tired and past it ‘celebrities’ with no uniqueness or talent. The big name music came from S-​Club 7 I think that sums up the university completely.
Courses are mediocre, and although it has fairly good reputations in some subjects, it is difficult to tell where these reputations come from and if they can keep them up.
Halls of residence are spread throughout the city, two of which are cleverly positioned in a very rough end of town. A warning sign on the halls tells students to avoid the area at night or travel in groups. Exactly what you want to see while walking into university.
My time at Sunderland hasn’t been all bad, I’ve had some fun and made some good friends. But, no offense to those people, I could have done that at any other university. mediocre